1. Устав преподобного Пахомия Великого

The Charter of St. Pachomius came to us in the translation of Bl. Jerome. But this charter does not represent in its entirety the entire order of the hostel established by St. Pachomius; because much was not included in it, but entered into the matter by direct order of the Holy Founder, as it appears in his life. And of those points that are in the surviving charter, many are incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the circumstances of the life of this head of the Tavennisiots. Why does the statute need to be preceded by the life of St. Pachomia. Anyone reading this life cannot help but notice that, although the Tavennisiot order was basically outlined during the life of St. Abba, but many details continued to be determined under his closest successors, Orsisius and Theodore the Sanctified. It can be assumed that many points were already included in the charter under the present successors. Therefore, for a complete understanding and outline of this charter, it is necessary to take into account the circumstances of life of these great Abbas. Of these Abbas, the successors of St. Pachomius, St. Theodore often spoke teachings to the brethren, but they have not been preserved. From Abba Orsisius, a large instruction on the organization of monastic residence has been preserved, which he compiled, already approaching his death, and handed over to the brethren in the form of a paternal will. It embraces the entire structure of monastic life, explaining in what spirit this or that aspect of this life should be strictly maintained. Why can this instruction be called a brief overview of the Tabennisiot Rule? – So, wanting to introduce the readers to a full understanding of the Tavennisiot orders, we offer: – in I, Lives of St. the great Abbas: Pachomius, Orsisius and Theodore the Sanctified; – in II, the Charter of the Tavennisiot Hostel; – in III, Orsisius's Instruction on the organization of monastic residence. – Let’s add this to this – in IV, three small collections of statutory rules pronounced by the fathers conciliarly, and two outlines of the rules of St. Macarius of Alexandria. 1. Lives of St. the great Abbas of Tabennisiot We will not include all the details of their lives here, but only those circumstances that related to the establishment of communal orders in the Tabennisiot monasteries. We borrow legends about this from Chet-Minea, from Dionysius the Small Patr. Latin. t. 73, and from Vies des Peres des déserts d'Orient, par 1e K. R. Michel Agne Marin, de l'ordre des minimes. 1824. 1) Life of St. Pachomius the Great By origin, St. Pachomius was an Egyptian of Upper Thebaid, a pagan by faith; but he spent the summers of his youth in purity and purity. This purity of character gave him the opportunity to feel the presence of unearthly principles of life in the inhabitants of the city of Oxyrynthus, when, taken into military service in his 20th year, he passed through this city with others and saw the extraordinary kindness of its inhabitants towards himself and his comrades. Having learned that they were such because they were Christians, he immediately decided in his heart, if he returned alive from the war, to accept Christianity and live according to its spirit. Returning in good health, he was baptized in his village of Shenobosque and, following a certain vision in a dream, which filled his heart with a fiery desire to be with the one God, he retired into the desert to the hermit Palamon, famous in that area. Palamon at first refused to accept him, pointing out the extreme hardships and harshness of his life; but then, making sure that Pachomius was sincerely ready for all kinds of works of self-mortification, and that this was precisely what he was looking for, he accepted him into his leadership, brought him into his cell and soon afterwards dressed him in monastic attire. Both of them spent time in prayer, psalmody, mutual conversation and special contemplation of God. Their handicraft was to spin wool and prepare hair shirts, and they did not spare themselves while doing this work, not because great need forced them to do it, but in order to always have at hand something to help someone in need, no less than in order to overwork and keep their flesh tired. Palamon especially demanded from Pachomius that he learn to spend his nights in vigil and, if he noticed that sleep began to overcome him during the night service, he took him out of his cell and forced him to transfer sand from one place to another, saying: “Watch, Pachomius, lest otherwise the enemy tempt you and steal the fruit of your labors.” Thus he taught him to overcome sleep, often having him spend whole nights in prayer and psalmody. It was also their custom during prayer to stretch out their hands in the form of a cross; this position maintained internal heat and warded off bouts of drowsiness. Their food was bread and salt, to which they added, at least very rarely, some kind of greens, without oil, however, and without vinegar, on the contrary, sometimes they mixed in ashes, to further kill the taste. One day on Easter day, Palamon ordered his disciple to prepare dinner i.e. for the sake of the solemnity of the day, set the meal a little earlier than usual. Pachomius, believing that if all Christians rejoice and have fun on this day of the glorious resurrection of Christ, then he can, without violating the law of monastic self-mortification, treat his spiritual father a little better than always, seasoned the greens he had prepared, putting a little oil and vinegar into it. But Palamon, as soon as he went up to the table according to the usual prayer before the meal, looked at what had been prepared, when, hitting himself on the forehead with his hand and tearing up, he cried out: “My Savior is crucified, and I will eat with butter,” and did not agree to touch what was prepared, no matter how much Pachomius begged him; so I had to take the greens. Then he sat down at the table and did not eat anything with his disciple that day except bread and salt, as usual. Pachomius carefully listened to the lessons of his elder, tried to assimilate the examples of his life and strictly watched over his soul. He made every effort to keep it in perfect purity, to suppress the vicious movements that appeared in it, at their first occurrence, to introduce good dispositions into the heart, to cut off the vain desires of worldly things and to kindle only the desires of eternal blessings, to constantly reflect on the work of salvation, as it is outlined by the Holy Spirit in the Divine Scripture. Especially to succeed in humility, meekness, patience and purity of intentions. The success he showed in all these virtues was so noticeable that his elder could not look at this without surprise and not feel in his soul a special consolation from that. In relation to his body, St. Pachomius was very merciless, and his soul longed to tire him with labor and in every possible way to embitter him. So, for example, going as usual into the distance of the desert covered with thorns to collect firewood, he calmly endured when his legs were wounded by the knitting needles, which sometimes pierced deeply, or were cut by sharp flint pebbles. He inspired himself to endure this by the memory of the crown of thorns that bit the Savior’s head and the nails with which His hands and feet were nailed to the wood of the cross. In this desert, he sometimes liked to slow down a little longer and delve further into it, so that in the depths of the desert silence he could more freely indulge in prayer and intelligent-hearted conversation with God. Here he poured out his soul before Him in loving aspiration for Him with his whole being, and with warm faith he cast himself into His almighty right hand, begging Him for admonition and strengthening in the fight against the enemies of salvation. But his prayer was not limited to himself alone; From the time of his conversion, he embraced all people, especially Christians, with his love, and while praying, he did not forget to remember everyone in prayer, asking to protect them from the snares that the enemy places on all the paths of our lives. The Lord, who instilled in him such warm feelings of love, because he intended him to serve the salvation of many souls, finally revealed to him His will about this during one of these fiery prayers, in the most secluded place. It was in Tavenna, as some desert area or island on the Nile, not far from the city of Siena, was called. While he was praying with special warmth and prolonging his prayer more than usual, he heard a voice from above saying to him: “Here establish your stay, Pachomius, and establish a monastery, for many will come to you, eager to work out their salvation in a monastic way of life, and you will guide them according to the rule that I will immediately send you. At that same moment, an Angel appeared to him in the clothes of the great monastic image - in the schema - and handed him a copper plate, on which were inscribed the rules of fasting life, for those who had to come under his leadership. What was written on the shield is written by Palladius in Lavsaik, and Sozomen, Dionysius the Lesser and Nicephorus Callistus also repeat after him in the places cited in the previous footnote. Here are the words of Palladium: 1) Let everyone eat according to their needs. 2) Assign them work commensurate with the strength of each. 3) Do not forbid either fasting or eating. 4) Place heavy labor on those who are stronger in strength and eat more; and assign small and light ones to the weak, who are not accustomed to asceticism. 5) Set up separate cells, in one building, and let three live in each cell. 6) Let food be offered to everyone together. 7) They should not sleep lying down, but let them build themselves seats with sloping backs and sleep on them sitting, having made their bed. 8) At night they must remain in linen levitons and girded. 9) Everyone should have a white goat's (or sheep's) mantle, without which they should neither eat nor sleep. 10) Let them begin to receive the Mysteries of Christ on Saturdays and Sundays only in the kukulli (head), having untied the belt and taken off the mantle. 11) And the Angel appointed the head cucullia for them without garters, like children’s, and ordered an image of a purple cross to be placed on them. 12) He ordered the brethren to be divided into 24 ranks (detachments), according to the number of 24 Greek letters, so that each rank was designated by a special letter from alpha and vita in order to omega; so that when Abba needs to ask or find out about any of so many brothers, he asks his assistant in what state the rank of alpha or rank of vita is - take the blessing to the rank of ro. The name of each letter would itself indicate the rank it signifies. To the monks who are more simple and gentle than others, the Angel continued, give the name iota (ι), and to those who are rebellious and tough in character, mark them with the letter xi (ξ), thus expressing by the very form of the letter the property of the inclinations, morals and life of each rank. These signs will be understandable only to the spiritual. 13) It was also written on the board that if a wanderer comes from another monastery, where they live according to a different rule, he should neither eat nor drink with them. Only when, while on the road, one of Pachomius’s disciples is strangely received, can he eat food with a monk who is alien to their rules. 14) No one from outside should enter the monastery, and once entered should remain with them forever. 15) Before three years of probation, do not allow a beginner to take part in the highest feats; only after three years, when he has completed difficult obediences, let him enter this field. 16) At meals, everyone’s head should be covered with cucullia, so that one brother does not see how the other eats. 17) You should also not talk during a meal, nor look around, but only at the table or at the dish. 18) If anything is needed, let them know by signs to those who are on the line of table attendants. 19) The angel ordered the monks to perform 12 prayers every day, also at 12 in the evening, at 12 at night, and three at 9 o’clock. When did St. Pachomius said to this that there are not enough prayers, the Angel tells him: I put so much so that the weak can comfortably, without burden, fulfill the rule; those who are perfect have no need for a charter; for, being alone in the cell, they spend their entire lives in the contemplation of God. I gave the Rule to those whose minds have not yet matured, so that, although like disobedient slaves, out of fear of the master, fulfilling the general rule of life, they would achieve freedom of spirit. Having given such a charter and thus fulfilled his ministry, the Angel departed. Ave. Pachomius, out of great devotion to his elder, his spiritual father, could not hide from him the revelation that had been given to him. Why, having returned, he told him everything and begged him to go with him to the place where God had shown such mercy to him. Palamon, seeing in this a direct instruction from God, thanked God for such favor towards his disciple and willingly agreed to fulfill his desire. Having arrived at the place, they built a small cell there together and called upon God’s blessing on it. Palamon stayed there for some time, and finally said: “Since God wants you, my son, to remain in this place, then stay here, and I will go to my cell, only we will make a covenant between ourselves not to leave each other, but to visit each other mutually, as long as it pleases the Lord to keep me in this life.” Pachomius happily agreed to this and was a faithful executor of this covenant until the death of the elder, which, however, did not slow down. Palamon, returning to his cell, began to feel sharp attacks of pain in his insides, from the extreme abstinence with which he tormented himself and which he did not cease to continue, despite the illness that had already begun: some hermits who came to visit him, and seeing his exhaustion, begged him to ease himself for a while, so as not to ultimately upset their bodies. At first he gave in to their ideas, but soon returned to his usual sternness, saying: “If St. The martyrs of Christ endured to the end every kind of torment, cutting off members, burning fire, and cutting off heads for the sake of God, in whom they believed with all their hearts, then how can I agree to put aside my little patience, which I decided to endure for Christ’s sake, and bless my body, from which I cannot expect anything good?” - And he remained with his strict asceticism until the end of his life, which was already not far off. Ave. Pachomius did not leave him all this time, providing the most necessary care for him, until, in his own arms, the beloved elder gave up his spirit to the Lord. Having paid tribute to the deceased and honestly buried his body, St. Pachomius finally returned to his cell and continued his usual labors in life according to God. God consoled him for the loss of the elder he had suffered by the arrival of his elder brother John, who, hearing about his strictly godly life, came to him with the desire to follow the same path. The joy and consolation were great, on both sides, for St. Pachomius had not seen any of his relatives since his baptism. Having now agreed on one intention, they began to live in mutual encouragement for good deeds and exploits. Day and night they studied the commandments of the Lord, in order to more accurately conform their life and their character to them. Every day they distributed to the poor what was left from supporting themselves, earned by the labor of their hands, without worrying about the tomorrow. Their clothes were made of linen, and they changed them only when the need to wash was urgent. Pachomius, however, often wore a hair shirt under his underwear in order to more effectively tame the violence of the flesh. And he also did not cease to torment her with the poverty of food, not even eating bread to satisfy himself. But what is much more restraining for the body, he did not lie down when he should have slept, but sat down in the middle of the cell, without propping himself up on any side. He carried this feat for 15 years. At one time, he did not sleep at all for 40 days, and asked God to give him the strength to go without sleep forever, in order to be able to more easily defeat the invisible enemies of our salvation. It is not clear that God heard his request; but in his prayer one cannot help but see with what zeal he armed himself against the flesh, which was so susceptible to enemy influences to tempt the spirit, even the always vigorous one. Finally, St. Pachomius, remembering the promise of God that a large number of brethren would gather to him, began with his brother to prepare cells for them. At the same time, a small disagreement occurred between them. Pachomius wanted to occupy a larger space for the monastery, so that it could accommodate larger cells; and John, out of love for solitary tranquility, wanted all this to be on a smaller scale, and not being able to bear the opposition from Pachomius, he finally said with annoyance: “Stop being magnified and expanding; This thing is not useful." This reproach was sensitive to Pachomius; but as he was in the habit of suppressing all wrong movements, he did not give way to this grief and endured it calmly. Despite the fact that it did not come out and Pachomius, both in words and in deeds, behaved with complete restraint, he did not blame himself, on the contrary, he strictly reproached why such movements were shown in the heart when he should be dead to everything. Why, the next night, shutting himself up in his cell, he prostrated himself on the ground, and, humbled before God, begged Him with tears to strengthen him against all passionate battles. “Woe to me, Lord my God,” he cried, “that carnal wisdom still rules in me, that I still work for the law of sin. Woe to me that despite being in the desert for so long, I have not yet learned to overcome my anger. Have mercy on me, Lord, and do not let me perish. For if You do not strengthen me with Your grace, then the enemy, having found in me a certain part of his deeds, will completely enslave me to himself. And how will I lead those whom You promised to bring to me for monastic life, Lord, when I myself do not know how to overcome my passions, which in any case rebel against my soul? “But I believe, Lord, that if You give me help, then I will conveniently do whatever I want in Your sight.” – Such was the contrition and pain of St. Pachomius on the occasion of a slight movement of impatience within, which, moreover, he soon managed to suppress. Such was his attention to himself, and such vigorous guarding of his heart! “So he spent the whole night in tearful sighs and prayers. He had the custom of praying to God with his hands outstretched, not allowing himself to lower them or bend them until the end of the prayer: he stood praying like that, as if hanging or crucified on a cross. This contributed to prayer, but made the body even more tired. So, partly from this tension, partly from the heat of the season, and more from the inner heat of the heart, strong sweat, combined with copious tears, formed a puddle in the place where he stood in prayer. This was for him a washing of both body and soul. Meekness took root in his heart, and from that time on he lived with his brother in deep peace, with meekness, condescension and wondrous consideration until his death. Soon the brother departed to the Lord, and so on. Pachomius was left alone, receiving, it is true, great freedom regarding the construction of the monastery, but at the same time becoming the target of the most severe attacks from evil spirits. The Lord introduced him into this obvious struggle partly to test and educate his faith, partly in order to strengthen him with frequent experiences of visible victories over demons, to invest him with strength and authority to drive them away, so that he would be a thunderstorm for them, and they would be afraid of his mere appearance. Finally, the time for the meeting of the brethren came, and the Angel of the Lord, appearing to St. Pachomius, standing in prayer at midnight, said: “God wants you to receive the brethren who come from here and bring them to Him through strict ascetic living.” Having repeated this three times, the Angel walked away. Ave. Pachomius thanked God and zealously began to fulfill His Holy will: he accepted those who came with the desire to serve the Lord in a monastic way of life, and after properly testing the firmness of their intentions, he clothed them in the monastic schema. The first of those who came under his leadership were Psentaisy, Sur and Psoy. After them came Pecusius, Cornelius, Paul, another Pachomius - Paphnutius, Typhoas and Petronius were also among his original students. Theodore the Sanctified and Orsisius acted somewhat later. While there were few of them, St. Pachomius did everything about the monastery himself, without burdening or bothering any of them with anything, so that, free from all cares, they could quickly lay the strongest foundation of sober composure and inner life. He himself prepared what was needed for the table, he himself planted and watered the greens in the garden, he himself answered those who knocked on the doors of the monastery, he himself went after the sick. Thus, according to the commandment of the Lord, he was a servant to everyone, providing them with the sweet consolation of exclusively devoting their time and labor to spiritual works. St. Pachomius did this with the goal of forming future assistants from them, so that when many brothers gathered, he could share with them the work of managing the monastery: which they now had the freedom to learn from his word and example. The new disciples of St. Pachomius could not marvel at the many virtues that were revealed in him - especially love, humility, self-mortification and intelligent-hearted sobriety, which he always preserved, despite the many affairs that occupied him; and were inflamed with zeal to imitate him in everything. For this purpose, with common consent, they turned to him with a request - to allow them to share his labors with him. Ave. Pachomius told them in response to this that he looked at himself as an animal that turns a mill wheel and for which he should have no compassion; As for their desire, he says, the time will come when I will lay down on others some of the worries and labors that I now bear, but this will happen when the Lord wills for me to do this. Meanwhile, however, he taught them the rules and regulations for all parts and aspects of monastic life - regarding prayer, handicrafts, food and drink, sleep and wakefulness, clothing and all other monastic and monastic orders, partly as the order given by the Angel had already indicated, and partly as the work itself and experience indicated. When on some holiday it was necessary for everyone to partake of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ, St. Pachomius called some priest from the nearby villages, who, having performed a divine service in the monastery, communed everyone with the body and blood of the Lord. The humble Master did not want any of his disciples to be honored with the priesthood, saying: “It is good for monks not to seek honor and authority, especially those living in the monks, so that because of this envy and jealousy do not arise among the unanimous brethren and upset the general consensus. For like a small spark of fire falling on a threshing floor, if it is not quickly extinguished, it burns the entire threshing floor and in one hour destroys the work of an entire summer; So the thought of love and the desire for the priestly rank, having fallen among the monks, if they are not soon taken away, all their long-term labors and all spiritual fruits will turn into nothing before God.” This is what the Saint said, teaching the brethren humility, but if one of the sanctified monks came to his monastery, wanting to live with them, he received him kindly and revered him as a father. And he, for his part, looking at the humility of St. Pachomius and the other brethren, tried to imitate them in humility, taking every possible care not to let anyone notice that he, in the order of grace, had any advantage over others. Hearing about such wise orders in the monastery of St. Pachomius, many of those who were zealous for salvation rushed to his monastery and the number of brethren quickly increased. – The previously established monastery was already becoming cramped and there was a need to build new ones. St. Pachomius has now begun to do this. The first of the newly established monasteries was called Pabo, and was built in a very deserted place. Subsequently, he became so great and important that he became the head of all the others, although all the monks who lived according to the rule of St. Pachomius continued to bear the name Tabennisiots, after the name of the original monastery. Some time after the establishment of the monastery of Pabo, one venerable elder, named Eponim, Abba of the Shenobos monastery, in which lived already outdated monks who were highly respected for their virtues, being captivated by the Tavennisiot order, came to St. Pachomius and begged him to join his monastery to the monasteries living according to his charter. Ave. Pachomius willingly agreed to this out of zeal for the task that was entrusted to him by the Lord Himself. With some of his most experienced brothers, he went to that monastery and put his charter into effect there. The example of Shenobosk was soon followed by other monks who made up the monastery, called Monkhos, and also devoted themselves to the leadership of St. Pachomius. He already had four monasteries. But then he himself established five other monasteries: Taz, about which nothing in particular is known; Thebes, for which Psenebius, the father of Petronius, who took the place of St. Pachomius after his death, as the head of the monasteries, gave land, entering into brotherhood with all the children; Paneiskaya, established at the request of the bishop of this city, named Ares or Vara; Tismenskaya, in the same diocese and Pakhnumskaya, or Khnumskaya, on the banks of the Nile near Latopolis. These are all the monasteries established by St. Pachomius during his lifetime, except for the women’s monastery, on the other side of the Nile, which was started by the sister of St. Pachomius, who, like her brother, wanted to pursue monasticism. Theodore and Orsisius, his disciples and successors to the general administration of the monasteries after Petronius, added other monasteries to them. How many people were being saved in all these monasteries! - But they all looked at St. Pachomius as their only spiritual father, and so forth. Pachomius equally extended his care and paternal guardianship to all of them. In this regard, what can compare with the wisdom and love, with the severity and condescension, firmness and gentleness with which he ruled so many monastics? In all his actions it was clear that he was guided by the Spirit of God, who inspired him to gather the monks in the monastery. There is no virtue in which he did not set the highest example for his students, not a minute passed that he did not do something for their good, there was not an opportunity that he did not take advantage of to teach them something, if possible, and finally, there was no labor or achievement that he did not willingly undertake, as soon as he saw that it was necessary for the spiritual advancement of the spiritual children he had gathered together. Getting to the details of his wise management, in the intention of showing in him the most perfect example for abbots to follow, we put in the first place - as is already clear from the previous legend - the fact that St. Pachomius did not take upon himself this rank of leadership over many, but accepted this yoke at the special command of God, and therefore, entered the sheepfold through the lawful gates of the title from above. And despite this title, however, he was in no hurry to anticipate the time determined by God for its fulfillment: which shows in him complete oblivion of himself in the organization of the work entrusted to him and impeccable purity in this intention. That is why such a visible calling of God, and such strict attention to the instructions from above in the caller, were accompanied by an abundant outpouring of God’s enlightening and guiding grace on him, which endowed him with all the qualities necessary for wise management. The saving actions that the souls he led experienced from him serve as the best proof of this. Quiet meekness and condescension constituted the main trait of his character. One might even say that he did not observe due measure in these virtues. The experiences of his actions provide many examples of this. When those who wanted to live under his leadership began to gather in large numbers, then, not being able out of his kindness to refuse those who came, and at the same time not being able to subject them to a strict preliminary test, he, of necessity, recruited, along with the good ones, quite a few who were difficult to manage. They did not want to conform to the rules that St. Pachomius instilled in them, and yet without fulfilling them it was impossible to succeed in spiritual life. Neither remarks nor admonitions had any effect on them. They did not show any sign of improvement, or even good will to do so. Ave. Pachomius, grieving over their bitterness, out of love for them and a sincere desire for their salvation, resorted to prayer, which was always his only refuge in all the difficulties he encountered. Having prostrated himself on the earth, one day he turned to God with the following prayer: “You, Lord, commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. I pray to You, show Your mercy to these blinded ones, and look at them with the gracious eye of Your mercy, so that, having entered into themselves, with sincere repentance, they take upon themselves the yoke of the commandments that our title imposes on them, and, inspired by the hope of Your help, enter on the proper path along with other brethren.” The bad mood of their unpunished hearts was, of course, the reason that this prayer remained without any good effect on them. But St. Pachomius did not yet lose patience with them; for love knows no weariness. He came up with a special kind of means for them to accustom them to the proper monastic life, starting with the easiest. Why did he give them a rule of life, different from the general one, which they could fulfill without much stress and labor; but this was not successful either. The wayward people, due to their malice and hardness of heart, refused to submit to him. Wanting to live according to their own will, without any dependence or subordination, they left the brotherhood and left with such speed as is usually the case with those overwhelmed by panic. If it was impossible for St. Pachomius not to feel sorry for the death of these unfortunates, then this sorrow was abundantly rewarded with consolation at the sight of the wondrous successes of the other brethren. After them, the brotherhood of obedient disciples was likened to a field cleared of chaff, in which the good seed grows widely and produces abundant fruit. But one cannot help but marvel at the unshakable patience of the holy elder, with which he endured these evil ones, until the Lord Himself was not pleased to deliver him and his brotherhood from them. – From this circumstance we learn that just as the laity, adhering to the holy rules that the renunciants of the world follow, can comfortably succeed in the perfection of the Christian life: so the renunciators of the world, when they indulge in negligence and laziness, do not benefit from the superiority of their title, nor the prayers of their spiritual fathers, nor the condescension that these latter show to their weaknesses. Coldness in the souls of monks is a sign of spiritual death. Ave. Pachomius also had the opportunity to show his patience in relation to the old monks of his monastery of Pabo, who, although they were free from gross errors, were so murmuring that they fell into this sin at every little reason. He often admonished them with fatherly words, but had no success. Not considering, however, and despite the fact that he was free from the duty of working to correct their character, he imposed on himself a forty-day fast, very strict, with midnight vigils and prayers. God heard his prayer, and he had the consolation of seeing those elders recognizing their sin and beginning to continue their course with due reverence and humility. No less marvelous is the meek condescension of St. Pachomius towards one monk of a neighboring monastery, who was not in his dependency, but whose Abba often came to him for advice. This brother was overcome by the spirit of ambition, and he irresistibly wanted to be some kind of official in the monastery, a housekeeper or a priest. He often pestered his Abba about this, but he did not satisfy his request, finding it unprofitable for him and that monastery. One day Abba, annoyed at such pestering, told his brother that St. Pachomius had not advised him to entrust him with any position. This did not happen in reality, but Abba said so, believing that out of respect for St. Pachomius, the brother would stop his quest. But it turned out differently. He flared up with anger, and, losing his temper, like a madman, rushed to St. Pachomius, and poured out his bile on him, showering him with reproaches and insulting words. Ave. Pachomius, who was at that time engaged in laying the wall with his brothers, not knowing what was the matter, did not answer him; but seeing that his silence only irritated that brother, he said to him with humility: “I have sinned, my brother, forgive me, I ask you, as you yourself wish, for God to forgive your sins.” This meekness tamed the angry one. At that time, Ava also came up, following in the footsteps of his obstinate disciple. Ave. Pachomius turned to him to find out what was the matter, and when he told him, concluding his story with a request for advice on what to do, St. Pachomius answered him: “Do you want to know what God wants you to do? - Do this. Yield to the desire of this brother in order to free his soul from the power of the demon tormenting him. It often happens that by doing good to the evil, out of compassion, they soften their hearts and return them to the path of good. Thus, the love that Jesus Christ taught us both by His word and example teaches us to bear each other’s burdens with compassionate condescension.” Wonderful thing! This advice was fully effective. The brother, seeing that with such grace they agreed to give him the position that he so passionately sought, was ashamed of his ambition and his uncontrollability, and, having come to repentance, not only did not want to take any rank, but fell at the feet of St. Pachomius and with true contrition confessed his guilt to him, saying: “Man of God! Truly you surpass your glory in deeds. For if, instead of being lenient towards me, you had acted strictly with me, I would have already decided to leave the monastery and retire into the world. Blessed be you, my father! With your love you saved my soul.” The holy elder lifted him up and, with his word, confirming his desire to live otherwise in accordance with the spirit of the monastic order, escorted him beyond the fence of the monastery, hugging him goodbye with tender love. This is the advice that St. Pachomius gave to Theodore of Alexandria, entrusting him with the management of one monastery! – From them it is impossible not to see by what principles St. Pachomius was guided in his great condescension towards the infirmities of the infirm. “Running a brotherhood,” he said, “is no small and no small matter. Take heed! If you notice that any brother is falling into relaxation and laziness, talk to him especially in private and encourage him to restore the first heat of jealousy in his soul. If he does not listen and show correction, do not touch him for a while, praying that God will touch his heart. For just as when a knitting needle is deeply embedded in the leg, so that it cannot be pulled out without shedding blood and without causing sensitive pain, it is not pulled out by force; but they first use softening plasters and other means by which the needle can be attracted to the outside: in the same way, the abbot, having difficult characters in his management, is more likely to cope with them with meekness and patience, rather than dealing with them according to the full severity of the monastic rules. “If it happens that the mistake is significant and threatens with bad consequences for the brotherhood, let me know about it, and I will take care to heal the weak, as the Lord, out of His mercy towards us sinners, will instill in me.” - Take care of the sick, and lovingly share with them their burden and cross, as a good father should do in relation to his children: for in fact you should be a father in this place that you now occupy. - Be the first to observe the rules prescribed to monks, so that, looking at your example, all the brothers entrusted to you will be faithful to them. If you come across a situation where you don’t know what to do, tell me and we’ll discuss together how best to proceed.” In the same spirit of meekness and tenderness with which he treated the weak brethren, even on his deathbed, he spoke to another Theodore, his favorite disciple, who later had to be the chief Abba over all the monasteries of St. Pachomius: “I adjure you not to leave without the care of the brethren whom you notice careless about pleasing God; but relentlessly persuade them to return to due reverence.” How the meek condescension of St. Pachomius did not come from weak-heartedness or man-pleasing, but was the fruit of reasonable-compassionate love, so much in keeping with the spirit of Christ; then this great Abba Abbas and mentor of abbots knew how to use the proper severity when he saw that the glory of God, the good of the monastery and the benefit of the guilty themselves required this. So, when one of the brethren, having worked two mats a day, whereas according to the rule only one should have worked, he took them out and placed them in front of the door of his cell, in the hope that St. Pachomius would see them and praise him for his hard work; Rev. Abba, seeing them and realizing with what spirit the work was done and what was done was put on display, said to the brethren who had happened then, with whom he was talking: “You see, my friends, how this brother from early morning until this hour toiled tirelessly at his work, for nothing else than to give all this work to the demon of vanity, leaving nothing of it for his soul; for he had one thing in his soul, so that people would praise him, forgetting about God, for whom he had to do everything. What a seduction! to exhaust your body with such labor, and leave your soul without fruit, despite such arbitrary fatigue.” “Then he called that brother, and having made him a strict suggestion, he ordered that when all the brethren gathered for prayer, he too should come, carrying his two mats, and turn to the brethren with a humble request: “I beg you, my brothers, pray to the Lord for my soul, that He may show His mercy to her and forgive her sin, that she was more busy with these mats than pleasing Him.” and the kingdom of heaven." - Moreover, during dinner, he ordered him to stand in the middle of the dining room with these mats until the table ran out, and finally, he locked him in his cell for five months, forbidding him to speak with any of the brethren and commanding him to prepare two mats every day, and to eat only bread and water. One day St. Pachomius was going to visit one of his monasteries and, approaching him, he noticed that the monks were seeing off one deceased brother to the cemetery, with the usual chants, according to the charter of the church. Seeing the approaching elder, the brethren stopped, waiting for him to come and say a prayer for the deceased. The elder prayed; and having finished the prayer, he ordered the singing to stop, to burn the clothes of the deceased in front of everyone and to carry him without any ceremony to the mountain and bury him in the ground there; Moreover, he did not order sacrifices to be made for him. – The deceased brother was one of the careless ones, whom St. Pachomius often convinced to reform, but without success. It is true that during prayer, or even before, God revealed to him about the rejection and condemnation of this unfortunate man, and this was the reason why this was done to him. Such severity for the deceased was already useless, but it could not help but be very intelligible for the remaining living, arousing their jealousy, driving away laziness and laxity, and disposing them to listen to the corrective suggestions of the elder and quickly correct themselves according to his instructions. In a different way, but still in the same spirit, he acted with another brother, who had fallen into spiritual pride. In these circumstances, it is clear that the spirit of delusion can creep into the soul during the best deeds, when they are undertaken according to one’s own intelligence, and not according to the law of obedience, as well as the fact that St. Pachomius was guided in the management of souls by wisdom - superhuman. That's what happened! One brother, living an extremely strict life, was sick with pride and extreme confidence in his own intelligence. Ave. Pachomius, noticing this, called him especially, and privately said to him with love: “My brother! Our Lord said: I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Take a deep dive into this word and use it for your edification. For I see that the enemy is working hard around you, with the intention of destroying all the fruit of your labors by the fact that you trust your mind too much. I advise you to go to the meal with others when they give the sign to the table. And at the table do not reject what is offered boiled, and taste the bread four or five times to avoid vanity. I don’t want you to eat a lot, for fear of irritating your sensuality, for you are quite powerful in body. Moreover, I give you a commandment: do not perform long prayers in private; Be content with the prayer that you perform together with others, in a general meeting, until you defeat the spirit of vanity, which entangles you with its nets in everything you do.” The brother at first listened to this suggestion, but then, carried away by conceit, he returned to his former position, grumbling at the order of St. Abba, saying: “Where is it written, not to fast and not to pray?” Ave. Pachomius, who was carefully watching him, immediately noticed that he was not following his orders, and saw with grief that he was not far from completely falling into the hands of the demon of stubbornness and proud disobedience. Why did one day, calling Theodore, his favorite student, who had long been helping him in government, to him, he said to him: “You know how much I grieve that this brother does not use my advice at all. Go see what he’s doing now and tell me.” He went and returned and said: “He’s standing in prayer.” “Go to him again,” said the elder, “and take him away from prayer, you will immediately see that the demon has already completely taken possession of him.” In fact, when Theodore, returning to his brother, wanted to take him away from prayer, he, inflamed by the spirit of pride, received him with abuse, but seeing that Theodore continued to interfere with his prayer, he became excited and grabbed a stick to beat him who was interfering with his holy work. “Then the demon completely took possession of him; and this unfortunate man, in a frenzy, began to say, he doesn’t know what. “This gave a very clear lesson to the brothers about how they should run away from the spirit of vanity, and never follow their own will and their own intelligence. But St. Pachomius, touched by his brother’s pitiful condition, sent fervent prayers to God for him, and God delivered him from his demonic possession. For this reason, the healed one no longer returned to his previous sin and never went beyond the limits of humble obedience. Since obedience is the strongest foundation of monastic order and even the very salvation of souls in monasticism, St. Pachomius did not demand anything so strictly from his disciples as this virtue, and did not let a single case pass without punishment when someone turned out to be a violator of it. – One day, returning to his monastery, as others saw, he was met by the brethren outside the monastery gates, as a testament to their respect and love for him. One of the children raised in the monastery rubbed between them, and after saying a word of greetings to the elder, he added: “Truly I tell you, my father, that since you left, neither greens nor brew have been prepared for us.” Abba answered him with affection: “Okay, okay! So I will order that from now on they will always prepare this and that for you.” - And with this word he entered the monastery. Having walked around all the places to see if everything was in order everywhere, he finally went into the kitchen and found his brother, who was entrusted with the kitchen work, working on matting. How long, he asked, has the greens not been served at the table? The brother answered: “It will be about two months,” apologizing for deviating from the rules by the fact that most of the brethren, due to their abstinence, did not eat anything, and everything prepared in this way was wasted; “But,” he says, “in order not to be idle, I worked, instead of that labor, matting, because one brother, my assistant, was enough to prepare everything for the table.” Having listened to him with attention, St. Pachomius asked: “How many mats have you made?” “Five hundred,” he answered. “Bring them here,” said the elder, but when they were brought, he ordered them to be set on fire, and they were all burned to the ground. Then he said to the kitchen worker in the presence of others, who were also obedient: “Just as you valued the rules that determine your obedience as nothing, so I value your work at nothing. I condemned her to be burned to teach you how wrong it is to break the rules given for the salvation of souls. How many crowns have you deprived your brethren? Don’t you know that when, having the opportunity to satisfy our desire, we nevertheless deny ourselves this out of love for God, then a great reward awaits us for this; meanwhile, how can we not have such hope when we abstain from something involuntarily, because there are no means to satisfy our desire? Don't you see that if you supplied food to your brothers, as the rule commands, then they would do a deed pleasing to God if, having food before their eyes, they would not touch it out of abstinence? And now, no matter how you put it, their deprivation is forced and abstinence is fruitless. Was it worth saving a few pounds of butter in order to deprive the brothers of so many opportunities to receive a reward: let everything that we have in this world be lost, so as not to deprive the brothers of the means of demonstrating in practice at least one such act of virtue. That is why I have always been of the opinion that the brethren should be provided for their meals every day with everything that is prescribed by the rule, so that those who want to deprive themselves of something, depending on how their zeal for self-mortification prompts them, do it arbitrarily, and through this they actually succeed in asceticism. On the other hand, if some brother becomes unwell, not so much, however, that he should definitely go to the sick meal, and he, having come to the common meal, does not find here either the greens or the brew that are usually expected, then won’t this be a temptation for him, and won’t you give him a reason to grumble, aggravating his physical illness with this mental illness? “Also, don’t you know that younger brothers are easily upset in the practice of monastic virtues when they see that no loving condescension is being made for their age?” – This example gives us a reason to talk about the unselfishness of St. Pachomius, which was not the least and not the last feature of his praiseworthy character. During the famine, when it was difficult to get wheat in Egypt, St. Pachomius gave his steward one hundred pieces of gold and sent him to buy it wherever he could find it. Having been in vain in different places, the steward finally reached the city of Hermut, where he met an official overseeing public food supply, who, according to rumors, deeply respected St. Pachomius and the monasteries he established, and who, as a result, sold the steward not only wheat at a much reduced price, but also twice as much as the money was enough for, i.e. not for a hundred gold coins, but for two hundred, saying that you will pay next year. The housekeeper returned to the monastery very pleased with his trip and successful purchase, expecting to be praised by the elder. It turned out completely different. Ave. Pachomius, having learned how everything was done, did not allow even one grain to be brought into the monastery from the wheat purchased in this way, and forced the steward to sell it in the surrounding area at the price at which it was bought, to return to the official the hundred gold coins that he owed him, and for the hundred gold coins to buy wheat again at the same price at which it was sold to everyone. When the steward had completed all this, he ordered him to calmly remain among the brotherhood, and appointed another reliable brother in his place. Here is another similar case! The brother who was in charge of the shoemaking business in the monastery once handed over to the person who was responsible for selling the handicrafts a large number of sandals and other products of this craft for sale, assigning him a certain price for them. When this seller, having arrived in the city, laid out his goods, those who came to buy them found that the price of the products was very low, saying that only stolen goods could be sold in this way. The brother-seller explained that he was ordered to do so, but did not refuse to take the price that was given to him, and it was one third higher than the appointed one. Upon his return, Brother Usmar, counting the money he had given him, found that there was a third more of it than he expected, and said to St. Pachomius: “In truth, Father, this brother should not be used for monastic affairs; it seems that he has too much worldly spirit, because he sold our products one-third more than what I assigned him”; Ave. Pachomius called his brother the seller and asked why he did this. He excused himself, explaining how the matter happened, but his apology was not accepted. “You are to blame,” St. told him. Abba, because he allowed himself to be carried away by covetousness. Hurry back to the city and return to the buyers the money that you took from them more than the appointed amount; and when you return, you will pay penance for your sin, and then you will remain in the monastery in such an occupation as is assigned to you; “Another will be appointed to carry out the tasks previously assigned to you.” The zeal of St. Pachomius that his monks always succeed in monasticism was unabated. To do this, he often visited monasteries and observed not only the entire brotherhood, but often entered the brethren’s cells to see what they were doing and whether there was anything they needed, and if he noticed something that needed correction, he did not fail to say so with fatherly love. His visits to monasteries were not useless detours for the sake of form. At this time, he usually made a lot of orders regarding everything that he considered necessary for the success of the brethren in the exploits of monasticism: he explained the Scripture to them, strengthened the weak, guided the tempted, inspired everyone to courageously resist the machinations of the devil, who confuses with thoughts, restoring remembrance of the presence of God and kindling with prayer the grace of the Holy Spirit. He made such visits unacceptably while he was in power; and in the last years of his life, no longer having the strength to do so, he sent St. in his place. Theodore the Sanctified for observation and for authoritative orders, as if he himself did it. Sometimes, not having free time to visit the brethren as he wanted, he sent letters to the abbots, offering advice and reminders that he considered necessary. When it was necessary to console or correct a brother, St. Pachomius was always ready to go wherever he had to. So one day the brethren from Shenebosk came and said that they had a sick man there in extreme exhaustion, who strongly wished to receive the blessing of St. Abba before he dies. Ave. Pachomius immediately got up and went to visit that brother; but he had only taken a few steps along the road leading to that monastery when he saw his soul ascending to heaven, accompanied by Angels singing heavenly songs. This wonderful vision made him stop. The brothers accompanying him, who saw nothing, urged him to hurry so that his brother would not die without him. Ave. Pachomius said: “It’s already late; I saw his soul ascending to heaven.” These brothers, having arrived in Schoenebosk and asked when the patient died, found that it was precisely at the moment at which St. Pachomius told them about the ascension of his brother’s soul to heaven. Here are examples of the modesty and high humility of St. Pachomius. – Returning one day from visiting monasteries, he, following the usual prayer in this case, immediately went to where the mats were working, and sat down to work along with others. Then, as he worked, one boy from among those who were brought up in the monastery, with childish simplicity, told him that he was not working like that and that Theodore taught them to do it differently. Ave. Pachomius immediately stood up and said to him kindly: “Show me how this should be done.” - The boy showed, and the elder sat down again in his place and began to work, as he showed him. There is nothing to marvel at such modesty. The spirit of pride and sense of self-esteem were dead in him; instead of them, sincere humility, the deepest, reigned in his lofty soul. Because of this virtue, he thought so little of himself that sometimes, out of a feeling of his unworthiness, he did not dare to directly address God with prayers, but turned to the Saints and told them: “Saints of God, worthy of seeing my Lord, I beg you, pray to Him for me, a great sinner.” He looked at himself far from being superior to others, but he held the conviction that he was appointed by God to serve others. Because of this, he never allowed himself to be different from others in any way; He also could not tolerate being given more attention than the last of the brethren. So, returning one day from work, in a fit of feverish chills, he refused to dress in the goatskin that Theodore gave him, but was content with the simple matting that all the brothers usually covered themselves with. He also refused to accept a few grains of pomegranate, which Theodore offered him for refreshment and strengthening, and said with tears: “What is this? - Just because I am entrusted with managing the work of the brothers and preparing what they need, is it righteous that they look after me more than anyone else? Where is the fear of God? “Did you, Theodore, go around all the cells to make sure that there was no brother somewhere who was more ill than me?” God, who sees everything and tests everything, will judge us in this regard.” The humble Abba thought so little about his dignity, about his power, that he hardly agreed to accept any service from another, and when this happened, he certainly immediately tried to repay the person who served him with some kind of favor. He was sick and, it seemed, very sick; – he was offered to taste something flavored with butter. As soon as he saw this, immediately remembering the salt and ashes that he had once eaten under the guidance of his spiritual father Palamon, he begged to bring him water and poured it on the prepared food until not a drop of oil remained in it. After this, giving the jug of water to Theodore, he asked him to give him water in his hands. When he did this, he wished to repay him with an equal favor, namely to wash his feet. Theodore did not agree to this. Then he said to him: “Let me do this, I beg you; because if after your service I do not wash your feet, then my conscience will reproach me for allowing others to serve me, while it is my business to serve others.” Because of this same humility, St. Pachomius, despite the fact that he was the Abba of all monasteries, when he came to any monastery, he always obeyed its abbots more than any other brother, and when someone else conducted a spiritual conversation about something, he listened to him with full attention, looking at himself as an ignoramus who had a need for teaching more than anyone else. We can look at this as a proof of his humility and his wondrous patience, which he showed in every case, and which he never betrayed. One anchorite came to him; Conducting a conversation with him, Rev. Pachomius ordered his disciple Theodore to prepare something to eat for the brother who had come. The enemy, who wanted to tempt Saint Abba with impatience, made Theodore hear something completely different from what was said. The same thing happened when he, seeing that Theodore was doing nothing, gave the same order to the steward, who happened to be passing by. Then St. Pachomius, not knowing about the enemy’s intrigue, seeing only that neither Theodore nor the steward did what they were ordered, reasoned within himself that the Lord had truly allowed this to happen so that he could show the experience of his patience in the present case; why he stood up with a joyful face and prepared what he could find to treat his guest. After seeing the guest off, he called Theodore and the steward to him and asked them what it meant that they did not listen to him. They replied that they had heard nothing else but an order to leave him free to talk with the anchorite. From this answer, St. Pachomius saw the enemy’s intrigue, and with a sigh he said: “Blessed is the Lord, who gave me patience and made me understand the intrigue of the evil spirit. Learn from this, my children, to remain meek and patient in such cases; for I know that the enemies of our salvation are constantly laying snares for us to tempt us. I often heard what they said among themselves about these temptations they arranged for us. One said: I am dealing with a person who costs me a lot of work; for as soon as I want to tempt him, he immediately rushes to God with his mind, and, armed with prayer, forces me to leave. Another, on the contrary, said: but I am dealing with a person who does not give me any work; I offer him whatever I want, and whatever I inspire in him, he is immediately ready to do it: thus I am in great harmony with him. So, children, watch over yourself with all attention in order to protect yourself from the machinations of the enemy; and protect yourself by constantly worshiping the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for in this case the enemy will never lead you through or overcome you.” These instructions about humility were an outpouring of his love for this virtue; and he, as in any case, set her excellent example, did not omit a single reason to win over his monks to her. But most of all, he had the care to pursue in them everything that gave off pride and pride. The corrective suggestion that he made regarding this to some of the elders of his monastery, who succumbed to the spirit of pride, is worth our full attention, as one of the best instructions left to us by St. Avvoyu. Every evening, in a place specially designated for this purpose, he used to conduct a conversation with his brothers about various subjects related to the worthy monastic service. One day, when the brethren gathered, according to custom, to listen to his conversation, he ordered Theodore, who was then no more than 20 years old, to speak in his place, and seemed even younger. No matter how difficult it was for the young monk to talk about divine things in front of such a crowded meeting, especially without any preparation, he obeyed without opposition. But when he began to speak, some of the elders, offended by the fact that they were being given a teacher who was new to spiritual matters, left the meeting and retired to their cells. Ave. Pachomius did not say anything to them at this time, as if he had not noticed their step; but when, after the conversation and prayer that usually concluded it, he dismissed the meeting, he called those elders and asked them: “Why did you leave the society of the brethren at the time when the spiritual conversation was going on?” They answered: “You appointed a newcomer as our mentor, as if he were capable of giving lessons to all the brethren, not excluding the elders in the monastery.” Taking a deep breath at these words, St. Abba said to them: “Or don’t you know that all the evil visible in the world came from pride? What kind of pride is it that Lucifer casts from heaven into the abysses of hell? Why was Nebuchadnezzar reduced to the state of beasts? Or have you not heard that everyone with a high heart is an abomination to God, and that everyone who is proud of himself will humble himself? And for the reason that you did not take into account that pride is the source of all evils, the enemy managed to mislead you and strip you of all the virtues with which you adorned yourself. For do not think that by leaving the meeting you showed contempt only for Theodore; no, you showed her to the Word of God, and thereby drove out the Holy Spirit from your souls. Oh, how great is this misfortune of yours, and how much you deserve to be pitied! How did you not understand that it was only through the cunning of the enemy that it could happen that you abandoned God and the work pleasing to Him? I can’t even think about it without amazement. How is it that God, out of love for us, humbled Himself, being obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross, while we, insignificant creatures, are filled with pride! What a destruction of all order and meaning! - He Who, with His greatness and power infinitely higher than every creature, deigned to restore the world with humility, while He could turn it into nothing with one wave of His eyes, and we, pathetic insignificances, dare to rise with pride, not taking into account that through this we make ourselves even more despicable! Did I give you an example to leave the meeting when Theodore began to speak? Didn’t I listen to him with full attention, like all the brethren? And I assure you that I found a lot of useful things in his conversation. Thus, if I ordered him to conduct a conversation, I did not order him to learn how to conduct such conversations, but for the benefit and consolation of my soul. So, if I, whom you consider your father and head, did not consider it a humiliation for myself to listen to him, and listened as one of those who needed teaching, why did you have the confidence to do the same? I tell you, as before the face of God, that if you do not cleanse your sins with tears and strict repentance, you will certainly perish.” No less than this, insisted St. Abba also insisted that his monks should take care of themselves in every possible way from the vanity of the world, and instilled in them not to desire either smart clothes, or exquisite dishes, or expensive buildings, or even worldly knowledge. “The whole beauty of a believer,” he said, “consists in the zealous fulfillment of God’s commandments. Joseph had a beautiful face; but this was not his superiority, but that he adorned himself with chastity, wisdom and the fear of God. These qualities gave him control over all of Egypt. On the contrary, those who placed their happiness in carnal pleasures and worldly vanities perished in a pitiful way, like Ammon and Absalom.” In order to arm his brothers against various temptations, he inspired them to stock up on two primarily spiritual weapons for this: firstly, the fear of God, constantly warming it up within themselves; secondly, the skill of always revealing embarrassing thoughts to experienced elders who can teach how to overcome such temptations. Regarding the fear of God, he said: “Just as fire serves to purify metals, so the fear of God cleanses human hearts from vicious passions, and makes them chosen vessels, favorable to the Lord, prepared for every good deed.” He also said: “It often happens that the enemy tempts with blasphemous thoughts those whom he finds lacking experience in discerning things or reasoning, although on the other hand they are not completely alien to the love of God. And if such people, in the days of temptation, do not resort to an experienced person so that he can teach them how to defeat this evil spirit, then he will bring them to great extremes. That is why, before temptation gains strength, we must hasten to reveal it to the elders who are able to edify.” In the same way, he taught the brethren to fight other passions - ambition, laziness, envy, covetousness, and all kinds of impurity instilled by enemies into the souls of monks. For this purpose, he not only used the conversations that he had every day with the brethren, but also took advantage of every opportunity. So, one day walking with Theodore past a cemetery where there were many crying, he told him: “These tears will not resurrect the dead, but if we shed tears of repentant contrition for ourselves and others, then we can spiritually resurrect our souls and the souls of our brothers.” This is what he said about those who, being correct in everything, sometimes allow themselves to be relaxed in one thing, showing how dangerous it is. “Suppose,” he said, “that a house has a hundred rooms, and its owner sells one of them to some stranger; can he be sure that this stranger, once brought into the house, will not little by little squeeze into all the other rooms, and then will not reach the chambers and the owner himself, no matter how remotely in the house they are located? Of course not. The same thing happens to a person who succeeds in virtue. May he acquire many virtues; but if, through laziness and the machinations of the enemy, who is always ready to take advantage of our negligence, he loses one of them, then this will be the same as introducing an enemy into himself, opening him free entry into his house. If such a person does not come to his senses, does not sober up, and does not return what was lost; then the enemy will soon have time to take away another virtue from him, then a third, and then, one after another, and that’s it; so that he will finally take possession of everything. That is why, as soon as someone notices in himself negligence in relation to one particular virtue, let him hasten to come to his senses, revive his zeal and use all his efforts to restore himself to his former order. In this way he will not only prevent new losses and regain what was lost, but will also significantly move forward on the path to Christian perfection.” High life and spiritual wisdom made St. Pachomius the common father of all monks, and they with faith turned to him for advice in all their spiritual needs, whether they were from his monasteries or from others. And the abbots of various monasteries themselves, in difficult cases, resorted to him, as to a person awarded divine illumination from above. With such wisdom and vigilance, St. Abba, in his own monasteries all kinds of Christian and monastic virtues flourished, and one could think that this order of monasticism, which was instituted by St. Pachomius, was a miracle of God, which He erected for the salvation of souls, and represented a model according to which a brotherhood of zealots for success in Christian perfection should be organized. Rev. Pachomius himself looked at his work no differently, only not with a feeling of self-satisfaction and exaltation, but with feelings of gratitude to the merciful Lord, who was pleased to arrange all this, even though he served as a humble instrument in this. Among the monks who adhered to the Tavennisiot Rule, there were countless numbers of zealots burning in spirit, whose whole concern was to completely renounce the world, to bear the good yoke of Christ in a God-pleasing manner, and thus more reliably achieve their salvation. The world did not exist for them; and they no longer lived on earth, but in some way enjoyed heavenly joys. For just as they sincerely sought the One God and served Him alone with all zeal, so God filled them with the sweetness of heavenly consolations, and overshadowed them with a deep inner peace, which is more precious than anything that the world can give and promise with the widest abundance of its joys. They were all closely united by a union of love, pure and holy; mutually inspired themselves to perform exploits to excel in spiritual life; with some gluttony they fed themselves spiritually with the Word of God; they had no other conversation than about how to triumph over the enemy, overcome passions and achieve perfect purity; and although most of them were nothing more than peasants, unlearned and uneducated people, through careful study of the Scriptures, experiences of life and insights from above they reached such degrees of spiritual wisdom that they deservedly became an object of surprise for all who knew them. There is no need to be surprised after this that many of them were brothers in episcopal sees and that the monasteries of the Tabennisiots, famous throughout the world, attracted visitors from everywhere, not only in order to ascertain with their own eyes the wondrous way of their life, but also to remain among them, submitting to the same spiritual rite, or having learned everything and learned all the rules to return home, in order to establish the same there. Such a building of holiness, so firmly founded and so firmly united by the labors of the Monk Pachomius, it seemed, should have stood unshakable until the end of centuries; but what human infirmities did not disappoint expectations? Blessed Palladius, St. Cassian, Jerome and Rufinus, 50 years after St. Pachomius, speak of Tabennisiots with full praise and respect; but even then it was already noticed that the excessively increased number of brethren, making it necessary to increase the means of support, began to introduce among them the worries and sorrows of this age. These concerns, in connection with the negligence, and partly the curiosity of some abbots, little by little introduced licentiousness both in relation to monastic orders and in relation to morality in general, which, growing over time, made it so that in Tabennisiot it was no longer possible to recognize those glorious monks who, under St. Pachomius and his closest successors, so shone with the grace of Christ. This change that was about to take place was not hidden from Ave. Pachomius. God allowed him to see this, at first somewhat vaguely, and then with complete clarity through one vision, which God vouchsafed to him through his persistent prayer. One day, when, after leaving the church, it was necessary to go to the meal, the elder did not go there with the others, but withdrew to a certain hidden place, where, having closed the doors behind him, he devoted himself to persistent prayer to God, asking Him to reveal to him what would happen to his monasteries and the monastic orders he had established, which were now so fruitful. God heard his prayer and allowed him to see with his eyes in a vision what he so persistently wanted to know. He saw a great multitude of monks making their way in the ditch, which was extremely deep and steep. Some of them, wanting to get out of there, encountered obstacles and stood indecision; others, wandering here and there, hit their foreheads against each other, because the place was covered in thick darkness; still others, exhausted, fell exhausted; the fourth, not knowing what to do, emitted only mournful cries; and only some, after terrible efforts, managed to get out of this dark abyss into the light of God, expressing their great joy about it with living feelings of gratitude to God. Such was the vision! At the same time, it was given to him to understand the meaning of everything he saw. He realized that the number of monks adhering to his charter would increase to the point of excessiveness, but that at the same time the inner life among them would be extremely weakened; that the careless will prevail over the zealous and begin to oppress them; that ignorance, insensibility, and desolation will take the place of spiritual perfections, with which all monks are now adorned: that most of the evil will come from the lack of good superiors, whose places will be occupied by ambitious persons, incapable of leading others to perfection, due to their lack of experience and reluctance to walk the path that should be shown to others; that they will achieve these places indirectly, arguing with each other and causing unrest in the monastery; that during this struggle of ambitious people, the evil ones will persecute the good ones, who will finally barely be able to live in the monastery and will have to remain silent. This is how this wonderful institution, which is worthy to be called Divine, will finally become purely human, not in the best sense of the word, due to the depravity of people. It is impossible to depict the grief with which the heart of St. Pachomius was struck after such a vision. Shedding copious tears, he then cried out to the Lord. “Alas, Lord! If this is the fate of the monastic order I established, then why did You command me to establish it? If the superiors are so bad, what kind of people will be who will be under their control? When a blind man leads a blind man, will they both fall into a pit? It turns out that I worked in vain. Remember, Lord, my labors and the labors of my brothers, who live according to my charter with such zeal and fidelity. Remember, Lord, Your promise, in which You promised to preserve my spiritual descendants until the end of the ages. You know, my God. that since I took on the monastic image, I have never given myself enough bread, water, or sleep.” While he was complaining like this before the Lord, in strong surges of bitter sorrow, he heard a voice saying to him: “Pachomius! You boast too much, while you are the same as every other person. Ask for mercy for yourself, and do not forget that if anything happens, it happens by My mercy.” Then pr. Pachomius, prostrate on the ground, cried out: “Thou art righteous, O Lord! I humbly beg Your goodness to have mercy on me, and never turn Your face away from me. I believe that no one can stand if You do not deign to support him.” At the same time, two Angels appeared to him and said: “Lift up your eyes to grief.” He raised up and saw our Lord Jesus Christ in the form of a youth, of indescribable beauty, in indescribable radiance. The Lord consoled him and promised him that, despite the moral decline among his monks, which he was given to foresee, He would forever preserve the holy race of his true spiritual children - which was fulfilled at all times and is being fulfilled to this day in the communal monasteries, of which the ancestor was the Monk Pachomius. After all this, St. Pachomius could hardly come to his senses. It was already close to the time of the night meeting for prayer, and he came to it along with others. When after him the brethren sat down to listen to his usual instructions, the impression of the vision, which had hitherto captivated his attention, did not allow him to talk about anything other than what it directly prompted. He urged them to be invariably firm in the deeds of repentance to which they dedicated themselves, and to support their zeal for this with the constant memory of death, of the shame with which faulty monks will be covered on the day of judgment before the whole world, of the terrible torment that awaits them, and of the priceless crowns prepared for those who remain faithful in selfless service and pleasing the Lord. “As long as we have the breath of life, my brothers,” he told them, “let us strive courageously for the salvation of our souls, so that when there is no more time, it is useless for us not to regret that we did not do this. Let us labor in doing every good thing and carefully avoid even the slightest touch of anything sinful. Ah, my brothers! If we keep in mind the promises that God gave to zealous ascetics, and the terrible torment that awaits careless and careless monks, especially those who, knowing the best, did not want to follow it, then it is impossible that we will not find in this the motivation to use all our strength to achieve holiness according to the commandments that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us. “Woe to the one who, having renounced the world in order to devote himself entirely to God, does not live in accordance with the vows given to Him! I am extremely afraid that our parents, whom we left in the world and who hope that we, through our prayers and selfless works of repentance, will serve for their benefit, pleasing God, in the thought that, depriving us and dedicating us to God, they made a considerable sacrifice on their part - I am extremely afraid, I say, that they will cover us with shame and disgrace, seeing that, for our carelessness against their expectations, we will be placed among those evil ones whom the world itself condemns. That is why, my brothers, we will work with all our zeal and all our strength, as much as we can find within ourselves. Let us kindle ourselves to this with the memory of death, which has the power to separate us from the earth, to drown out the love of this age in our hearts, and to direct our grief towards the God of all. Let us affirm ourselves in this memory every evening when we go to bed. Let your soul then, reasoning with itself, turn to your body and each of its members and say: oh, legs that now have freedom to walk, be always ready to walk only in the paths of the will of God, until death, having come, makes you motionless. Oh, hands, the time will come when you will become numb and will not be able to make even a small movement, but before it comes, take advantage of the time, and, while it is in your power, unceasingly extend yourself to good deeds and tirelessly perform acts of prayer to God. Oh, body, before we are separated and you turn to dust, let us work together in the service of God, our Creator, as the duty of nature obliges us to do so, do not feel sorry for yourself, do not get tired, prostrate yourself often before the face of God, bring me tears in abundance, bow under the good yoke of Christ, help me to march towards Him and perform every service to Him with joy, do not seek rest, do not indulge in laziness, otherwise you will not plunge me with you into the endless eternal fire. If you listen to me now, then together with me you will share the eternal inheritance, and if you are disobedient, then woe to me, for, due to the close union in which we are, your destruction will certainly entail mine; and we both together will suffer unbearably forever. If you encourage yourself in this way every day, my brothers, you will see how God will soon dwell in you as in His church; and with Him you will not only not be afraid of any wiles of the enemy, but will always be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who, better than a thousand mentors, will lead you on the unlost path of salvation and give you spiritual knowledge that no human wisdom can impart.” This was not the only vision of St. Pachomius: he was granted them more than once. It happened that the enemy approached with his dark charms, but St. Pachomius had very true spiritual feelings, trained in distinguishing between good and evil. An evil spirit once attempted to deceive St. Pachomius, and appeared to him when he was busy in solitude with the work of matting, saying that he was Christ. But St. Pachomius immediately determined who this one appeared by the impression he made on the soul. “The presence of Christ the Lord,” he said to himself, “is accompanied by peace; looking at Him infuses joy and is free from all fear; He drives out earthly thoughts and ignites the desire for the eternal; Now my mind is indignant and troubled by various low earthly thoughts.” - Why, having protected himself with the sign of the cross, he said to the one who appeared: “Get away, seducing spirit, cursed, with your ghosts and intrigues, there is no place for you with the servants of God.” Having said this, he blew on it, and it instantly disappeared, leaving behind a terrible stench. Another time, he appeared to him in the form of a mere mortal, and directly announced who he was. They had a long conversation. The demon, by the way, said St. Abba, that he was allowed to tempt him and his disciples, but that to his sorrow he sees that instead of success in his own favor, he only brings crowns to the brethren through the struggle with the temptations to which he exposes them; that, however, he hopes that after the death of the elder they will probably fall into his snare more often, without being supported by his vigilant supervision and instructions over them. He also told him that no matter how weak the demons are, especially after the incarnation of God the Word, which destroyed their dominion, they do not retreat from their work, and manage in every possible way to destroy one of the monks; they follow everyone in order to seduce him with something; As soon as they notice in anyone any attention to their suggestions, they hasten to intensify their efforts in order to completely capture his heart and subordinate him to their power; but if someone, instead of paying attention to their tempting suggestions, immediately rejects them, begins to be more strictly vigilant over himself, remaining firm in the fulfillment of all statutory orders, then they leave him and run away. Having heard this, St. Pachomius took a deep breath and said to the evil spirit in a firm voice: “The Lord forbid you! and he disappeared." It was at night. In the morning, he called his most important disciples and told them what he had heard, so that they would pass this on to others - and so that everyone would increase their attention to themselves. Then he wrote about this to all the abbots, urging them to arm themselves especially with the fear of God and humility. With this we will limit the extract from the biography of St. Pachomius, believing that all this is very enough to know in what spirit he acted and what he directed everyone towards both with his words and his institutions. Ave. Pachomius possessed many gifts of the Holy Spirit - the gift of insight into innermost thoughts, the gift of visions, power over spirits, and the power to heal all kinds of illnesses. The power of his prayers was especially great. And the Lord always listened to the requests of His servant. St. Pachomius died in 348, in the 57th year of his life, two years before the death of St. Anthony. Some kind of epidemic came into that area and first took some of his best students, and then he himself. Before his death, which he foresaw, he summoned all the abbots of the monasteries, and having given them the last testamentary instructions, he appointed Petronius as his successor. “Then he rested in peace, in spiritual joy, which was reflected on his face. – From the writings of St. Pachomius, in addition to the charter, his letters to the abbots, written in a special language, have been preserved. – Both are translated as blessed. Jerome. Patr. Lat. T. 23. The letters are in many ways incomprehensible: why won’t we touch on them? Let us present the charter in an overview, arranging the points so that one can clearly see the entire structure of the monastic community established by St. Pachomius. Let us also add his brief instructions to this. The charter, as I notice, did not originate from St. Pachomius in all points. There are points of Orsisiyev, there is - Theodore the Sanctified. Why in some lists it was entitled: the rules of the three great elders. So it is necessary to preface him with a short story about the life of these latter. This is all the more necessary since, on the one hand, the manner of their action explains some points of the charter, and on the other hand, in the legends about their deeds, the legend about the deeds of Pachomius the Great continues. The successor of St. Pachomius was Petronius, a man truly worthy of such an election. Few legends about him have survived; but what has been preserved is enough to give a high concept of it. The warmth of his faith and the zeal with which he devoted himself to the strict life of monasticism influenced his family and the whole house. Soon the father, brothers and servants followed his example, devoting themselves to serving God in the monasteries of St. Pachomius, and the sisters entered the nunnery, which was ruled by the sister of St. Pachomius. Father Petronius Psenebius gave all his property to the monastery; including Phoebeya - a very convenient area for the monastery. Ave. Pachomius arranged it there. This entire large family, or this entire crowded house, remained faithful to the vow to the end, presenting everyone with an example of strict monasticism and holy Christian life. As for Petronius, he was distinguished by extreme humility in his interactions with others, great prudence in his behavior and keen-sighted prudence in all his affairs. He never cut himself any slack, even despite his illnesses, and was always equally attentive to himself. Particularly noticeable in him was his compassionate condescension towards the infirmities of others. These qualities made him worthy of the fact that St. Pachomius entrusted him with the leadership of the Tismon monastery, and then the leadership of all the monasteries. But he lived after St. Pachomius for only thirteen days and died from the same epidemic that also took St. Pachomius, appointing, at the request of the abbots, his successor in leadership of the monasteries of Orsisius. Orsisius, a fiery spirit, was not one of the first disciples of St. Pachomius, but under the influence of the instructions and example of St. Pachomius, he soon succeeded in spiritual life, and the traits of severity towards himself, humility towards others, and compassion for the weak that emerged in his character indicated in him a person capable of insisting. Ave. Pachomius entrusted him with the monastery of Shenobosk. Some elders, amazed at this, said that he was still young; but St. Pachomius said to this that Orsisius showed such success in spiritual life that they make him a golden lamp, shining brightly in the house of the Lord. He was there when Petronius appointed him as his successor. This appointment was accepted by everyone with joy, except himself. With tears, he asked not to place this burden on him, which he considered beyond his strength; but they did not listen to his words, and they did not look at his tears; why, even against his will, he had to bend his neck under this yoke. As he became completely accustomed to the way of actions of St. Pachomius, he conformed to him in everything; so that the great Abba seemed to come to life in him again, in his cordiality towards everyone, in his living zeal for the general progress in spiritual life, in his vigilance over everyone, in strict observance of the rules and especially in his frequent visits to monasteries. He did not have the gift of speaking about spiritual things as St. Pachomius used to say; but nevertheless he knew how to explain what was needed with parables and comparisons, which were listened to with attention and edification. “You are not unaware,” he once said, “with what deep knowledge of the Divine Scriptures our Holy Father used to speak to us about heavenly things. But it seems to me, as far as my feeble mind can understand, that there is no benefit in hearing wonderful instructions if we do not carefully preserve them in memory and often think about them in our minds; because without this they will fall out of our soul, and the enemy, noticing that our soul has become empty of good thoughts stimulating, finds in this a favorable moment to instill his evil thoughts and incline to inappropriate deeds.” “Here, too, it happens like when someone, while preparing a lamp properly, does not bother to pour oil into it. It would be in vain for him to light it; it would go out immediately, leaving him in the same darkness. Sometimes something even worse happens: a mouse runs up and, seeing that the lamp is not burning, begins to gnaw at it; then with his weight he knocks the lamp itself to the ground and breaks it into pieces if it is made of fragile and brittle material. But if it is made of solid material, then it can be put back in its place, seasoned and illuminated. The same thing happens to a soul that neglects its salvation. Cooling and laziness gradually diminish the heat of holy zeal in the soul, so that finally almost nothing remains of the warmth and spiritual burning in the heart. Then the enemy hastens to completely suppress it, creating a lack of taste for all holy activities and creating a repulsive burden with them. But if this soul had taken care, before cooling down, to protect itself in the labors of pleasing God, as if by some spiritual strength, fear of offending God, who is so merciful to us, then in the hour of temptation this would certainly come to her heart and save her from dangerous cooling. Even if, however, she relaxes through oblivion, but if she is imbued with the fear of the bitter eternal fate of those who insult God, then the memory of this will always strongly sober her up again and return her to a state of excited zeal for pleasing God, from which she fell due to laziness.” This is how he instructed the brethren, bringing spiritual things closer to their concepts through comparisons. But then God strengthened his gift of knowledge, and he conveniently explained the most difficult passages of Scripture, drawing from it, when necessary, both edification and consolation with a strong and effective word. The primary subject of his conversations, however, was the conviction to be faithful to the orders of external and internal life, which were established in all monasteries by St. Pachomius, and to always obey the abbots in everything. When St. Athanasius returned to his throne with glory, Orsisius sent some brethren to him with greetings and information about the changes that followed the death of St. Pachomius. At the head of these brethren was Zacchaeus, the chief steward of all the monasteries. Having learned that St. Anthony, when they passed through those areas, was on the outer mountain, they hastened to take advantage of this very favorable opportunity to see this great elder and receive a blessing from him. Ave. Anthony, as soon as he learned that they were approaching him, immediately stood up from the place where he was sitting, and despite his 98 years of age, came out to meet them with an expression of great joy, wanting to quickly find out about St. Pachomius. They responded to this with only tears, which made it clear to everyone that their great Abba was no longer alive. Ave. Anthony tried to console them, giving great praise to their Holy Father and urging them, instead of crying, to embrace Pachomius’ zeal and try with all their might to follow in his footsteps to spiritual perfection. He asked them later who took the place of Ave. Pachomius. They replied that the holy Abba appointed Petronius as his successor, but he died a few days later and, dying, chose Orsisius in his place, who now rules all the monasteries. Ave. Anthony already knew Orsisius, whether good fame about him had reached him in the usual way, or whether God had revealed him about him, why he told them: “Do not call him Orsisius, but call him an Israelite. And how do you go to the Archpastor, St. Athanasius, then tell him from me: Anthony asks you to take care of the spiritual children of Israel. Moreover, he handed them letters of recommendation to the great Saint and, having blessed them, released them.” Ave. Anthony and his closest disciples called those whose mental vision opened as Israelites. The Israelite, they said, is a mind that sees God. St. Athanasius received the ambassadors of Orsisius with great attention and showed them complete fatherly love. And he did this not only because he received letters of recommendation from St. Anthony, but also because he himself took full part in the Tabennisiots and took every care that the rite of monasticism, established by St. Pachomius, remained in force and the monasteries he established flourished in spiritual life. Orsisius, for his part, used all his efforts to achieve this. And indeed, the entire brotherhood was in the same reverence and unanimity in which St. Pachomius left it. Many elders, disciples of St. Pachomius, who were spared by the plague, provided no small support to him. But as many of them were gone, and, moreover, those closest to him, in many places the old spirit began to weaken, and it was hard for Orsisius, to his regret, to see such a diminution of the true monastic spirit. Here and there the desire to separate from others and manage independently began to break through. The spirit of peace blew in and threatened to disrupt general peace and harmony. Noticing this, this is what Orsisius said in one of his general interviews: “I notice,” he said, “that some of you are seeking official positions in the monasteries. This did not happen during the lifetime of your Father of blessed memory. Then no one sought any other advantage than to surpass others in humility and obedience for fear of being last in the Kingdom of Heaven. You yourself know how difficult it was for me to decide to succeed Petronius when he appointed me to his place, knowing how great the misfortune is to take on the yoke of guiding the soul and not bear it as it should. I had to submit to the award of all the saints. elders. And in this Moses, the first of the Prophets, set an example for us. And he, when the Lord appointed him to be the leader of the people, refused this and begged to be dismissed from such service; but then he humbly submitted, not out of ambition, but for fear of angering God. “As for us, my brothers, can we heartily heed the saying of the Savior of the world: be exalted, humble yourself, and nourish ambitious intentions in your heart? Or do we not know that not everyone is given the gift of ruling others worthily, and that this belongs only to those who are superior to others due to the superiority of their virtue? Pay attention to the following parable: if the brick is not baked properly, then when they put it in the foundation of a building being built on the bank of a river, the water will wash it away in a few days, and the building will be in danger; but if it is well burned, then, on the contrary, it will become even stronger. In the same way, those whose spirit and heart are still earthly, and who, let’s say, have not yet been burned through the Divine fire, cannot sustain themselves as they should, having been laid as the foundation of monastic orders in the monastery; great difficulties and temptations from the spirit of this world lead them astray, and everything in them falls into disarray in what they undertook to maintain order. Therefore, it is impossible to adequately praise those who, not realizing in themselves enough strength to bear the burden of government, refuse to take it upon themselves, out of fear of exposing themselves to great danger and exposing the governed themselves to danger. Only those who are strong in faith cannot be shaken by anything; they maintain themselves true to their calling in the most difficult circumstances.” Orsisius only hinted at the beginnings of ambitious plans among some individuals, but they were not yet revealed, but were hidden. The purpose of such a speech was to bring such people to their senses and bring them to their senses. Evil, however, is not stopped by this; soon it pushed its way out and caused a lot of disturbance in all the monasteries. The reason for this was the excessively increased number of brethren. This increase made it necessary to increase the methods of maintenance, acquire land and use other means for this purpose. But concern for the temporal, taken beyond what was due and taken too much to heart, naturally weakened the attention to the timeless in those in charge of administrative affairs and tied them with ties of attachment to the earth, from which the heart had already been renounced with such difficulty. Hence the decline of the monastic spirit and the weakening of the monastic deanery. This was started by a certain Apollonius, abbot of Moncos. The law approved by St. Pachomius required that in all monasteries everything should be common and not one of them should consider anything exclusively his own, and Apollonius decided to make acquisitions specifically for his monastery, and, moreover, unnecessary ones. Orsisius, who was responsible for ensuring that no one started anything new against the rules established by Ave. Pachomius, lovingly reminded him of the illegality of his enterprises, and when this did not help, he strictly convicted him of the error he had committed. But Apollonius, instead of correcting himself, became irritated and, prompted by an evil spirit who boasted to St. Pachomius that he would introduce disorder into the brotherhood after his death, he decided to separate from the others and make his monastery a monastery independent of the general administration. His evil example found imitators. Relying on him, others allowed themselves similar attempts, and confusion became general. No matter how hard Orsisius tried to stop the evil, he was not successful, due to the stubbornness and hardening of the hearts of the ambitious initiators and continuers of such evil. In this extreme, he came to the idea of ​​either leaving government altogether, or accepting someone as a co-ruler, someone who would be able to bring good peace to the brotherhood of trust that everyone could have in his advice. But who could point this out correctly, if not the finger of God? – Orsisius therefore turned to prayer. Retiring to one secluded place, he gave complete freedom to the outpouring of his heart before God, with copious tears and sighs. In his prayer, he cried out to the Lord like this: “Weigh you, Lord, as your servant Petronius, dying, laid on me the yoke of governing our brotherhood; but behold, with the exception of a certain part of the brethren who remain faithful to the charter of our Father Pachomius, others do not want to listen to my words and prefer to follow the wishes of their hearts. I cannot see this confusion that has begun in the monasteries without being struck by deep sorrow; especially since I don’t realize that I myself gave any reason for this; on the contrary, I used all possible efforts to keep everyone in peace and unanimity. I am sick, my God, not only about that monastery where evil has already been revealed, but it is penetrating into other monasteries, and I am afraid that, finally, everything will be upset and there will be no trace left of that good unity that one unanimous brotherhood made of all our monasteries. In this extremity, not having the strength to keep everyone in the same order, I beg You, Lord, to show me a person full of firmness and courage who could heal the incipient illness, and I will offer him to the brothers as a common leader, so that I will not be guilty of the destruction of their souls, which, it seems to me, is inevitable without this.” That same night, God allowed him to know His will through a mysterious dream, the meaning of which was not difficult for him to understand. He saw two beds, equally beautiful and expensive; but one of them was old and second-hand, and the other was completely new. At the same time, he heard the following words: lie down and rest on a new bed. Having awakened from sleep and reasoning about his vision, he realized that this new bed was none other than Theodore, the favorite student of St. Pachomius. This thought eased his grief, and he relied on it all the more willingly because he himself sincerely loved Theodore, and was confident that he possessed all the qualities that could make him worthy of being the leader of everyone, especially in that humility, which he had always distinguished before. In the morning, he hastened to call all the abbots to him, with the exception of Theodore, and when they gathered, he told them: “You are not unaware of the disorder that has entered our brotherhood. I endured this for quite some time, in the hope that after the storm there would finally be silence; but my expectation was not justified, the world is not returning, and the disorder, on the contrary, is growing and growing. I present to you that I cannot bear so many worries alone, and I am sure that you will not force me to do so. I believe that in the present circumstances, no one can handle matters as well as Theodore, who for a long time acquired the general respect of everyone and enjoyed the special favor and trust of St. Our Father." This choice was accepted by everyone with pleasure and joy: for everyone had long had complete confidence in Theodore. They immediately sent for him to publicly recognize him as the chief Abba over all. While they were waiting for him, Orsisius quietly retired to his monastery - Shenobosk, from where, however, he was immediately forced to return, because Theodore resolutely refused to take his place until he himself told him about it. Returning, he convinced Theodore to take over general management, and again went to Shenobosk, quite pleased with the fact that he had laid aside the burden that was weighing him down. From Chenobosk, however, some time later he moved to Moncos, partly to show that he had no displeasure with the instigators of evil, partly to more fully enjoy the advantages of a serene life, without holding any position. But Theodore did not see things that way. He did not consider himself in charge, but as a secondary one in the administration, and although Moncos was still further away from Pabo, where he settled down to live, than Shenobosc, he was not lazy to go there often in order to use Orsisius’s advice in all matters. This is not enough; he persuaded him to go live in Pabo in order to conduct spiritual conversations with the brethren; He also asked to visit monasteries, and generally did not want to be anything other than an assistant to Orsisius. That is why at all times there was the closest unity between them, for the consolation and edification of all the brethren. They were both equally highly valued and St. Athanasius, who called them two pillars of monasticism according to the rite of St. Pachomius, so precious to him, and expressed a desire; so that they do not leave control, finding it very saving for the brotherhood. And indeed, by their vigilance and strict observation of the fulfillment of the established orders, they kept the entire brotherhood in their order, and spiritual life flourished in it no less than in the beginning. Of course, there were cases of failure and disobedience, which caused sensitive grief to both Orsisius and Theodore, but they did not disrupt the general good flow of affairs. This blessed time, however, was interrupted by the death of St. Theodore, which extremely upset the blessed one. Orsisia and all the brotherhood. Orsisius, out of his deep humility, considering St. Theodore more capable of managing the affairs of the monasteries, wished to die in his place when he saw that his illness was no longer leading to death, and earnestly prayed to the Lord for this with many tears; but was forestalled in this by St. Theodore, who had long been bothering him about this in prayers at the tomb of St. Pachomius, and God heard his prayer. Thus, control again fell with all its weight on Orsisius. The Lord consoled him in this sorrow, on the one hand, with the attention of St. Athanasius, who wrote on this occasion both to him and to the whole brotherhood consoling and exhorting messages (See his works, volume 3), and especially because he gave him a deeper understanding of the Divine Scripture, which gave special power to his word. Thus, strengthened by God's grace, he had the consolation for a long time to keep all the monasteries in blissful peace, to the general consolation and edification of all. They believe that blessed. Orsisius and St. Theodore added some points to the charter of St. Pachomius, which they considered necessary, judging by the circumstances of the time, although it is impossible to indicate which ones. Under them, orders were finally established and all the accidents that gave rise to this or that decision were determined by the rules. Subsequent leaders used what they received from them. Why was the entire charter of St. Pachomius, translated by Blessed Jerome, entitled: the charter of the three great elders. But blessed. Orsisius also left behind a special scripture about the worthy way of monastic life. Approaching death, he wrote to the brethren, as it were, a kind of spiritual testament, in which he depicted the laws of spiritual life, its goals and means, aids for its proper passage and the obstacles encountered in it at every step. This is a small sketch of asceticism in relation to the orders that St. Pachomius introduced. We will append this scripture here after the charter, which is explained by it in some points. Some clauses of the charter are read here word for word. Let us add to it another small scripture, blessed. Orsisiya about six good thoughts. Both are included in the publication. Migne, in 40 volumes of Greek Patrology. His first writing is blessed. Orsisius concluded with the words of St. Paul: “For I am eaten, and the time of my departure is come” (2 Tim. 4:6). He died, it is believed, in 380, having ruled the entire brotherhood of St. Pachomius for twelve years and one and 20 years together with St. Theodore. The Church commemorates him along with all those who labored on Cheese Saturday. 3) Life of St. Theodore the Consecrated Ave. Theodore came from rich and noble parents in the Latopol region in the upper Thebaid. But his parents' worldly advantages did not blind him; From childhood he had unearthly affections. Where the aspiration of his heart was directed was especially revealed at one time, on the feast of the Epiphany, which was celebrated in his house with special solemnity. Seeing the rich preparations on this day, he said to himself with tears: “Oh, Theodore! What will it serve you if even you became the owner of the whole world and had in your hands all the ways to enjoy all its joys, and after death had the misfortune of being deprived of the enjoyment of the eternal blessings of heaven? It is impossible for both to be together: but if there is joy here, then there is torment; or there is bliss, if there is sorrow and deprivation.” Having said this, he retired to one more distant room of the house and there, prostrated on the ground, he poured out his soul in prayer before God. Expressing what was in his soul, he prayed: “I desire nothing, my Lord, of everything that is in this world. I desire You alone, and that I may always be in Your favor. I pray to You, Master, guide me on Your path, so that I may always do Your will and abide in Your love.” His mother found him here and invited him to the general fun, but he begged her to leave him alone and remained in this prayerful and God-thought mood for the rest of that day. He was eleven or twelve years old then. Despite, however, such youth, he began to lead a strict life, did not eat meat, and took lean food only once a day, little by little, and sometimes every other day. But this did not stop him from going to school and learning, as usual, human wisdom. This went on for two years. Then, no longer having the strength to restrain the aspirations of his spirit, he, with the blessing of his parents, or secretly, retired to one of the Latopol monasteries, whose monks were famous for their high life, and under their guidance he began to make his first experiments in monastic asceticism. These monks had such an order that they each spent the day in special solitude, and in the evening they all gathered in one place, performed prayers and had a mutual conversation about soul-saving subjects. On one of these evenings the conversation turned to St. Pachomius and the monastic orders he had established, which were treated with great praise. From this, Theodore became eager to see St. Pachomius and live under his leadership, and he began to pray to the Lord for the fulfillment of this desire. It happened by God's dispensation that at the same time Elder Pecusius, a disciple of St. Pachomius, who had been sent by him to Latopolis on business, came into the monastery. Theodore begged to take him with him; and thus he soon saw the fulfillment of his desire: for which he sent warm thanks to the all-merciful Lord. Ave. Pachomius had notification from above about the arrival of Theodore, and received him with fatherly love. Theodore, for his part, seeing himself surrounded by such zealots for spiritual advancement, burned in spirit to imitate them, and if not to be equal to them, at least not to differ too sharply from them in his imperfection. He was especially zealous to cultivate three virtues in himself at the beginning: purity of heart, silence of the mouth, and prompt and sincere obedience. He faithfully followed all the established orders and diligently went through all the activities that were required as a condition for success in spiritual life, and was especially tireless in vigils and prayers. That is why he soon made great progress in his spiritual life, and despite his youth, he was able to give saving advice to elders and console his brothers who were in grief due to some occasion. - Seeing this, St. Pahomius rejoiced in spirit and loved Theodore even more, foreseeing that in time he would be his successor in the management of the brotherhood. The mother, who had lost sight of Theodore, having heard that he was asceticizing in the Tavennisiot monastery, came to see him, and if possible, take him closer to her - for success, she stocked up on letters to St. Pachomius from the local bishop. She stayed at the hotel of the convent, which was on the other side of the Nile, and from there she sent letters to St. Pachomius from the bishop, asking him, on his part, to give her the opportunity to see her son. Ave. Pachomius called Theodore and said to him: your mother is here and wants to see you. Go to her and satisfy her desire, especially since the bishop writes about the same thing, whose word must be respected. Ave. Theodore, who had already died to all natural feelings, answered St. Abba with humility: “I ask you, my father, assure me in advance that I will not give an answer on the day of judgment for the fact that after such firstfruits of monasticism, which are the fruit of God’s grace, I will go to my mother, whom I left at once along with all other worldly addictions, and thereby tempt the brethren. If in the Old Testament the sons of Levi did not hesitate to sacrifice, at the command of the living God, love for their parents and relatives (Deut. 33:9–10; Exod. 32:27–28); Isn’t it all the more true that in the new grace, those who have devoted themselves entirely to the Lord should not put love for their parents above love for the Lord? For He said: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). I am in such a way that there is nothing in the world for me anymore, after I have completely renounced it.” Ave. Pachomius listened with pleasure to this evidence of perfect selflessness in his beloved student, and said to him: “I bless your decisions and intentions; no other way than how a real monk should be disposed. Abide in these feelings and dispositions. I have no doubt that the bishop, having learned about your firm decision, will not only not be offended by it, but will also rejoice, seeing in this a good success in spiritual life. No one will blame you for leaving natural love for your parents in order to love them in the Lord Jesus Christ, as members of the one mystical body of Christ: for flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of Christ." The mother, having learned about her son’s decision that he not only returned home, but also did not want to see her, decided not to return home herself, but to live monastically in a nunnery, saying to herself: if the Lord wills, I will somehow see my son among the Holy Fathers, and I will win my soul for his sake. Thus, the courageous will of the young monk to work exclusively for the One God, not only his soul, but also the soul of his mother, saved her, bringing her into the cramped and regrettable monastic life for God’s sake. This, however, is not the only example of St. Theodore’s detachment from natural feelings. Another opportunity soon presented itself. His brother Paphnutius came, wanting to devote himself to monastic life. Ave. Theodore behaved towards him with such indifference, as if he were a complete stranger to him, which greatly saddened Paphnutius. Ave. Pachomius, fearing that this might plunge Paphnutius into extreme cowardice, told Theodore to be more lenient towards his brother, saying that to be forgiving of the weaknesses of beginners who have not yet completely renounced human feelings is not only a commendable thing, but also obligatory for those who have succeeded more in this matter. Ave. Theodore from then on began to act as the great Abba ordered him. St. Theodore had another brother, an older one, but they had Macarius. And he, following his example, left the world and joined the ranks of the Tabennisiot monks. Ave. Theodore succeeded more and more in spiritual perfection, and even more so in renouncing his own will and in obedience to his great mentor, whom he tried to imitate in all things. If it happened that St. Abba reproached him for what, he never apologized for himself, and accepted the reproof with humble silence, even when he was not at all to blame. When St. Pachomius gave him such orders, the execution of which seemed inappropriate, he never allowed himself to object or provide any explanations for this case, but immediately began to carry out the commandment, saying to himself: God inspired the elder to give me such an order, contrary to my intelligence and my will, in order to quickly and completely kill my selfishness, which makes me so unworthy before God. To this he also added a prayer to God to grant him willing and unthinking obedience, so that no thought would ever arise in him about the inappropriateness of any order of the elder. Such obedience, humble with self-forgetfulness, was all the more valuable in him because he was from a noble family and surpassed everyone there in talents and education. And if he subsequently became the head of the entire brotherhood, then it was not his knowledge or other advantages that elevated him to such a height, but precisely the fact that he knew how to obey unquestioningly in front of all of them. Ave. Pachomius had great hopes for him, and was not afraid to give him various rather difficult assignments, either to console the grieving, or to strengthen the weakening, or to return the rebellious to duty. And he managed to carry out all such assignments to the pleasure of Ava with excellent prudence. The following incident is remarkable: one negligent and rebellious brother, no longer able to tolerate the reproaches that St. Abba made to him, and having no desire to correct himself, decided to flee from the monastery. Blazh. Theodore, having learned about this, pretended that he himself had displeasure with the elder and wanted to flee from the monastery, and said to that brother: you know, brother, the words of this elder are cruel beyond measure, and I don’t know if I can endure here any longer. The brother was delighted, thinking that he had found a like-minded comrade. Then St. Theodore said to him: Let’s stay here a little longer, brother, and if the elder changes towards us and becomes kind, we’ll stay here, and if he’s still angry and furious, we’ll run away from here together. The brother agreed to this and remained in the monastery to wait until both came out together. Meanwhile, St. Theodore told everything to St. Avva. Having approved this measure, St. Pachomius, after a little, called them both, and bowing his head before them, said: forgive me, brothers, I have sinned against you; but you also must, like sincere sons, endure and bear the infirmities of your Father. Seeing such humility of the elder, the brother was touched, recognized his guilt and decided to be in good order in everything, discarding any thought of escaping from the monastery. Ave. Pachomius, finding St. Theodore sufficiently established in life according to God and wise in the conduct of external affairs entrusted to him, finally decided to entrust him with the leadership of the brothers. He made him the Abbas of the Tabennisiot monastery, while he himself had long lived in Pabo, which became the seat of the main Abbas. Ave. Theodore was then about thirty years old. Despite such youth, however, in addition to managing a special monastery, St. Pachomius often entrusted him with visiting all other monasteries with the right to make orders in them that he found necessary, and to carry out these orders as if St. Pachomius himself had personally made them. The monastery was previously notified about this by St. Pachomius himself. Ave. Theodore, however, despite all the fact that he was also the Abba of a special monastery and was the auditor of all other monasteries, did not get inflated with it at all, but on the contrary, deepened his humility, looking at his positions as a burden of obligatory obedience to the Abba and service to the brethren, in the form of promoting their spiritual progress. And in his monastery he behaved as if he had no power, but was everyone’s servant: so he was dead to himself. In spirit he abided in God, in prayerful, love-warmed communion with Him: therefore, serving his brothers, he served as God, tirelessly caring for their spiritual needs and bodily needs. In the first respect, God endowed him with the gift of speech, which produced wonderful effects on the souls of those who listened, and in the second, with patience and prudence, with which he easily overcame all the difficulties encountered. Theodore always had sincere reverence for his great Abba, and accepted the word that came from his lips as the word of God. Perhaps it was not so skillful in its external form, but it was always salted with spiritual unction, the taste of which was not unknown to St. Theodore. This is what attracted him to always listen to St. Pachomius. For this purpose, he went to Pabo every day in the evening, when St. Pachomius usually held conversations with his brethren, and returning from there, he conveyed to the brethren of his monastery what he had heard in the conversation before going to bed. The great gift that operated in St. Theodore - to inspire the faint-hearted and console the mourning - was the reason that his visits to the monasteries were received with special joy, trust in him and sincere appeal to him. And in his conversations he revealed more comforting aspects of the promises to those who work in pleasing God than the menacing judgments prepared for those who have become lazy. In one monastery, during a visit to him, a brother was brought to him, accusing him of theft. This brother was not to blame; for the one who was actually guilty, it never occurred to anyone to think that he would do this, because he always inspired a good opinion of himself with his good behavior. But when no one accused him, his conscience gave him no peace. He could no longer bear her reproach, for the time was approaching that because of him an innocent person would have to suffer, which doubled his already considerable guilt. In this extreme, he turned with confidence to St. Theodore, and with sincere repentance revealed his guilt to him. Ave. Theodore, seeing his humble repentance - a guarantee of faithful self-correction, forgave him for his sin; He called his brother, the innocently convicted one, to him and with fatherly love and compassion told him: “I know that you are innocent of what is being accused of you, but bear it complacently. If you are not guilty of this, you are guilty of something else before God. Consider that you had to endure this for the guilt that people did not see, but God saw; and God, seeing your humility, will forgive you all your sins and shower you with a special blessing.” So, without denouncing him, he corrected him and consoled him, without revealing what was wrong. With such prudence and condescension he acted on the brethren. But this did not mean that his character was weak; where the good of good monasticism required, there he was strict and did not look at any human respect; the brothers knew all this. However, despite the fact that he entrusted him with leading others, St. Pachomius did not cease to watch over him himself and more and more confirm him in the principles of a truly spiritual life, not missing a single occasion that gave rise to this. One day, St. Theodore suffered from a very headache and asked St. Pachomius to pray to God that He would deliver him from this illness. Ave. the elder told him: “Be patient; If this suffering had not been useful to you, God would not have allowed it to be in you even without my prayer, for He Himself diligently watches the will of those who do Him. Remember the passions of the Lord and the patience of Job, and you will forget about your illness.” Ave. Theodore was often granted special visions and revelations and always told his reverend Abba about this. Ave. Pachomius never forgot to protect these heavenly favors towards him with such a word that would block the path to his heart to any vain thought. Sometimes he told him: the realm of Divine things is vast; God gives some knowledge of them, and then only to the extent that someone is able to perceive knowledge about them. How poor and weak we are! – Another time he suggested: he who received ten talents brought ten profits. Take this into account and do not allow yourself to be condemned along with those who hid their talent in the ground. Ave. Theodore listened to this with tears, and not with any vanity, but with deep contrition and humility, he was filled in his heart in these cases, which clearly indicated his high spiritual perfection. Here is an incident that showed how vigilantly St. Pachomius watched everything that was happening in the soul of St. Theodore, and with what fatherly tenderness and at the same time severity he hurried to correct any wrong that had crept into his heart. Ave. Pachomius fell ill from illness; this was two more years before his death. His first disciples gathered around him both for possible relief of the illness, and for fear of losing their father without hearing his last words. At this time, being in a special cell, not in front of St. Pachomius, they began to discuss who could more worthy take the place of the great Abba, if God were pleased to take him. Since they were all convinced that no one was as close in spirit to the holy elder as Theodore, they pressed on him, demanding from him a promise that in the event of Abba’s death he would not refuse to take care of the entire brotherhood. Ave. Theodore refused resolutely, despite any insistence; but when this was repeated several times and with more and more force, then he gave in to them and expressed consent to their desire. Those who stole such consent did not think that St. Theodore would do anything bad by giving it; but St. Pachomius, having learned about this, did not approve of him, not because he considered him unworthy, but because he foresaw that at the same time thoughts of vain vanity, to which it had hitherto been alien, slipped into Theodore’s heart. In order to drown out and uproot this evil vegetation, St. Pachomius ordered to call the abbots - Sura, Psentaisius, Paphnutius, Cornelia, and with them Theodore. When they gathered, he invited them to tell him frankly whether anyone saw anything bad in themselves at the present time. To set an example for them, he himself was the first to say what he saw in himself. Imitating him, others spoke, some one thing, some another. The turn has come to Ave. Theodore. The elder asked him if he felt anything reproachful in himself. Ave. Theodore humbly confessed what was in his soul, saying: “It will be seven years from the time you entrusted me with the monastery and ordered me to visit other monasteries and make the necessary orders in them. During all this time, the thought never occurred to me that I would be your successor in leadership of the entire brotherhood; and now I am in this tempting thought and feel that I am not fighting it as much as I should.” Ave. Pachomius said to him: “It’s good that you admit your mistake like that; but I see that you are still very susceptible to the influence of passionate thoughts and I find it necessary for you to remain among the brotherhood as a simple monk in order to have more time to take care of yourself and ask the Lord for forgiveness for your mistake.” With this word, he dismissed him from the leadership. Ave. Theodore left the meeting, imbued with deep heartfelt sorrow, not because he was deprived of power, but because he allowed himself to be carried away by ambitious thoughts and thereby sadden his spiritual father. Having retired to his cell, he indulged in weeping and sighing, fearing that the Lord would not turn His face away from him and finally give him over into the hands of falling, to be tormented by the passions, and through them, to the enemies of our salvation. He spent two years under this penance, until the death of St. Pachomius. During all this time, he repented with such contrition and behaved in such humility that he seemed like one of the newcomers. He cried bitterly and shed copious amounts of tears to the point that they began to fear that it would damage his vision. For this, St. Pachomius, restoring him to his former dignity, said that God had given him the grace to move forward in spiritual perfection at this time seven times more than he had possessed before that time. In his dying days, St. Theodore was inseparably with his Father; and Abba the saint showed him signs of sincere fatherly tenderness. He inspired him with special effort to never forget his weak brothers and to take every possible care of those who weaken in their moral strength and begin to neglect pleasing God. He repeated this suggestion to him up to three times. It was clear that he intended him to be the chief abbot of all the monasteries; However, he was not appointed as his immediate successor, in order to give him time and encouragement to finally establish himself in humility. – As has already been said, he appointed St. Pachomius Petronius as his successor, followed by Orsisius; and Orsisius had already transferred the main command to Ave. Theodore. As is already known, this happened due to the fact that Orsisius, not having enough strength and courage to suppress the evil movement in the monasteries, which was started by the Moncos abbot Apollonius, turned to God with a request to show him a successor who would successfully restore the shaken peace in the brotherhood; and the Lord pointed him to Theodore in a special vision. How all this happened is described in the life of Orsisius. Ave. Theodore was received by the entire brotherhood with an open heart, with complete trust and readiness to listen to him in everything. In his very first word to his brethren, he showed where his efforts would be directed, namely towards restoring common peace and binding everyone together in a single union of love. He represented to them what it cost St. Pachomius to establish the brotherhood, what labors he had undertaken for this, what struggles he had endured against the enemies of our salvation, and how terrible guilt would fall on those who, by their disagreement, would upset this great cause; He also imagined what a blissful state everyone was in under St. Pachomius, convincing them to regain this bliss through fraternal mutual unity and complete renunciation of earthly goods. “Several years have passed since the death of our Father,” he told them, “and where did that good fortune and that sweet peace that we enjoyed under him go? Then we had no other desires than an insatiable thirst to hear the word of the Lord, sweeter than honey and honeycomb, and to be enriched by the knowledge of divine things. We lived in detachment from everything earthly, and our hearts and consciousness were in heaven, not on earth. Just as someone who is chilled to the bone begins to run with all his might and runs until he feels a rush of sweet warmth and is completely warmed up: so, forgetting everything, we too were driven to the honor of the highest calling in Christ Jesus, seeking the One God and thirsting to be warmed by the warmth of His love; and the more we ate of Him, the more we thirsted to eat; and enjoying His presence, they had their minds fixed on Him alone, and had no desire to be entertained by thoughts of anything else. Now, look how deplorable our state of affairs is. Why? Because we have moved away from God, and earthly things have become closer to us than He. But let us come to our senses and return to Him. His infinite goodness will not reject us, but will again change our hearts and return to them His pleasing closeness.” So the monk spoke and was so filled with grief that he could not hold back his tears: everyone who listened cried with him. Soon he went to visit the monasteries, accompanied by some respected brethren, and directed all the wisdom of his words and the warmth of his love to return everyone to unanimity and fraternal union. God blessed his efforts with complete success. Apollonius himself, having separated from the brotherhood with his monastery, returned to it again and submitted to the general order under a single Abba. Thus, good agreement was again established between everyone, and the enemy of souls, who had cast the fire of division into their midst, was put to shame. This way of acting on the brethren with sincere advice and the warmth of love and benevolence of the heart tied everyone to St. Theodore; and everyone turned to him with complete confidence with all their spiritual needs, revealing to him their most secret thoughts and dispositions. For his part, he consoled them, inspired them, strengthened them, armed them against the temptations of the enemy and effectively healed their internal wounds, like an experienced spiritual doctor who knows all the secrets of spiritual life. He was especially patient and treated with wonderful condescension those who made poor use of his advice and remained in their usual carelessness about salvation. He did not cease to exhort them, presenting to excite them the stunning truths of our faith, which can soften the hardest heart; Most of all, he resorted to prayer, believing that the Lord, to Whom the salvation of souls is dear, would not leave such prayer fruitless. He encouraged himself to such concerns with the conviction that if he left this work because of the hardship that must be endured, leading others to themselves and forcing them to correct themselves, then God would demand from him an account of their destruction and the destruction of those who would be carried away by their example. That is why he did not let his eyes slumber, keeping vigil over the souls of everyone and not sparing any effort. “And giving an account for himself,” he said, “who will stand in judgment? What kind of justification can one hope for who must also give an account for others? - And he aggravated his zeal for saving them. Despite all the fact that his management was going very well, he, in his deep humility, did not think that he was correcting his debt as it should, assuring that he was very far from having all the qualities that a real Abba should have. He held such humble thoughts about himself especially because he saw with his own eyes the high example of leadership in his blessed Father Pachomius. This example never left his memory; and when, giving instructions, he wanted to give special weight to his advice, he always cited the virtues and lessons of the Monk Abba, making it clear that it was not he who taught, but the great Father common to all of them who continued to teach. Having become the chief Abba, St. Theodore sent to Alexandria to St. Athanasius of the two brothers, Theophilus and Coprius, with notification of this and with a request for blessing and approval. Returning from there, they brought with them Ammon, a young man of about seventeen, who, as soon as he turned to the faith, wished to enter into monasticism, having listened to one conversation of St. Afanasia about this way of life. Subsequently, this Ammon was a bishop and, at the request of Archbishop Theophilos, he described the acts of St. Theodore the Sanctified, which he himself saw with his own eyes and which he heard about from other eyewitnesses. In the first place he puts how amazed he was at the harmonious order that reigned in the assembly where he was introduced for the first time, despite the large number of brethren; then he talks about various cases when God revealed to St. Theodore the heartfelt secrets of the brethren, for their edification and correction, and about the many healings that he performed for those who resorted to his help, either in his monastery, or at the time when he visited other monasteries. He also tells how St. Theodore, taking with him 40 brethren from the Pabo monastery, where he had a permanent residence, went to one island of the Nile to cut branches for making matting. There he stayed for several days and all the time, as the general prayer rule was fulfilled, he himself conducted the evening interview, as if they were in a monastery. One evening, while he was having a conversation, two small echidnas crawled up to his feet. So as not to interrupt the conversation and not to distract the attention of the brothers with extraneous objects, he arched his foot and, letting the echidnas through, kept them there until he finished the conversation, and then, having already let them in, he ordered them to be beaten. He also says that at Easter, more than one thousand brothers usually gathered to celebrate this great day together. At one time there were two thousand of them. On Wednesday at Easter, St. Theodore, after the usual conversation, sat with them and resolved any confusion that anyone had about various passages of Scripture. Having talked until he was full, he stood up and, dismissing the meeting, said: “It is a great consolation for me to have conversations with you on your issues. From this I conclude that you do not spend your time idle, but give food to your mind by delving into the words of God. Scriptures." Then, adding a few more words, he remarked: “Take care of yourself and, above all, avoid secret eating. This thing seems small; but it is great because it gives entry into the heart to the destroying demon, who, after this little, will not hesitate to teach even more.” Before he had time to finish these words, one brother came up to him and confessed his sin. But St. Abba hastened to cover his face with his robe so that it would not be obvious to everyone and, seeing his repentance, he let him go with the suggestion to watch out for the rest. Another time, he says, some of the brothers sent to chop wood for the monastery, having moved away somewhat from the others, indulged in jokes and laughter while working. During prayer, God revealed to St. Theodore about their offense and in the next conversation after their return, he said in the general meeting: “It is not unknown to you, my brothers, that those who take a vow of monastic life must behave more strictly and holy than other people. Their life should be more angelic than human. Having renounced the world and rejected themselves, they must live only for Him who died and rose again for their sake, crucifying themselves with Him by will. Such is the spirit of our rank. It was for this purpose that we left our parents and united here into one fraternal society. We must therefore look to Christ the Lord as our example, so that in everything we can conform our lives to His life. He is the path for us that we must walk steadily. We must also hold the conviction that the merciful God gave us the Divine Scripture not only to confirm in faith and life by faith those who wished to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, but also so that those confirmed in both set an example for others, and all, in mutual edification, successfully flow towards the perfection destined for them. But, to my great regret, some of us, who walked well, began to trouble the soles of our feet and take wrong steps. Four of those brothers who were sent to chop wood, moving away from others, indulged in laughter, jokes and all sorts of idle talk, not realizing that by doing this they were offending the Holy Spirit in their souls. He revealed their sin to me, so that I would expose them, and so that, after hearing my accusation, they would come to their senses and, repenting, hasten to cleanse their sin. Don’t they know what the prophet Jeremiah says: “They sat down not in the company of them that played, but were afraid at the presence of Thy hand: they sat down alone, for they were filled with sorrows” (Jer. 15:17)? Or have they forgotten what Job said: “Let all evil be brought upon my head, even if we walk with mockers” ( Job 31:5 )? Don’t they know that God punishes small sins in His servants no less than big ones in order to more accurately secure their salvation? Have you not read what Solomon says: “Like the voice of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools” (Eccl. 7:7)? And in another place: “I laugh: sin” (Eccl. 2:2)? And again: “fury is better than laughter” (Eccl. 7:4)? So, my brethren, I beg you to be more attentive to yourselves and take advantage of the lesson of the Apostle, who says: “Let your laughter be turned into weeping, and your joy into mourning” (James 4:9), out of fear lest you fall into the terrible sentence pronounced by the Savior on those who laugh: “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25). Self-willingly condemn yourself to repentance, indulge in crying and sighing with your own will - and this will save you from the tears that you will be forced to shed uselessly in another life. Place yourself in the presence of the Lord, and with heartfelt sincerity tell Him with the Prophet: “I will declare (I acknowledge) my iniquity, and I will take care of my sin” (Ps. 37:19). St. Theodore gave such saving advice to those four brothers. They did not stand together in the meeting; but, as if moved by one spirit, they went out onto Wednesday, fell on their faces, repented in tears and asked for prayers for themselves from both Abba and all the brothers. This correction confirmed them forever in good rules, and brought impressionable edification to the entire brotherhood. There was another similar case, but not with the same consequences. Brother Moses, often corrected, remained in his usual fault. One day, St. Theodore sent him, along with other brethren, to a certain island of the Nile to collect herbs that were salted for the brethren’s table; but at the end of the fifth day he sent for him to go quickly to the monastery. He replied that he would come with the others when they finished work, but was forced to submit. When he returned, St. Abba was at that time with Psentaisius and Isidore and was very sad about this brother. Seeing him, he said to him: “It would be easier for me, my brother, if they told me that you died in your body, rather than knowing that you are dying in your soul. Didn’t I explain to you, didn’t I convince you so many times in your cell to give up the evil thoughts that you are used to spinning in your mind? You always told me that these were all enemy suggestions. But didn’t I tell you that you yourself invite the enemy to yourself by the corruption of your heart and you yourself surrender to him before he approaches you with temptations. And now I see that he has now completely taken possession of you.” Moses, due to his persistence in evil, began to justify himself and cover up his sin, but St. Theodore definitely pointed out to him the time and place where and when he indulged in his evil thoughts and his kindness; and how he still wanted to blame the enemy, he said to him: “Until now, God has spared you and did not allow the evil demon to enter your body to torment you; but since you yourself gave him a place in yourself, then finally such a punishment was awarded to you. From now on you will no longer be in the monastery, I must drive you out of here.” After this, he ordered four brothers, who were stronger, to take him out of the monastery and take him to the nearest village. But as soon as he left the monastery gates, the demon took possession of him, and these four brothers could hardly bring him to the village, tying him tightly with ropes. The grief over the death of this brother was soon rewarded with the joy of a good end and the undoubted salvation of the other. Ave. Theodore sat with his brothers one day. Suddenly his face shone with joy, and he said: “Rejoice, my brothers! God showed great mercy to our brother Kasur, who is in the Ptolemaidan monastery. His soul was released from the bonds of the flesh and taken to heaven to eternally enjoy the sweets of heaven. This is to him not only because he was always firm in the faith, but because with purity of heart he adorned himself with all other virtues. If I sometimes had to make some comments to him on the occasion of his minor mistakes, then God cleared them up with the sorrows that he sometimes endured, and especially with his near-death illnesses.” These mistakes, which St. Theodore mentions here, were his lack of vigor and laziness during night prayers. One day, at the ninth hour, having gathered all the brothers, St. Theodore said to them: “God inspired me to announce to you that whoever truly believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and sincerely worships Him, his sins committed after baptism are forgiven if he sincerely repents of them and does not return to them again. All your sins have been forgiven: now strive to remain faithful to the commandments of the Lord.” “He had only finished this conversation when Theophilus and Coprius arrived, sent to Alexandria on monastery business for the second time. They visited St. Anthony and brought a letter from him to St. Theodore. Having read it to himself, Rev. Abba ordered to read it aloud to everyone. It contained the same thing that he had just told the brothers, namely, that those who fall after baptism are not deprived of the hope of pardon if they sincerely repent and do not return to their previous sins. - One must assume that rumors about this circulated among the monks, inspired by heretics. Ammon tells about many other revelations from above to St. Theodore, which he heard about from Auzonius and Elurion. By the way, he conveys the word of Theodore himself about such visions and revelations, which has an application at all times, no matter how meager it is in the gifts of God. “It is necessary,” he said, to have great caution in this regard and, most of all, to be wary of thinking about yourself more than how much you have. God gives revelations, man himself remains nothing. Likewise, any desire for revelation must be suppressed. To whom to reveal and what to reveal is God’s work. It is completely inappropriate for us to interfere with our own desires in this matter. And how many experiences we have that such a desire has always existed and is the precursor to seduction. The enemy seduces him, and when he has time to inflame and captivate him, he will also have time to deceive him with false visions and revelations. Therefore, those who are worthy of this gift, as well as those who do not have it, must equally nurture deeply humble feelings about themselves; and ask the Lord one thing with fear, that by His grace He will deliver us from eternal torment. This is what all the saints of God did: David prays: “Keep my soul and deliver me” (Ps. 24:20). St. Paul says about himself: “I prayed and was delivered from the mouth of lions” (2 Tim. 4:17); this is that roaring lion who seeks to devour our souls. In truth, we are dealing with a cunning and malicious enemy, who often leads us astray, covering up lies and evil with the phantoms of truth and goodness. And one must have a special gift of spiritual reasoning, or all-consuming thoughts, so as not to fall into its network. But since this gift is not universal, we are given another rule, accessible to everyone, for determining the truth: when you submit to God, submit to His Saints. Take into account, my brethren, that our Lord and Savior, having appeared on earth and lived with men, did not deign Himself to proclaim His truth to the whole world with His face, but ascended into heaven, and instead of Himself, He left the Apostles as preachers of the truth, sending down upon them the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of truth. They carried the truth of God to all the borders of the earth and left their successors, the bishops, as its guardians in the Church. Now, whoever wants to know the voice of the Lord Savior, listen to St. The Church, as she says through the mouth of her shepherds, and you will not be lost in the truth. This is true in relation to truth in general, and in relation to truth in particular cases. What is put into your mind, tell the shepherds, and they will decide whether it is the truth or a covered up lie; and you will never fall into the enemy’s snare.” In proportion to his great gifts, St. Theodore was great in humility. How sincerely he attributed everything to the mercy of God, without attributing anything to himself, can be seen from the fact that he often spoke about his temptations and attacks from the enemy, who did not give him peace, and about his fears of falling, offending God and being rejected from Him. “If,” he said, “Angels fell, if there were falls between the Prophets, Apostles, and disciples of St. Paul, how can we not be afraid of falling, we who are weak and have nothing good?” To this he once added a lengthy speech in general about the dangers of this life, about the fear and prudence with which we should spend our lives. “Imagine,” he said, “a mountain rising to the clouds and stretching from east to west, and at the top of this mountain a path several spans long, surrounded on both sides by terrible abysses. This is an image of the path that a person takes, born of water and the Spirit in the Holy Spirit. Baptism and entered into monastic life, under the sign of the Cross of the Lord. Do you think that he, when he clearly sees both the narrowness of the path and the depth of the abysses ready to swallow him if he takes just the slightest wrong step, can he not be in a feeling of fear and fear for his life the entire time he flows along this path? “I’ll tell you straight that the chasms on the left side are vicious inclinations and passions, especially carnal ones, and the chasms on the right side are movements of vanity and conceit that attack people who do good and have some kind of perfection. We must go through these temptations, not in the least inclined to one side or the other, but always strictly keeping to the middle, armed with the saving fear of the Lord. Acting in this way, they finally reach that blessed abode where our Savior awaits, surrounded by an innumerable multitude of holy, incorporeal heavenly powers, with the valuable crowns that He has prepared for all who faithfully walk the straight road to the Kingdom of Heaven. “Perhaps someone will say that, judging by this comparison, if anyone stumbles at least once in his procession, allowing himself to be carried away by some passion, he falls into the abyss of destruction, from where he has no return. No, that’s not my thought. On the contrary, if someone, having repented with true contrition, enters the path of faith and commandments, if he sometimes happens to weaken and diminish in his former zeal, so that he is in danger of little by little falling into the abyss, God, in His mercy, takes him away from the edge of the abyss and places him in the middle of the path, so that he can walk again faithfully. He sometimes does this through His invisible suggestions, imprinted on their hearts and consciences, sometimes through illnesses and sorrows, sometimes through meetings with saints or sinners, of whom the former, by their example and word, restore in him a beautiful image of virtue and force him to cleave to Him whole-heartedly, and the latter, with their ugliness, arouse disgust for sin and everything sinful. God never forgets the work of faith and love, and only you yourself do not arbitrarily surrender yourself into the hands of your fall, and He will find a way to your heart in order to sober it up and again ignite in it the fire of zeal for holiness and purity. And the fallen rise. Only those who do not want to get up remain in the fall.” After this, St. Abba introduced them to the salvation of not giving in to passions, but on the contrary, courageously entering into the struggle against them, exercising oneself in the opposite virtues, and in order to further inspire them, he recalled the words of the great Pachomius. “I want to remind you of one technique in wrestling, which was often instilled in us by our venerable Father. Precisely, whoever wants to overcome some kind of passion in himself, anger for example, let him, when it happens to him, let’s say, to meet ridicule from someone, instead of becoming irritated and angry from this, say to himself: good, good, - here comes the opportunity for me to acquire a silver coin in my favor - and with this word, let him strain to suppress the rebellious movements of anger. If he does this, the coin is acquired. If any nonsense is added to the ridicule, then let him say within himself: here comes an opportunity for even greater profit; Don’t let it go by without using it properly. “There is no doubt that whoever acts this way in all cases that arouse anger will finally reach the point where his anger is completely tamed. We are angry because we do not consider whether it is worth being angry, and we do not realize that by being angry, we suffer losses and do harm to ourselves, and by suppressing anger, we gain and avoid harm from the actual anger of what is happening. Being angry means that we are still flesh, and that everything to which our heart lies is flesh.” In order to incite them to resist anger with greater zeal, he presented them with examples of martyrs who not only courageously endured all kinds of torment, but desired even greater ones, and in the most unbearable sufferings prayed for their tormentors. Finally, he concluded his speech with the following many edifying words: “Tell me, I ask you, what have we done that could in any way be compared with the wondrous inheritance that the merciful Lord was pleased to prepare for us? Did we suffer death for the name of the Lord Savior, or at least suffered persecution for our faith in Him? We work: but isn’t the respect with which people surround us enough as a reward for this insignificant work? Isn’t even this too much if reward is determined in moderation? But marvel at the boundless goodness of God, according to which for little work we are prepared for a reward that has no measure. God acts in relation to us in the same way as if some rich man said to the poor: bring me all the meager vessels you have made, and give me the freedom to do with them what I want - even if it were to break them and scatter them; I will give you gold vessels filled with precious stones in exchange for them.” Having finally bothered to deal with malfunctions in all the monasteries, St. Theodore asked for death and rested in 367 or 368, after Easter, in the 55th year of his life, and according to others in the 53rd. His memory is May 16th. 2. Charter of the Tavennisiot hostel From the lives of St. Pachomius, Orsisius and Theodore the Sanctified, the order of monastic ceremonies established by St. Pachomius has already become quite clear. The main design for these orders was given by St. An angel on my chest. Their subsequent development in detail was done by St. Pachomius according to the guidance of that destiny and according to a special inspiration from above, which he was often granted in various circumstances. Ave. Pachomius did not pre-write a general plan for the dormitories, but established rules as the need arose. Rules were born as soon as an opportunity presented itself that required them. Thus, communal life was fully formed during the lifetime of St. Pachomius; but it is not surprising that even after him, others required new rules, which were given by Bl. Orsisius and Theodore the Sanctified. In the instructions to monks left by Orsisius there are two or three rules, which are given word for word in the charter. These rules can be applied to Orsisius. If we include these, then why do we limit Orsisius’s participation in establishing order to them alone? If further bl. Orsisius gave the rules, then it is all the more fitting to say this about St. Theodore the Sanctified, enriched with so many gifts of the Holy Spirit. - So, it can be taken for granted that all communal orders of monasticism were finally established and approved by the rules of all three great Abbas: Pachomius, Orsisius and Theodore. That is why the charter in other lists was entitled: the charter of the three great elders. This written charter does not cover all the rules of community life established in the Tavennisiot monasteries. Perhaps during the life of St. Pachomius, apart from the rules inscribed by the Angel on the tablet, there was nothing written. The entire charter was in Pachomi Ave. and was in effect in practice, being executed by those who were entrusted with maintaining the established order. Subsequently, third-party visitors began to write down, then their own for memory. The recording did not follow any order, and what came to mind or seemed important was written down. So rule was added to rule, and a collection of rules was compiled that make up the written rule of St. Pachomius that has come down to us. Blessed Jerome preserved it for us. Some monks from Italy, who labored in Thebaid and throughout Egypt, who did not know either Greek or Egyptian, wanted to have the charter of St. Pachomius in their native language, as he went from hand to hand in Egyptian and Greek. For this purpose, having obtained the Greek list of the written rules of St. Pachomius, they forwarded him to Bl. Jerome, asking him to translate them into Latin. Bl. Jerome did not refuse to grant their request and translated. In this translation we have the statute of St. Pachomius. (In the work. bl. Jer. vol. 2. Patr. Lat. 23). It, as noted, does not embrace all the rules of communal monasticism in the Tavennisiot monasteries, and the rules in it are collected without any plan. Bl. Jerome knew a lot about the local customs from rumors or learned from those who brought him the Greek Rule and asked him to translate it, and he noticed this in the short preface that preceded the Rule. Between these notes, most of them are those that point to things not contained in the written charter. In addition to this addition, Cassian retained many rules in his charter of the eastern monasteries and in other articles. All this must be taken into account by those who wish to draw up the complete charter of St. Pachomius, not forgetting what the lives of the three great Abbas make known. If we translate only the rules of Ave. Pachomius, preserved in the translation of Bl. Jerome, then this will not give a proper understanding of the Tabennisiot social order, due to the incompleteness of those rules and the disorder in which they are collected. There is a need to sort them into groups according to content and to supplement what is missing from the lives of St. The founders of this order, from the writings of Cassian, from the preface of Jerome and from some legends in the Fatherland, offer everything in a certain order, so that everyone can clearly imagine the image of the life established in those abodes. This is what is proposed. This work, however, is not new. In the West, Catholic monks have long been engaged in understanding the rules of St. Pachomius. – One of the experiments of such clarification is presented by the author of Vies des peres des desert d'Orient. We will use it with small deviations in order and additions in content. We consider it necessary to make one remark. The said author quotes the rules not from Jerome’s edition, but from another, which is placed at the end of the works of St. Cassian (Patr. Lat. t. 50). In this latter there are fewer rules, in bl. Jerome has 194 of them, but here there are 128, and they are in a different order. But this is not the original collection of rules by St. Pachomius, but was taken by someone from the collection of Jeronimov. Of some two rules of Jerome, one was compiled; There are also opposite cases. Some rules are stated more clearly in the latter. – We will give the rules according to the bl. Jerome. 1) General structure of the Tavennisiot monasteries 1. Ave. Pachomius founded nine monasteries; St. Theodore added four more to them; became thirteen. These are men's. There were two more women’s monasteries, one of which was built by St. Pachomius, and the other by St. Theodore. 2. Each monastery consisted of 30 or 40 separate houses, with 12 or 13 cells, each of which housed three brothers, as the Angel commanded. 3. Three or four houses made up a generation (tribe) (item 16). 4. There was a church for prayer meetings; for meals - a common meal; for cooking and bread – kitchen and bakery; for the sick - a hospital; for accepting strangers - a hotel. There were special buildings for provisions, for clothing, for working tools and materials. At the monasteries there were gardens, vegetable gardens and fields for cultivating grain. 5. The monks of all monasteries formed one brotherhood, bound by the unity of spirit, management and economy. 6. Everyone was in charge of one main Avva. But each monastery had its own abbot, who, depending in everything on the chief Abba, kept everything in the monastery in his own hands. Under him were the caretakers of the houses with assistants, private housekeepers with consumables, and all other persons who carried out any services in the monastery, whether temporarily or permanently. “In the Tavennisiot monasteries,” writes Bl. in the preface. Jerome, “there are Abbas (besides the main one), there are housekeepers, caretakers of houses, spenders and weeklies.” 7. When the Monk Pachomius founded monasteries one after another, it was natural for each monastery to consider St. Pachomius himself as its Father, although he installed a special Abba in each monastery. He was directly appointed by God as Abba of the entire brotherhood. 8. However, in order for the main Abba to be alone forever in all the monasteries, it was in the plans of the institutions of St. Pachomius. Therefore, when he was approaching the end, he called all the abbots of the monasteries and asked them whom they wanted to have as their common head. When this choice of the Abbas was left to his will, he appointed Petronius to them. Petronius, in turn, ending, gathered the Abbas of the monasteries and also asked them who they wanted to have as their common head, and when everyone gave this choice to his will, he appointed Orsisius to them. Orsisius, when he decided to give up control, also summoned all the Abbas and offered them Theodore the Sanctified in his place. - From this we see what was in the plans of the Establishment of the Tavennisiot multi-monastic brotherhood - to have one Abba in charge over all the monasteries, that after St. Pachomius, appointed by God to this, the others were to be elected by the Abbas of the monasteries, who could, however, transfer their right to the departing main Abba, humbly accepting the appointment made by him. 9 . The main Abba also had his own monastery (prefaced by Jerome), which was first Tavennisiotsky, and then Pabo. This change took place under St. Pachomius. St. Theodore the Sanctified was appointed by him to Tavennisiot. 10. The task of this Abba is to vigilantly watch over all the monasteries, so that the established order is strictly observed everywhere and the brethren succeed in spiritual life without hindrance. 11. For this purpose, he personally often visited the monasteries, went into all the details, corrected what was faulty, held conversations in general about monastic life, and about what in particular required special attention. In other monasteries he deliberately stayed more than usual. There was no specific time period for visits; they could be at any time; could have been undertaken for just one monastery, and even for just one brother. 12. When business or health did not allow Avva to visit the monasteries himself, he sent someone in his place. At St. Pachomius, St. Theodore often fulfilled this assignment. At the same time, he was trusted to make orders with the authority of Abba himself. But perhaps this was not always the case, for the inconveniences that could result from this are obvious. 13. So the chief Abba himself found out the state of his monastery; but, in addition, the Abbas of the monasteries had to notify St. Pachomius (and after him every other chief Abba) about all incidents in the monastery that were out of the ordinary. 14. Etc. Pachomius often, instead of personally visiting or sending someone, wrote messages to the abbots, giving them the necessary instructions for leadership at that hour. At bl. After Jerome's rule, several such letters are placed to Abba Cornelius and Sur; There are messages to all brethren in general, and there are also private messages to some caretakers of houses. After St. Pachomius, St. Theodore did the same. 15. The chief Abba had general meetings at his place twice a year: for the first, Easter, all the brethren gathered, with the exception of a few needed in the monasteries; on the second - Augustovskoe, by the 13th of August, only the Abbas of the monasteries, caretakers of houses, and those who were called by name for some matter or had a special need, gathered. The purpose of the first was for everyone to celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ together, remembering in advance His saving passion. They gathered on Tuesday of Holy Week and dispersed after St. Thomas Day. The purpose of the second is to revise the general economy and resolve everything unresolved in the monasteries. They gave a report to the chief economist on the work and expenses for each monastery, and he gave a report to the main assembly. Each abbot received the necessary instructions from Abba. Any disagreements and misunderstandings that remained unresolved were immediately resolved so that peace and love reigned in all hearts. Therefore bl. Jerome called this time the jubilee, the days of remission and equalization. 16. There are messages from St. Pachomius and St. Theodore for convening these meetings. The latter is remarkable in that it speaks of the catechumens of the monastery, who were to be baptized on the eve of Easter and on St. Easter Communion to St. Christ's Mysteries. These baptized people either entered the monastery directly from the pagans, or were converted by monks to the faith of Christ and instructed in it, without the purpose of monasticism. 17. After the death of St. Pachomius, Petronius did not have time to send ambassadors to St. Athanasius, but Orsisius immediately sent to let them know about the change that had happened and ask for blessings. St. Theodore the Sanctified did the same. Ave. Athanasius himself visits the monastery under St. Theodore, and after his death he writes a consoling message to them. From this we can conclude that the Tavennisiot brotherhood was directly dependent on the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the main Abbas received approval from him. 18. The Chief Abba himself elected and sent an abbot to each monastery, so that he would oversee the strict implementation of established orders and guide the brethren to perfection in spiritual life. Each Abba of the monastery was nothing more than the deputy of the main Abba, his eye, ear and tongue. 19. Sending Theodore of Alexandria to rule one monastery, St. Pachomius ordered him, firstly, to be a strict executor of the charter himself, so as to dispose and teach others to do the same; secondly, to pay special attention to those who are weakening in monasticism, in order to arouse the jealousy that has fallen asleep in them and again direct them to the proper path. In this last respect, the monastery is a moral clinic, and the Abba of the monastery is its first spiritual doctor. 20. According to the first meaning of the Abba of the monastery - to observe the order himself and keep everyone in them, he was in charge of everything in the monastery and all monastic affairs were in charge of him. The established procedures were carried out as usual, and there were observers in all parts; but these persons were appointed by the Abba of the monastery, who monitored their serviceability, judged and changed them (190, etc.). These persons could not do anything other than what Abba commanded; as soon as something new was encountered, they had to ask him about it (p. 158). Every morning he gave orders about the progress of monastic affairs (item 24:25). He observed the order in the church and meals (paragraphs 6, 8, 51, etc.). All fines were imposed or approved on them (paragraphs 147, 151, 181). He accepted into the monastery and assigned the person accepted a home and occupation, judging by his abilities (paragraph 49). He made the brothers move from house to house, or from table to table (n. 83:29). All absences from the monastery were permitted to them (paragraph 52:93). Only the main points mentioned in the charter are given here; the rest will be seen in subsequent articles. In general, everything in the monastery was in his hands, and he was responsible for everything both before God and before the main Abba. 21. Regarding the second - guidance in spiritual life - all orders already lead there: for this is why they were established in such a way as to promote spiritual progress. Therefore, maintaining order, he led everyone to creation in the spirit. But he had a duty to act directly on this. This includes the duty to conduct conversations with the brethren, as much as anyone can, every week. The conversations were also accompanied by interviews at which confusion was resolved, whether regarding concepts or rules of life. In addition to this general guidance, specific ones that each person needed were given, either at the request of his brother, or at the discretion of Abba himself. This is the most important method of leadership, etc. Pachomius taught Theodore of Alexandria to make these suggestions with all caution, so that extreme insistence would not lead to the worst and advised to wait for the right time, and to pray more for such weak ones, as he himself did. 22. In this last respect, Abba Orsisius gives them many lessons in his instructions to the monks. He tells them: “Abbas, leaders of the monasteries! Each of you with his regiment, awaiting the coming of the Savior, must try to prepare His army, adorned with full armor, for the review. Do not give the brothers slackness in the flesh without leaving them at the same time abundant spiritual nourishment; and again, do not intensify their teaching of the spiritual with extreme restraint in the carnal, i.e. in food and clothing; but equally provide them with spiritual and carnal food, without giving them any reason for negligence. - And also, what kind of truth would it be - to oppress the brothers with labor, and indulge in idleness? Or put a burden on them that we cannot bear ourselves? May we have both labor and idleness in common with them (item 7). Do not cease to edify every single soul entrusted to you, teaching what is holy, and presenting in yourself an example of good deeds. In every possible way, beware of loving one and hating another, but give everyone the equation (last. Colossians 4:1): otherwise it may happen that whomever you love, God hates, and whomever God loves, you hate. For the sake of friendship, do not indulge the sinner and do not allow yourself to oppress one in order to give an advantage to another: otherwise all your work will be wasted (item 9). Be careful and make every effort for the brethren with the fear of God. Be merciful to the flock entrusted to you and remember the saying of the Apostle in which he says: “I did not hesitate to tell you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27). Do not despise a single soul, lest anyone perish because of your hard-heartedness. For if someone dies through your fault, your soul will be condemned for his soul” (paragraph 13), and so on. 4) Second after Abba in the monastery 23. That there was an intercessor in each monastery is definitely reflected, but there is not a single clause regarding his duties in the surviving charter. Perhaps this is because during the entire period of formation of the charter there was not a single case that would have given rise to a special rule for defining its actions: the Abbas themselves were always present and corrected everything themselves. Abba Orsisius says little about him in his instructions; but from his words one can at least conclude that the invader was assigned a certain part for his constant management in the monastery. Wasn't this position perhaps connected with an economic one? – For Abba Orsisius says: “Those who wander through monasteries, show yourselves first in virtues, fearing that someone will perish because of your sinfulness. See that you do not fall into the same shameful fate as the one who ate and drank with drunkards, and who did not give his minions in due time, as it is said: “And the master of that servant will come in a day he knows not, and in an hour he knows not.” And half of it will grow, and part of it will be placed with the unbelievers: it will weep and gnash its teeth” (Matthew 24:50-51). Let no such condemnation befall any of you; but when the time of reward comes, may you be worthy to hear: “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) (p. 14). 24. After the Abba of the monastery, the most influential leader over the brethren is the caretaker of the house (praepositus domi). Each monastery had from 30 to 40 houses; in each house there was a special caretaker with an assistant or attendant. They were the closest guardians of the brethren and creators of their monastic spirit. Strict order and peace in the monasteries relied on them. Therefore, the charter deals a lot with them and defines in detail their rights and duties, and requires high mental and moral qualities and, even more so, solid practical prudence from those elected to this rank. What is required of him is set out in detail in paragraph 159 of the charter. Let's take the most important thing from there. 25. He must be filled with the fear of God and reverence; in everything it is right to imitate the Saints and be in communion with them, so as not to become blind in their light; to be a strict follower of God's law and the commandments of the fathers, walking in their light and never allowing oneself to bypass the truth of God and righteousness; he must not bend the limits set by the Fathers or break the bonds (rules) built in heaven by God Himself. 26. He must be humble-minded, true-loving and truth-loving, merciful and compassionate, simple-hearted and free from all guile, strict with himself and self-controlled in everything, constant and firm, both in his judgments and in his deeds, patient and courageous, and rather ready to face death than to retreat from the conscious truth of God. 27. He must be filled with zeal for the salvation of his soul in order to be zealous for the salvation of others; listen to yourself and reason with the thoughts of your heart, so as not to be carried away by the desires of the flesh, or the charms of desire and the lures of self-interest; he must be alien to all passions. 28. In everything he must be submissive to his superiors and not contradict them in anything, but he must not tower over the brethren entrusted to him and not treat them with anger; should not desire for himself anything special compared to them, neither better food and clothing, nor a better bed, similar to pagan ones; above all, he must show truth and equality to them, so as not to give anyone an advantage due to partiality and partiality, or due to any outside respect - due to gifts and fear; must judge them and their deeds, as before God, with a clear conscience, without blaming the innocent and without justifying the sinner; Most of all, be careful not to be a stumbling block or temptation for anyone, but on the contrary, present yourself to everyone as an example of all the virtues and monastic perfection. 29. As a boss, he must show some importance, but it must consist most of all in avoiding everything low and humiliating - not going to places of dishonor, not indulging in laughter, jokes, idle talk and childish tricks. 30. These qualities are also consistent with the regulations that define the position of caretaker in the charter. – As a caretaker, he, without taking his eyes off, watches over his brothers: he is with them at home, with them at church and at meals, with them at work outside the monastery; and no one can do anything without his permission (n. 157). He takes a newcomer - accepted and entrusted to him - and teaches all the rules (item 31, etc.); the old brothers determine all the steps. He receives and distributes the things needed for the brethren, and watches over their integrity (n. 81:87). He receives and distributes materials for work, supervises the work, demands an account of it and gives it himself (paragraphs 26, 146, 123). When they go to the field to work, he is in front, and everyone is from him on the road, and at work, and on the return, and on the return (paragraphs 58, 59, 62, 63, 95). When someone falls ill, it is his responsibility to take care of him until he takes him to the hospital (paragraphs 40, 42, 105). No one can leave the monastery or walk around the monastery without his permission; Ava dismisses him from the side, but after talking with him (paragraphs 84, 52, 53, 54). And in mutual relations between brothers, his permission is sought for everything. No one can give anything to anyone, or take anything from anyone, or go to anyone without asking him (n. 111:112). And in the cell no one can have anything that he does not know (paragraph 114). 31. This is all external discipline; but on it is also the building up of the spirit of the brethren. He must teach them how to live holy lives (n. 188); For this purpose, he conducts conversations with the brothers more than once a week, asks what they kept from Abba’s conversations and resolves all the perplexities of the brothers (paragraphs 20, 21, 115, 122, 138). As soon as he notices a confused brother, he must find out what the sorrow is and console him (p. 170). 32. With such a breadth of supervision, he himself, however, does nothing of his own free will. Everything is determined by the charter. He and his assistant only see to it that everything is done and forces those who are lagging behind in anything to do it (p. 181). And he cannot demand or impose anything other than what is prescribed by the charter and ordered by Avva (clause 158). As soon as he comes across something new, he asks, and as he decides, he does so (p. 133). 33. Therefore, he is the responsible person, and if he does not see something, or, having seen it, does not convey it, he answers himself (152, 154). If he treats the brethren poorly or burdens them with work and judges them incorrectly, the brethren complain to Abba, and he may lose his place if he turns out to be wrong (paragraphs 158, 170, 190). Abba Orsisius gives them lessons in his instructions in paragraphs 15, 16 and 17. 6) Second to the caretaker 34. The second-in-command superintendent takes his place, with all rights and responsibilities, when he is away or busy with some other business (clauses 115, 182, 185). But he was constantly responsible for certain matters, for example: he selected tools and shoes upon the brothers’ return from field work and put them in their place (paragraph 66); he was given a washed dress, which he then gave out when required (paragraph 70); He was also handed over books every day in the evening that were in use during the day, and he locked them in a certain place (item 95). Perhaps there was something else on it that was not mentioned in the charter. Abba Orsisius gives him lessons in his instructions, in the 18th paragraph. 35. In each monastery there was a housekeeper, who was in charge of the entire economy of the monastery, and a spender, who corrected the economic needs outside the monastery. The steward gave him money, and he, having purchased what he needed, gave an account of everything to the steward and returned the remaining money, not daring to keep it in his cell even for one night. He was probably tasked with selling something. 36. But both, if necessary, were probably done on a very small scale. The sale of monastic products and the purchase of everything necessary for the monasteries, both for maintenance and for work, was carried out by one chief economist and consumables, who were in charge of the economy of all monasteries. They lived in the same monastery with the main Abba. 37. The economists and abbas of the monasteries gave a report on the economy during the general August meeting, to the chief economist, and this to the general meeting. For this purpose, he kept a gross record of all expenses and receipts; just as the Abbas of the monasteries and their housekeepers kept their own private records (item 26). 38. The chief steward and consumable had two ships at his disposal, on which monastic goods were sent for sale to Alexandria or other places, and everything needed for the monasteries was brought back. Small boats were at the disposal of each monastery, and no one could use them without the permission of the Abba of the monastery (item 118). 39. In establishing a general economy, St. Pachomius had the goal of organizing this matter in such a way that there would be as few people as possible concerned with everyday things, and so that not only the monks, but also the monasteries as a whole would not have to worry about anything material, devoting all their labors primarily to the creation of the spirit. 8) Other official and administrative persons at the monasteries 40. For obedience to the dining room and kitchen, a special house was assigned, in which the housekeeper was probably the caretaker, and his assistant was the consumable. There was also a special house for caring for the sick, whose caretaker was a hospital worker. For the gatekeepers and hotel keepers, a special house was also assigned, the caretaker of which was the hotel attendant. 41. The best and most experienced brethren were chosen for these houses and carried out obedience in succession; but to help them, weeks were sent from other houses, which led their own line. Regarding obedience in the bakery, this is directly defined by the charter (paragraph 116:117). But therefore we can conclude about other things. It is not clear whether a special house was designated for the garden and vegetable garden; but it is clear that in each of them there was a special guardian, without whose will no one there could do anything (par. 73:77). Meanwhile, the weekly fruits are harvested (p. 78). 42. Weekly work was carried out by the whole house, under the supervision of a caretaker, who distributed the brethren into different obediences. When there were not enough brothers, the caretaker took them from another house, but always from the same tribe or generation (item 15). 43. The caretaker of the house that started the week handed over everything to the caretaker of the house that started the week, in other cases in the presence of the Abba of the monastery (clause 27). By this time, all the things that had gone from hand to hand during the week were again returned to their places, not excluding books (item 66:25), to see if everything was intact. 44. The charter does not specify on what day the change took place. St. Cassian says that the week began on Monday. Some hints of this can be seen in the charter (clause 25). 45. In addition to the large weekly ones, who carried out obedience throughout the monastery, there were smaller weekly ones, for various needs around the house (item 14). 46. All these weeks corrected obedience not only in the monastery, but also outside the monastery. When the brethren went somewhere with a whole house or a whole monastery, they had with them a week's sick leave, a week's canteen, a week's gatekeeper, each of whom corrected his obedience, as if they were inside the monastery (paragraphs 64, 59, 129). This is the entire system of persons operating in monasteries that followed the rules of St. Pachomius. Let us now enter into monastic life itself, starting with entry into the monastery. 47. Although the monasteries of St. Pachomius were crowded, the reception in them 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 (paragraph 49). 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 (book 4, paragraph 3). 48. After this first test, he was accepted into the inn, and either the innkeeper himself or one of the brothers under him had to take care of it. He was forced to study the Lord's Prayer, if he did not know it, and several psalms. Through this it was revealed how much zeal he had for the pursuit of Divine things. Meanwhile, they inquired who he was and why he was leaving the world; whether he did something bad and, driven by fear, ran away from his place to take refuge in the monastery for a while; or whether he is not in whose power (or whose slave); is he also ready to renounce all kindred feelings, and from all attachment to property, and to everything that he leaves in the world, so that upon entering the monastery, his soul is not distracted by thoughts beyond its fence (item 49). 49. Having thus made sure that his intention was decisive, and his renunciation from everything was complete, and his love for the Divine was strong, and that there were no obstacles - that, therefore, it was possible to accept him into the monastery, they then told him about all the rules of the monastery, how they behaved in the house, in the church, in the meal, and what kind of obedience they carried out, so that he would know in advance what he would encounter inside. At the same time, they probably inquired about whether he knew which skill was appropriate in the monastery, and, if he did not know, which one he was more capable and inclined to (paragraph 49). 50. After this, they took off his worldly clothes and clothed him in monastic clothes and instructed the goalkeeper to lead him into the meeting of the brethren during prayer (paragraph 49). Having brought him into the assembly, the goalkeeper placed him in a certain place, from where the caretaker of the house in which he was assigned to live took him and put him in the place that he was always supposed to occupy among the brethren of that house (item 1). Blazh. Jerome in the preface notes that whoever was the first to enter the house was always the first, both at home, and in church, and at meals, and on the road; next, whoever came last was always last. In this regard, neither years nor rank (worldly) were taken into account. St. Cassian says (book 4, paragraph 5) that the putting on of monastic robes took place in the church among the brethren of the Abvoy monastery. Perhaps this was the case in other monasteries, or by the time of St. Cassian and in Tavennisiot they began to do the same. 51. Worldly clothes were given to the steward, who brought them into the junk room. They were then dealt with as the Abba of the monastery pleased (paragraph 49). St. Cassian adds that these clothes were preserved until the one accepted was finally established in monastic life; after which they gave them to the poor; if he turned out to be worthless for some reason, then they dressed him again in worldly clothes and drove him out (book 4, paragraph 6). 52. St. Cassian also says that the newcomer could not keep with him anything from his previous property, not even a single half-ruble. And they didn’t take anything from him into the monastery, so that he wouldn’t be proud of others who didn’t contribute anything, and so that, when they had to kick him out, he wouldn’t demand in court what he had brought back: which could not have happened without trouble when what was brought in had already been spent on the needs of the monastery (Book 4, paragraph 3:4). 53. From the life of St. Pachomius, it is clear that Psenebius, Petronius’s father, made a large donation of money, things, and lands. But this was a special case. Psenebius entered the monastery with the whole house with children and slaves (and his wife and daughters entered the nunnery). A special monastery was built on his lands and on his property. 54. The newcomer was first of all taught how he should behave in church, at meals and at home. Previously, this was only told to him; and now he had to acquire the proper skill in all this. The 31st paragraph says that the overseer teaches the brethren how to behave at meals. This is most applicable to beginners. But if he taught proper behavior at meals, then there is no doubt that it was also his responsibility to teach him how to behave in church, at home and at work. 55. After he had mastered all the rules - which did not require, as one might assume, a long time - he was forced to memorize several more psalms, up to 20, two epistles, or some other part of Scripture. If he did not know how to read and write, then (without waiting for him to learn) they assigned him a teacher, and he learned all this from words: for which he approached a certain teacher at the first, third and sixth hour, and standing in front of him, diligently memorized what was assigned, with all gratitude (p. 139). 56. However, novices were not left ignorant of literacy; but after completing the initial memorization, they forced him to learn to read, even if he didn’t want to. For this purpose, they drew letters, syllables, words for him and explained the entire mechanism of reading. In general, there should have been no one in the monastery who could not read and did not know by heart anything from Scripture - at least the Psalter and the New Testament (item 140). 57. But more attention was paid to the formation of a strong moral character in the newcomer. In this regard, nothing was so much taken care of as to accustom him to renounce his will and his wisdom, and establish him in perfect obedience. They were inspired to accept the orders given to them with such reverence, and to carry them out with such readiness, as if they came directly from God Himself. It was not allowed to reason about what was commanded, and in general it was commanded not to trust one’s own mind and reasoning in anything. In order to confirm them in the latter more quickly and reliably, orders were often given to them, the execution of which seemed incongruous with anything. This was done in the thought that whoever is executory in these cases without reasoning, of course, will be the same in all others (pr. Cass. book 4, paragraph 8: 9). 58. So that nothing vain and sinful would creep into their heads and settle in their hearts, they were commanded (like everyone else) to reveal their thoughts to the elders, without hiding anything, so that the enemy would not have time to suggest anything harmful. Here they knew themselves and allowed themselves to be known by others, and most of all, they became convinced experimentally that something was bad and they did not want to open it (pr. Kass. ibid.). 59. The rule given by the Angel (paragraph 15) says: “Do not allow a beginner to the highest feats before three years of probation; only after three years, when he has become accustomed to all work obediences, let him enter this field.” The first heat of jealousy knows no bounds; not being directed as it should, it will deplete strength and will not provide any benefit. Therefore, gradualism was observed in the upbringing of newcomers. Everything has its time. 60. According to the saved bl. According to Jerome's charter, everything commanded regarding the newcomer was carried out by the caretaker of the house in which he was placed. According to St. Cassian, the procedure for educating a novice is as follows: “After putting on monastic attire, he spends a year serving as a hospice; then it is entrusted to the elder, the foreman, inside the monastery” (book 4, paragraph 7). Perhaps this was the case in some cenobitic monasteries; but St. Pachomius makes no mention of foremen, nor does it appear that a special house was assigned for the novices. Every newcomer entered the house, not among the new brethren, and his training was entirely the responsibility of the caretaker. At the same time, the example of others taught more than words. In addition, their whole life was very simple and did not require long training in outward form. There was no end to internal success: here everyone considered himself a beginner. 61. Blazh. Jerome, in the preface to the charter and the 81st paragraph of the charter, names the following clothes used by the Tabennisiots: leviton, belt, amice, cucullium, mantle, mantle, sandals; They took a staff on the road. Some of these clothes are also mentioned in the rule given by the Angel. 62. Leviton. There was no underwear, there was a straight Leviton, which replaced both the shirt and our cassock. It was arranged like a bag, with slits at the top for threading through the arms, for which, however, sleeves of some quarter of the length were also attached, so that they only reached the elbows. The length of the leviton extended to the knees. 63. Belt. Not made of leather; bl. Jerome directly calls him a canvasser. They girded the loins with it and, when there was a need (for example, when washing a dress) (p. 69), the leviton was supported on it. 64. An amice, a long scarf or a wide ribbon made of canvas, which, going around the neck, went down to the chest and, here making a cross, passed under the shoulders, and then surrounded the entire body at chest height. This is our paraman. 65. Cucullium, or headpiece, similar to a child’s cap, pointed at the top, reaching down to the bottom only to the end of the neck and to the shoulders. A sign was sewn on it, showing the monastery and the house of the monastery to which the brother who wore it belonged (item 99). Palladium (ch. 34) says that the image of a purple cross was also sewn on it. This is our kamilavka with a hood or basting. 66. Milk, goatskin (in Palladius, white), somehow attached to the neck (item 98) and descending from the shoulders along the back to the level with the leviton. Our cassock matches it. 67. A mantle made of canvas, fastened at the neck and covering the shoulders. Ave. Cassian calls it a narrow cloak and contrasts it with the flowing cloaks of secular vanity. We have a long robe to match it; but in other monasteries and in our country this particular mantle is used, only in cells, however. 68. The monks were also given sandals and a staff, which, however, were not always used. Sandals are not cats or shoes, but soles, tied with ropes or belts to the foot and protecting only the sole. 69. Sozomen says that the Tavennisiots differed from other monks not only in the image of the monastic order, but also in their clothes, the meaning of which “attracted them to virtue and encouraged the soul to despise earthly things and look at grief, so that it could more conveniently move to the heavenly village when it renounces the body” (Book 3, Chapter 14). Ave. Cassian also notes that the clothes of these monks did not so much correspond to the needs of the body, but rather indicated to the monks the moral traits obligatory for them (book 1, paragraph 4). 70. Leviton, at Ave. Cassian, the koloviy, whose sleeves barely reached the elbows, leaving the rest of the arms bare, showed that all worldly affairs and customs were cut off from them, and according to Sozomen, this meant that their hands should not be ready for offense. The fact that it was linen suggested that they should be dead to everything earthly (Cas. book 1, paragraph 5). 71. They girded their loins with a belt (Luke 12:35), in imitation of those who laid down the beginnings of the monastic rite, in the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha, and in the New, St. John the Baptist and to signify always readiness for mental warfare with sobriety and attention to oneself (pr. Cass. book 1, paragraph 2). 72. With an amice, according to St. Cassian, with a lectern, they pulled loose clothing around the neck and chest, to adapt themselves to the unslothful performance of every task and every work, and to the lifting of all labor (Cass. book 1, paragraph 6), and to mean that they should always be ready to serve God (Sozomen). This also inspired people to limit themselves more closely in their wishes, so that they could work for the Lord more freely and willingly. 73. Cucullius reminded them that they must live purely and immaculately, like children feeding on milk (Soz.), and obliged them to always preserve childish innocence and simplicity, so that, returning to childhood about Christ, each of them could unhypocritically sing: “Lord, my heart is not exalted, my eyes are lifted up lower, we walk lower in the great, lower marvelous than me” ( Ps.130:1) (Cass. book. 1, item 4). 74. They wore mantles in imitation of the prophet Elijah and all those about whom the Apostle writes: “they walked in mantles, in goatskins” (Heb. 11:37); and meaning that they, having mortified in themselves any desire for carnal passions, must stand firmly in virtues and not allow anything to remain in their body from the heat of youth and the desires of their former life (ibid., paragraph 8), so that when looking at this skin, they always have in memory the virtues of the prophet Elijah, courageously resist unclean desires, and both through imitation of him, and in the hope of similar ones rewards, more zealously maintain chastity (Sozomen). 75. The mantle depicted their humility, the running of space and pomp and all sorts of vain ostentation (pr. Cass. book 1, paragraph 7). 76. The sandals made it clear that if, living in the world, we cannot completely renounce all care for our flesh, then at least we would satisfy the needs of the body with light care, not allowing the murderous worries of this age to entangle our feet, so that in this way they would be freer to follow the stench of the world of Christ (pr. Cass. book 1, paragraph 10). 77. The staff inspired the monks that they should never walk unarmed among so many dogs of passion barking around, and among so many invisible beasts - unclean spirits - but always arm themselves with the sign of the cross to repel them, being inspired to fight by the remembrance of the passions of the Lord and zealously imitate them through self-mortification (pr. Cass. book 1, paragraph 9). 78. Not all attire was always used. The second paragraph of the charter states that those entering the monastery must behave decently and modestly, always having a mantle on their shoulders and a leviton neatly hidden. In paragraph 91, it is prescribed that no one should dare to walk in a monastery without a cucullia and a mantle, or enter a church meeting or meal. Point 101 prohibits wearing sandals to church meetings or meals and wearing a robe in a monastery or field. Regarding the mantle, paragraph 61 says that no one can take it to work in the field, or walk around the monastery in it after a church meeting. – From all these indications it turns out that the constant non-skid attire was a cucullium, a leviton, a mantle, a belt and, probably, an amice. And the Angel commanded: “At night they must remain in linen levitons and girded; without mantle they should neither eat nor sleep; the headman, according to his command, they should not have removed even when they approached the Divine Mysteries.” 79. The mantle was used only in the Church meeting and, perhaps, at meals. Sandals were issued only when it was necessary to go to the field to work. This is evident from the fact that upon returning from work, the brethren gave the second caretaker along with the tools and sandals, and he put them in his place. It is also likely that they were used when they went somewhere. At the same time, of course, the staff was taken into hand; why bliss Jerome called him a comrade on the journey. 80. All clothes were linen, both summer and winter. In paragraph 81, it is expressly prohibited to have anything made of wool, or to have anything made of sheep skin with softer wool. “The climate allowed this, the cheapness was favorable, and the opportunity to always keep clothes clean, through frequent washing, as a reminder of internal cleanliness, forced one, and not another, to choose the material for clothing. 81. Clothes were distributed, with the knowledge of Abba, by the caretakers (item 81); and when the need for a change of clothing became urgent, the caretaker of the house received it in his place, also with the knowledge of Abba, and handed it over to whoever needed it (item 111). 82. The received garments remained in the hands of the brother, and he could not exchange them with anyone (n. 97); when they transferred him to another house, he took them with him - and only them (item 83). 83. Every brother was charged with the duty of taking care of the things given to him; and if anyone was negligent in this regard or lost something by mistake, he bore the prescribed penance for this (paragraphs 102, 131, 147, 148). 84. The brothers washed their clothes themselves, each one their own. For this purpose, everyone went out to the river according to a sign, following the caretaker; and washed, silently and decorously (p. 68). No one was allowed to wash clothes at home (paragraph 134). And if anyone was away when everyone was washing, the caretaker also sent him with another brother to the river to wash his clothes (item 69). 85. Returning home, we dried what we had washed; if it did not have time to dry on the same day, they collected it in the evening and gave it to the second person, and he put everything in a common chamber. The washed dress was dried the next day (item 70). 86. The dried goods were collected, kneaded (in our opinion, rolled) and again given to the person in charge until Saturday, on which, presumably, a change of clothes took place (paragraph 72). 87. In one point (-67) it was noted that no one could wash their dresses on Resurrection. It can be inferred that all clothes were changed on Saturday, washed after the Resurrection, perhaps on Monday, and given to a special cell in the hands of the second caretaker until Saturday. It is clear that not all the clothes were always in the hands of the brother to whom they belonged. 88. The number of clothes each was assigned was small: two Levitons and a third shabby one, as the blessed one notes. Jerome, for sleeping and working, probably in the field, and two cucullia; other than just one thing each. Apart from this, no one could have anything; and if in some way it turned out that someone had something extra against it, he had to, without delay or recourse, hand it over to the general junkyard (paragraph 81:192). 89. The angel commanded to perform 12 prayers during the day, and the same number in the evening and at night, and 3 prayers at the 9th hour. These are prayers for which everyone gathered together in the Church. The day's service was performed at noon (item 24); evening - before sunset; night - at midnight; nine o'clock - at 9 o'clock, in our opinion at 3 pm. 90. But in addition, the charter more than once mentions the 6 evening prayers (paragraphs 24, 121, 126), and paragraph 155 directly states that these prayers should be performed in every house according to the order of a large meeting, i.e. in the same order as prayers are performed in the Church. That these prayers were performed following the example of a large meeting is repeated in paragraph 186. Another prayer was also performed in houses in the morning, at the hour of dawn, as the 20th point makes clear, which commands: in the morning, after prayers are performed in each house, the brethren do not immediately disperse to their cells. – These two home prayers were probably added to those appointed by the Angel after the great Abbas. After evening they went to bed, and after morning they sat down to work. 91. Both for meeting for Church prayer, and for performing prayers at home, a sign was given in the beater. At night, perhaps, in addition, otherwise they woke up the brothers to pray, as St. Cassian Prince hints. 2, paragraph 17. For this purpose, special weekly ones were appointed, who, to give a sign, received a blessing from Abba (paragraph 24). It was also their responsibility to ensure that everything was in order in the Church. They should not have allowed anyone to take a single step contrary to the requirements of the deanery (clause 143). 92. As soon as the sign in the bell was heard, everyone had to immediately leave the cell and go to the church, reading something from Scripture as a keepsake with meditation until it came to him (paragraph 3). Just as before this call no one should have left the cell, so after it he should have remained in it, dissuading himself from being in the Church through psalmody and prayer under some pretext (paragraph 141). Having entered the Church, one had to move to one’s place decorously, so as not to give anyone temptation (paragraph 4). 93. Judging by the fact that the brethren were always accompanied by a caretaker at home, one must assume that he went with them to Church; - He is in front, as usual, and behind him, in their own order, are the brethren. It is also likely that in the Church there was a place for the brethren of every house, and they stood in their own order, as elsewhere. The Charter does not mention this; but this is self-evident from the way they go to work and how they listen to the teachings of the Abba of the monastery, as we will see. 94. Being late to Church was considered a violation of the laws of monastic life; and those who were late were subject to penance. He who was late during the day was subject to it if he was late for one prayer, and he who was late at night was subject to it if he was late for three prayers (paragraph 9:10). At home prayers, those who were late for one prayer always bore penance (paragraph 121). 95. The composition of the prayers was very simple. The hymns were psalms, and between them non-verbal prayers were inserted, which each person mentally performed within himself, according to the thoughts and feelings that the sung psalm prompted. The weekly brother sang a psalm in the middle of the Church. While singing the psalm, everyone sat (pr. Cass. book 2, paragraph 1); at the end of the psalm they stood up and prayed intelligently, standing; then they knelt and prostrated themselves for a short time; Having stood up, they prayed again, standing. This was repeated 12 times; and these are 12 prayers commanded by the Angel. The singing of the last 12th psalm was different in that after each verse it was added: hallelujah, as according to the testimony of St. Cassian, the Angel showed (ibid., paragraph 6). For these alleluia psalms, only those psalms that had such an inscription were taken (ibid., paragraph 11). 96. The end of the psalm showed the time to get up to pray; one should kneel and prostrate after the brother standing in the middle and singing. And one had to get up after that, but as this was not visible to everyone, the Abba of the monastery gave a sign to get up by hitting his hand on something, after which (the hit) everyone had to get up at once (clause 6 of the charter). Ave. Cassian says that they did not bend their knees during prayer from Saturday evening to Sunday evening, and on all the days of Pentecost, but prayed between psalms only while standing, with hands raised (book 2, paragraph 12). 97. Ave. Cassian also notes that they were not in a hurry to sing, but they did not drag it out, and they also observed a reasonable measure in mental prayer; so that prolongation of singing does not cause boredom, and so that prolongation of prayer does not cool the fervor of prayer. All they cared about was that the singing was reasonable and the prayer was heartfelt. Mental prayer, however, was given more attention and time (book 2, paragraph 7:11). 98. He says that not all 12 psalms were chanted by one brother, but there was a sequence in singing: the singers changed, however, infrequently, no more than four times. No matter how many brethren gathered in the Church, more than four brethren were never appointed to sing psalms in the assembly. Each sang three psalms (book 2, paragraph 11). 99. The singing took place among the Church and was always for remembrance. Thus sang the Angel, according to St. Cassian, who by his appearance and deed resolved the confusion regarding the measure of prayers (book 2, paragraph 6). It was not difficult: for everyone necessarily knew the Psalter by heart. 100. Weekly appointments were assigned for the singing of psalms in general meetings, but no appointments were assigned for home prayers. Here the brethren sang psalms in the order in which they stood, and each sang only one psalm and did not dare to sing more than that, without a special command from the caretaker. If it happened that someone, due to forgetfulness or distraction of attention, became confused, then he bore penance (paragraphs 13, 14, 17, 127). 101. Ave. Cassian notes that two readings from Scripture were attached to the psalmody in general meetings, in simple days one from the Old and the other from the New Testament; and on Saturday and Sunday - both readings from the New Testament, one from the Apostle, and the other from the Gospel. The same, he says, was done on all the days of Pentecost (book 2, paragraph 6). And the charter mentions reading at general prayers, without defining what was read (clause 13). When the charter says that the weekly church members, entering into their weekly week, demanded, if there was a need, books, and they were delivered to them - these books were probably the Gospel, the Apostle and the Old Testament Scriptures. For there were no liturgical books. 102. During the prayer, deep silence was observed. Not only laugh, but also talk, and not only talk, but also whisper, cough, yawn, etc. prohibited. Violators of this deanery were subjected to penance, both in church and in home prayers (paragraph 7:121). Ave. Cassian says that despite the fact that hundreds and thousands gathered for prayer, it was so quiet in the Church that it was as if there was no one in it except the one who sings the psalm (book 2, paragraph 10). 103. Everyone was commanded to behave decorously in the Church, paying attention only to themselves and the singing, and were not allowed to look at others in order to spy on how someone prayed (paragraph 7). 104. If some extreme situation forced someone to leave the Church, he could not do this without first asking permission from the caretaker and Abba (item 11). 105. At the end of the church prayer, everyone ceremoniously left the Church and went to their homes, or to a meal, repeating something from Scripture from memory with meditation. It was forbidden to stop and start a conversation with anyone (clause 28; Ave. Cass. Book 2, clause 15). 106. Their order of prayers throughout the day was as follows: at midnight, having gathered in Church, they sang 12 psalms and returned to their cells long before dawn; but they did not go to bed, but continued to vigil in prayer and contemplation of God, thereby offering their private sacrifice to God. To avoid sleep, they took up work, for example, weaving or twisting ropes from palm branches, which can be done in the dark. This went on until dawn. In the morning, they gathered for home prayer, after which the caretaker of the house sometimes (three times a week) gave them a lesson. After this, having reviewed and together discussed what the overseer said, if there was a teaching, the brethren dispersed to their cells (item 20) and sat down to their assigned work, which they did in silence, religiously reading psalms or something from Scripture as a memory, and without going anywhere unless absolutely necessary and without starting conversations with anyone (Cass. book 2, item 15). At noon they gathered for common prayer and sang 12 daily psalms, after which on non-fast days there followed a meal and after the meal again work. At 9 o'clock - our 3 o'clock - we gathered for common prayer and performed three prayers, after which, on fast days, a meal followed. Going to the meal and returning during it, they did not stop reflecting on God according to the guidance of Scripture. After this table, until Vespers, work continued again with the same godly pursuit. Before sunset, they gathered for a common prayer and sang 12 evening psalms, after which the Abba of the monastery, when he wanted or found it necessary, spoke a sermon. Then they went home and, having performed 6 prayers at home according to the church model, went to their cells to sleep, and no one could go out unless absolutely necessary (paragraph 126). – Thus, from the moment of awakening among the Tabennisiots, throughout the day prayer was replaced by work and work by prayer. Thought of God was not stopped, no matter what they did. This is the secret teaching in the heart, which is often mentioned in the Father’s Scriptures. Ave. Cassian testifies that the monks of Egypt and Thebaid did not limit themselves to one statutory prayer, but strained to remain in mental prayer and thought of God all the time of the day (book 3, paragraph 1:2). 107. The 142nd paragraph of the charter says: whether a brother is sailing along the river in a boat, or is on the road and in the field, or on some other obedience outside the monastery, he must not miss the hours of psalmody and prayer. In the life of St. Theodore, it is mentioned that when he had to leave the monastery with his brothers for several days to collect firewood or cut branches, he would sing psalmody with prayers there as usual, and his teachings to the brethren would not stop. This, of course, was what all the others always did, as it happened that one, or many, or all of them were outside the monastery (item 189). 12) Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ 108. The Saturday and Sunday services had some peculiarities. On these days, we gathered earlier for daily prayer, made a bloodless sacrifice, and everyone received Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. This is what St. An angel in the rule given to him by St. Pachomius. 109. Everyone proceeded to Holy Communion in order of ranks, houses and brothers. Those receiving communion took off their belts and mantles and proceeded only in the cucullia. This is what the Angel commanded. 110. The Liturgy was first performed by priests invited from villages or from other monasteries; but then it turned out to be inconvenient, etc. Cyril, in one letter to the Libyan and Pentapolis bishops, makes it clear that these inconveniences have already been stopped by the establishment of their consecrated persons. 111. Psalmody, appropriate at the beginning of the Liturgy and sung antiphonally, was performed somewhat differently from psalmody on ordinary days, although it is not entirely clear what this difference consisted of. The 17th paragraph says that on the Day of the Lord, when a bloodless sacrifice is offered, none of the week’s men should be absent, but be in their place and answer in order to the one singing; The 18th paragraph explains that this singer is one of the greatest. From this we can conclude that on these days the singing began with the great ones in the monastery - Abba, the caretakers, and the weekly brethren answered them (see also paragraph 17). 112. Ave. Cassian says that on Saturday night, in the East, an all-night vigil was held, beginning in the evening and ending at the fourth rooster crow. Whether this was the case before the resurrection is not clear from his words. There is no hint of either one or the other in the lives of the founders of the Tavennisiot order, or in the clauses of the charter. Subsequently, the custom was established in community monasteries to hold vigils only on Sundays, and then on major holidays. 113. With the exception of time devoted to prayer, everything else was spent primarily on work. Ave. Cassian testifies that they did not have a single idle minute, without work: their hands were busy with work, and their minds were busy with the thought of God. “Equally,” he says, “by exercising their physical and mental strength, they equated the gains of the external man with the benefits of the internal man” (book 2, paragraph 14). 114. Bl. Jerome, in the preface to the statute, says: “Brothers of the same skill are placed in one house, under one caretaker. For example: those who weave canvas - in one; who make mats - also in one special one; tailors, shoemakers, carpenters are also placed in special houses, under special caretakers who rule over them, and every week they give an account of the work of the Abbe of the monastery.” 115. The caretaker of the house, in addition to his mental and moral qualities, of course, was not of the last in skill, so that he could manage this business as well. But the work itself was determined by the rules. A measure was assigned to the products, less or more than which to work was equally considered a bad thing - the first due to negligence, the second - due to vanity. 116. The most extensive handicraft was the preparation of matting, purses and ropes. The statute is more concerned with this, without saying anything about others, so that the procedures for their production can only be judged by the procedures for the matting business. 117. For matting, palm branches were prepared, from which, when soaked, some forged ropes, some made purses, some sewed or wove matting. 118. The harvested branches were stored in a special chamber, probably in the hands of the steward, and no one could take them without him (paragraph 74). They were issued to a weekly worker assigned to correct all work needs. 119. In the evening, the week-old learned from the caretakers of the houses how many branches were needed; Accordingly, he received them himself from the one who had them in his hands, soaked them, and in the morning distributed them to each house, as much as was required. If in the morning it turned out that more branches were needed than what had been prepared, he took them again from the one who looked after them, soaked them and took them where they should be (item 26). This last could only happen because sometimes in the evening, when information about the number of required branches was being collected, another brother was not at home for legal reasons (p. 145). 120. The branches were soaked in a certain place that everyone knew; but no one could take the wet branches by themselves; they were always distributed by the weekly steward (n. 12:124). 121. The measure of work for matting workers was as follows: everyone had to prepare one matting per day. This can be seen from one incident in the life of St. Pachomius, when he did not praise his brother, who prepared two mats a day, when he should have prepared only one. Paragraph 177 of the charter also states that the caretaker of the house and the attendant must weave ropes of 25 orgies (cubits, arshins, or more) from palm branches. Following their example, other brothers should have worked just as hard. - Whether all the daily work here is for other houses - rope-makers - or this is an increase in matting for the matting workers, is not clear from the regulations. 122. From some circumstances of the life of St. Pachomius, it is clear that all the persons in the monastery, obligated to other obediences, worked as mats or made ropes in their free time. After the night prayer, as was noted, the brethren did not sleep, but spent time in contemplation and prayer, and in order to more easily fight sleep, they took up work. This need concerns everyone without exception; but the most convenient job for this case could not be other than twisting ropes. 123. It is impossible to say definitively whether there was a common work force in the houses or whether they worked in cells. From other points of the charter we can conclude that they worked together, from others - that in cells. Maybe sometimes they worked together, sometimes in cells. That there was a common room in the houses was evident from the fact that everyone gathered in the house for common prayer and to listen to the teachings of the caretaker. This same room could also be a common work room. - The 123rd paragraph says: “No one can begin to weave a rope or carry water in a vessel without the order of the caretaker.” This suggests that the work was carried out before his eyes. The same idea is conveyed by the 146th paragraph, which says: whoever finishes his work, ask the superintendent what he should do next. Wasn’t there even, outside the cells, in the courtyard, some common place for the Rozhzhnikov? For in the life of St. Pachomius it is mentioned that, having returned one day from visiting other monasteries, he sat down with the mat-makers and began to work. There was one of the boys who told him that he didn't work like that. This circumstance indicates that the work took place in the yard. 124. Avva checked how much was completed per week at the end of the week. The mats were laid out on the porch of the church: they were counted, and the prepared ropes were also counted. The amount of everything was entered into a notebook, which was revised in August at the general meeting. When Abvoy was verified, the caretaker of the house that had finished her week off and the caretaker of the house that received her were present; the latter, probably, to listen to comments that were to be conveyed to the workers (paragraph 27). 125. The brothers' products were carefully preserved; and if any of those looking after them somehow spoiled, lost or wasted any of them, then he was held accountable for it (p. 147). 126. For all work and obediences in the monastery, in the garden, in the vegetable garden, in the field, the weekly manager, after morning prayers, asks Abba for orders, and whatever he orders, he carries out (paragraph 25). 127. The charter defines in detail the case when the whole house, or even the whole brotherhood of the monastery, went to work for the monastery. They went outside the monastery to either work in the fields, or cut branches, or collect firewood, and some other herbs, which they salted and consumed, among other things, during these very absences from the monastery, which sometimes lasted a week or two. This is how the charter determines the entire course of the matter! 128. When the sign is given to go to work, everyone goes out; the caretaker of the house goes ahead; no one should ask where they are going and why; Only those whom Abba orders can stay at home (paragraph 58). 129. When all the houses are assembled for one purpose, let the keeper of the first house precede everyone, and the others follow him in the order of houses and brethren (item 59). Probably at this time the Abba of the monastery often went with them, as can be concluded from the example of St. Theodore. 130. When going to work, no one can go ahead or leave the order (paragraph 63:130). They should not talk to each other; but let everyone repeat from memory something from Scripture and meditate on it (n. 59). 131. If someone meets and has a need to say something to a brother, the gatekeeper of the monastery comes out to him and serves as an intermediary in his relations with his brother. If the gatekeeper is not here for some reason, then the caretaker of the house, or someone else who is entrusted with this, will give answers to those meeting (paragraph 59). 132. When, having arrived at the place, they begin to work, the brethren should not talk among themselves about anything worldly; but let everyone, silently, reason about the passages of Scripture known to him (n. 60). 133. During work, no one can sit down without the permission of the greater (paragraph 62). 134. When the time came for eating, it was distributed to them, without brew, by the weekly table steward who was traveling with them; He also gave vegetables seasoned with salt and vinegar, as they are usually prepared in the summer, so that they could be preserved for several days. He carried water around everyone in a row, but no one himself had the power to get up, draw water and drink (64:80). 135. The prescribed prayers were performed without fail in due time, as stated in the rules on prayer. The teachings that should have been spoken to the brethren at the appointed hours were not omitted either (p. 189). 136. Upon completion of the work, they return to the monastery in the same order, with the same silence and contemplation of God (item 65). 137. When they come to the monastery, to their houses, the iron tools, if they were used, and the sandals will be given to the person second after the caretaker of the house, and he will bring them into a special cell and prohibited (paragraph 66). 138. If someone happened to get a splinter in their foot, no one could remove the knitting needles except the caretaker of the house and the person walking through it, or the one who was entrusted with this (paragraph 95). For this purpose there was a special toolkit, which in every house hung in the same shelf where the books were placed (item 82). 139. There were also less crowded sendings of brothers outside to work. Then one of the older brothers went with them, as the greatest, and enjoyed the rights of a caretaker. He also spoke teachings to the brethren on certain days and hours; and he carried out judgment between them, and when any disagreement occurred between them, he reconciled them, restoring cordial agreement between all (p. 189). 140. Among other works, the charter mentions only the collection of dates. To do this, they go out with the whole house under the supervision of their caretaker. The behavior of everyone here was exactly the same as shown above, i.e. collected in silence, occupying the mind with thoughts of God. At the end of the gathering, the caretaker distributed several dates to the workers; in the monastery, they still received their share along with other brethren (paragraph 78). 141. The progress of the work in the bakery is also mentioned, namely: the brothers appointed for this, when the time comes to knead the flour, come to the bakery and knead the flour silently, without saying anything to anyone. Likewise, in the morning, when they transfer the loaves of bread to the oven on boards, they must observe the same silence: let them meditate on something from Scripture at one time or another until they finish their work. If something is needed, let them not talk about it, but give a sign to those who can bring what is required (paragraph 116). When the whole business is finished, no one should remain in the bakery, except those who are necessary to supervise the baking and who will be ordered to do so. 142. In general, regarding work, it was laid down by law - not to burden anyone with their burden. Paragraph 179 of the charter says: “The brethren should not be forced to present too many products, so that moderate labor encourages work, and does not repel it.” And the Angel commanded St. Pachomius: “Assign work in proportion to the strength of each; Assign heavy labor to those who are stronger in strength, and assign small and easy labor to the weak.” 143. Meanwhile, no indulgence was given to laziness. If someone complained to his superior (the caretaker, it must be) that he was burdening him with work, then the complaint was sorted out. If it turned out to be fair, the caretaker received due admonition; if she was unfair, and the brother said so, out of grumbling and unwillingness to work, then he was convinced up to five times not to grumble, clearly proving to him that he was grumbling in vain. If after this he remained the same, then he was considered one of the sick, taken to the hospital and fed there, leaving him idle until he returned to the truth, ashamed of his inaction (paragraph 164). 144. As usual, cenobitic monks only move from their cells to church and to meals. In each monastery there was one common refectory for everyone - one kitchen, outside of which nothing could be prepared (paragraph 80); one bakery (item 116). 145 The food prepared was the same for everyone except the sick; and its preparation was so simple that it did not require a special cook: it was prepared in turns of the week. 146. Usually supplied at the meal: bread, salt, some kind of brew (maybe from lentils or beans), vegetables - raw or boiled, sometimes seasoned with oil, some herbs salted with vinegar (item 80). No one was supposed to touch the wine and fish soup except the sick (clause 45). What kind of food is in the monastery, the same on the road (paragraph 46), the same (if) if someone happens to be with relatives. No one anywhere should eat anything other than the dishes shown (section 54). 147. The Angel commanded everyone to eat together. Some were only allowed to eat food at home in their cell, at the discretion of Abba, in the form of greater abstinence (Jeron. in the previous paragraph and paragraph 80). The patients had their own refectory. 148. When the meal was supplied, the bl. well determines. Jerome in the preface. “The sick,” he says, “are given great condescension; but the healthy maintain strict abstinence. Twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday, everyone fasts (that is, they eat at 9 o’clock and not all food permitted for monks), throughout the year, excluding the days of Easter and Pentecost. On other days they eat after noon. And in the evening a meal is also provided for those who carry out heavy work, for the elderly and children, and also propter acstus gravitsimos - due to the great heat (perhaps for those who, due to these heats, do not eat at noon). And of the other brethren, some eat a little at another time, while others are content with a single meal, at noon or in the evening” (cf. Cass. book 3, paragraph 12). And the Angel commanded St. Pachomius: “Allow everyone to eat and drink as needed; do not forbid either fasting or eating.” 149. Paragraph 28 says that the brethren from the Church go either home or to lunch. This could be either after midday or after nine o'clock prayer. You might think that you always had to go to the dining room from the Church. Meanwhile, however, it was not always like this: for there are rules about calling the brethren directly to the meal. For this purpose, we gave a sign, before which no one could leave the cell and wander around the monastery (paragraph 90). 150. The sign was given weekly, at the appointed hour (maybe with the permission of Abba - in relation to paragraph 24). For the one giving the sign, the following rule is laid down: “Whoever beats the beater so that the brethren gather for a meal, let him, while he beats, with meditation read something from Scripture from memory” (paragraph 36). 151. Having heard the sign, the brethren go to the meal, silently, meditating on something from Scripture (p. 28). Having entered the meal, they take their places in order of houses and brethren (item 29). All of them have heads covered with cucullium and militia on their shoulders (item 91). 152. Prayer before and after meals is not mentioned or hinted at anywhere in the statute - this is true because this matter did not require special regulations. Ave. Cassian says that on Saturday and Sunday, and on fast days, before lunch and after lunch, the prescribed Psalms were sung; for dinner on Sunday they sit down with simple prayer; with the same prayer they get up because of him (book 3, paragraph 12). 153. Silence was strictly observed during the meal. Not only could no one speak or laugh without a corresponding fine, but when something was needed, they let people know about it not by word, but by signs. Whoever disturbed the silence by talking, and even more so by laughing, was immediately subjected to penance (par. 31:33). 154. No one was supposed to spy on others to see how they were eating; and everyone had complete freedom to abstain at his own request, without being embarrassed that they would notice his severity towards himself (paragraph 30). 155. When Abba commanded someone to move to another table, he did so unquestioningly; when someone was late, without the knowledge of elders and without a legal reason, he suffered penance, as did the one who broke the silence (par. 30:32). 156. Those who were allowed to eat in the cell took only bread with salt and water (Jeron. in the preface). The caretaker took the bread for them for two or three days; and they were not kept outside, but when the hour came they were given to the brother. He received neither brew, nor vegetables, nor fruits (item 80). 157. Having left the meal, the brethren received on certain days from the week's fruits and sweets (perhaps apples, dates, grapes), which they ate however upon arrival at the cell. The one who distributed the sweets distributed equally to everyone, reading something from Scripture as a keepsake; he himself received his share from the weekly caretaker. This was given for three days. Those who did not eat, or did not eat everything, gave it to the caretaker, and he returned it to its place (paragraphs 37, 38, 39, 40). 158. Upon leaving the meal, no one could stop with another to talk, but silently went to his cell (paragraph 34). 159. The weekly table workers did not prepare anything special from food, just like those who prepared the brew. They ate food after others, and served themselves (n. 35, 44, 76). 160. As we have already seen, the brethren, having performed six evening prayers in the house, went to their cells to sleep (item 126). At midnight the week-old woke them up for nightly prayer, after which they no longer allowed themselves to sleep. Thus, half of the night was given over to sleep, and half was dedicated to vigil in prayer and contemplation of God. 161. The angel commanded: “The brethren should not sleep lying down, but let them build themselves seats with sloping backs and sleep on them sitting, having made their bed.” The 87th paragraph of the statute commands the same thing: “For sleeping, no one should have another bed, except for a seat with a back inclined back, which will be given to him.” To this is added in the following. Rule 88: “Except for the psata, i.e. matting, this seat should not be covered with anything else for sleeping.” 162. The angel also commanded: “At night the brethren must remain in linen levitons and girded; and they should not sleep without coats.” Probably the cucullium also remained on them, never being shed. 163. In the cells, as the Angel commanded, three brothers were usually placed; They were instructed, after going to bed, not to start talking to each other. They had to observe the same when they stayed overnight in the field and settled down to sleep together, or when in stuffy times they went out to sleep on domats (flat roofs) (paragraph 87). 164. If someone happens to wake up before the time to get up, the rule tells him: “Let him pray; and if he feels thirsty, and the day of fasting comes, let him abstain and not drink” (paragraph 87). 165. No one should lock a cell at night, which should not have anything with which to lock it. In this regard, however, the Abba of the monastery may grant leniency to others, out of respect for age or state of health (item 107). Apparently not every cell had three brothers; it happened one at a time. This is also suggested by other clauses of the charter. 16) Inner life: building up the spirit with truth 166. The external rules of the Tavennisiot hostels were aimed at making it easier for the brethren to be built up in the spirit. The seed of spiritual life was placed by the grace of God in the very calling to this kind of life. Inside the monastery it developed and grew. The main developer here, too, is the grace of God, which found access inside in prayer and contemplation of God and was multiplied by frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. To this must be added those orders that were established for the creation of the spirit by the Word of Truth. These include rules for memorizing the Word of God, meditating on it, listening to the teachings of elders and reading books. 167. The first test of entering the monastery consisted of memorizing several psalms; upon entering the monastery, this was accompanied by memorization of some more parts of Scripture; then, if the beginner did not know how to read, he had to learn and was obliged, after that, to learn at least the Psalter and the entire New Testament (p. 139:140). This memorization could not be accomplished suddenly, but took many years, if not a lifetime. And this is what the monks’ minds and memories were constantly occupied with! 168. But a memorized word could remain fruitless; why they tried to develop it in every possible way. The first means of this was one’s own reflection, which could not but be accompanied by the very first memorization of Scripture. It has already been mentioned more than once that the monks, no matter what they did, were obliged to constantly occupy their minds with the thought of God, by reading the Psalter or other passages of Scripture from memory. They were prescribed: whether they were going to or from the Church, to or from the meal, whether they were sitting at home at work or working in the bakery, in the garden and in the field, whether they were going somewhere, or sailing in a boat - in all circumstances - to do the work with the body, and to occupy the mind with some passage of Scripture (paragraphs 3, 28, 36, 37, 60, 116, etc.). 169. The conduct of this mental exercise consisted of the following: having brought to memory a place of Scripture, they repeated it mentally, interrogating what is in it and what it teaches. The mind, armed with prayer, attention and thirst for truth, decomposed the pondered words and extracted truths from them, to increase its knowledge and as a guide for life. They were in no hurry to move from one place to another until they had exhausted everything contained in it, like a bee that does not fly off a flower until it has extracted all the honey from it. Another place could take whole days and weeks. 170. If they encountered bewilderment due to the darkness of a place or its apparent disagreement with other places, they did not immediately bother their elders with a question about it, but they themselves tried to solve it in advance, repeatedly starting to discuss the place that stopped them and in prayer asking for enlightenment from above. 171. When they became convinced that they did not have enough strength to solve the perplexities that arose, they turned to the caretaker of the house, or to Avva, during interviews - and they decided. Such incidents are remembered in the lives of the great elders of Tabennisiot. Ammon testifies that for the first time, being brought into the place of interview, he saw that St. Theodore was busy resolving precisely this perplexity. 172. Thought on God is the closest and most powerful means for cultivating the mind in the knowledge of God and Divine things; but he cannot be without guidance. In the Tabennisiot monasteries, such guidance was provided, firstly, by conversations between Abba and the caretakers of the houses. They explained the Scripture and taught everyone how to conduct this matter themselves. 173. The overseers, obliged to teach the brethren how to live holyly (n. 188), conducted conversations with them every week three times in the morning, on days of fasting, i.e. on Wednesday and Friday, there were two teachings from them, in the morning and in the evening. Whether they spoke in the morning or in the evening, they always spoke after home prayers. None of the brethren had to be absent, and everyone gathered listened with attention, standing or sitting in their own order (items 20, 21, 115, 138). 174. The abbas of the monasteries conducted their conversations separately from the overseers. The rule does not specify how many times this was done or when; this probably depended on the discretion of the Abbas themselves. Ave. Pachomius spoke teachings every evening, and sometimes after night prayer. Theodore, etc. often used to say them. They were, of course, imitated by subsequent Abbas, until the spirit of jealousy cooled. The historian of Eastern asceticism (Vies des peres) says that the Abbas usually spoke one lesson on Saturday and two on Sunday. 175. For the meeting at Abba's conversations, a sign was given, upon hearing which everyone left their cells and hurried to the place of meeting; no one could stay in the cell (paragraph 23). The place of meeting was not the Church; Ammon remembers the conversations of St. Theodore under some tree. The brothers sat in order of the houses. 176. Whether the caretaker or Ava was leading the conversation, silent attention was required. Anyone who made any noise against this or began to doze off suffered the prescribed fine (clause 22). 177. So that with these conversations the same thing does not happen that is said about other words: it went into one ear and out of the other, the brothers then went through everything they heard among themselves, remembering one thing and another. For this purpose, fraternal interviews were appointed, which were conducted with all modesty, from house to house in a general meeting, immediately after listening to the conversations of the caretaker or Abba. In this way they restored in their minds every conversation they had heard, and through repetition, memorizing it, they became rich in the knowledge of the truth (n. 20, 122, 138). 178. The second guide to the proper conduct of personal reflection was obtained through reading books. 179. Each monastery had its own library. Weekly, on Monday morning, by order of Ava, he went around the houses, found out where each book was needed and then delivered them (paragraph 25). In the house, the books were in the hands of the interlocutor; for which purpose a window was installed in the common cell - a niche in the wall with doors. The brethren who wanted to read books received them from him in the morning, and in the evening they handed them over to him again, and he, having counted them, locked them in the window (item 100). On Saturday, books were handed over to the general library, due to the weekly change, when one handed over and the other accepted books (item 25). 180. The charter shows that books were read; but when and how is not determined, probably because this did not require special instructions. It is only remembered that when going out to Church or to a meal, no one should leave books unwrapped (item 100); and also, that no one could, without the knowledge of the caretaker and his second in charge, go to another house to ask for a book for a while, or read it together with which brother (p. 188). As a task, each brother had one task - to present the work to a certain extent by the evening; then everyone could be left free to balance reading with work and choose the time for it, as long as the lesson was completed. 181. Palladius somewhere notes that in the monasteries there were special scribes, whose obedience consisted in copying the books that Abba ordered. In this way the library could grow continuously. 182. In addition to the books of Divine Scripture, there were also books of the Fathers and teachers of the Church. This can be concluded from the fact that St. Pachomius strictly forbade touching the books of Origen. For other teachers, therefore, could and should have been touched upon. 183. In such ways the brethren were enriched with the knowledge of all truth; and it is not at all surprising that among them were brought up many knowledgeable Abbas and caretakers who could verbally offer frequent and edifying teachings to the brethren. 184. It is appropriate to conclude these rules with the words of the charter, placed in it between paragraphs 142 and 143 in the form of a title: “These are the commandments and decrees, how brothers should gather to hear the Word of God, so that their souls may be delivered from error and glorify God in the light of the living and know how to live in the house of God, without stumbling and temptation, so that they are not intoxicated by any passion, but stand in the truth and traditions of St. Apostles and Prophets, imitating them in the worthy walk in the house of God.” 17) Moral advancement 185. But knowledge of the truth is a guiding light for life. It is valuable because it helps to decorate the character with all sorts of virtues. Therefore, the charter of the Tavennisiot Hostel, so much feeding the spirit with prayer, the Word of God, thoughts of God, the teachings of elders, and mutual conversation, demanded from them the most severe feats aimed at creating good monastic morals and strengthening spiritual life. These are: 186. Silence. It has been repeated more than once that monks must behave in such a way that their hands work and their minds are occupied with the Divine, as directed by the Word of God. This is the norm of their life. Conversation among themselves was allowed only for the purpose of remembering what they had heard in teaching from their elders. There was to be no mention of anything mundane. The charter directly prescribed this: “When the brethren sit at home, it is not permissible for them to talk about anything worldly; but let them, if the overseer said something from Scripture, revise it together and tell each other what someone has retained in memory from what they heard” (paragraph 122, the same in 60). 187. Apart from this authorized interview, silence was maintained; and since very little time passed in this interview, we can say that the monks, according to the rules, always had to remain silent. 188. Not only in the Church and in the meal should one remain silent, but also when going there and back; not only at home work, but also at work outside the monastery, and on the way there and back; also during washing clothes, kneading flour and planting grains, one should always and everywhere be silent, and if something was required, let it be known by signs (paragraphs 34, 59, 60, 116). 189. In order not to irritate the talkative people, it was forbidden to convey any messages or news to the brethren. Thus, those who went to see relatives or went somewhere else, sailed somewhere along the river, or worked on the side, were not supposed to talk inside the monastery about anything that they saw and heard and what they themselves did (paragraph 57:86). 190. It was also strictly observed that no one transfer words from house to house, from monastery to monastery, from monastery to field, and from field to monastery (item 85). 191. Such silence, keeping his attention undistracted, focused him on the only thing needed, and gave him space to calmly conduct his inner thoughts about God and extract all kinds of edification from the passages of Scripture under discussion. The silence made it seem that everyone, even among the crowded brotherhood, was alone. 192. Obedience, or lack of one's own will. – The statute already bound everyone by obedience, for it determined everything, and by decrees that had the force of an immutable law, which is why in one place they are called bonds bound in heaven. As a result, it was prescribed that everyone should observe the rules, as before God (n. 184), and do nothing that did not come from the advice of the Fathers (n. 191). If something turned out to be uncertain, it was immediately determined by the elders, and not by the person himself (item 180). Those who despised the greater commandments and regarded the monastery rules, established by the command of God, as meaningless, were ordered to be subjected to corrective measures, no matter how insignificant the violation committed (item 167). 193. Another way of knitting the will of all was comprehensive subordination. No one was left without a subordinate for a single minute. Everyone was constantly in front of the caretaker: and no one could do anything without his permission and knowledge (paragraph 157). Not only to leave for the monastery, or to walk around the monastery, or to go to another’s cell, but also ordinary affairs should always begin and end only with his permission (paragraphs 127, 183, 184). When the caretaker was absent, his place, without any special orders, was taken by a second mute; if this did not happen, then someone else (p. 182). When a brother went somewhere - to see relatives who had come, or to go to a relative’s house, or to wash clothes, if he was late to do this with others, we sent another with him, as the greatest (paragraphs 53, 56, 69). Likewise, if several brethren were sent to a place, the largest one with all the morals of a caretaker was placed over them (item 189). The caretaker himself was only the executor of the charter and depended on the Abba in everything; the Abba of the monastery, in turn, depended on the main Abba in everything. Thus, everyone was bound by bonds of obedience, and no one could have his own will or follow it. 194. And in the ordinary course of life, no one could dispose of anything on his own, even in relation to those things that he had to dispose of in fulfillment of his duty. For example: a weekly canteen needs vegetables, but he does not take them from the garden himself, but receives them from the gardener (paragraph 73); the week's worker needs to take date branches to wet them for the brothers, but he does not take them himself, but they are given to him by the one who has them in his hands (item 74); and the wetted branches that someone needs cannot be taken by himself, although they are before his eyes, and they are given by the weekly steward (item 124). And the stewards themselves do not take anything for themselves: the weekly keeper distributes sweets after dinner (both Abba and the caretakers receive them equally), and he receives his share from the hands of the weekly keeper (item 39); The caretaker, after collecting dates, distributes several to the brothers who collected them, and receives his equal share from the hands of another (item 78). So everyone was obedient and had no will of their own for anything. Anyone who was disobedient and did anything contrary was subject to a fine (paragraph 150:151). 195. Poverty, lack of anything. Anyone entering the monastery left everything they owned outside the gates and entered in monastic clothes, using someone else’s money. Then, he no longer had the opportunity to have anything especially his own and for himself alone. 196. Everything he needed—clothes and tools—was given by order of Abba, not as inviolable property, but only for use; except what was given out, no one could have anything, not only money, but also things (paragraph 81:192). 197. What was issued was in the brother’s hands, but he used it as if it were a stranger’s; having a duty to take care of it and being liable for neglect, damage or loss (n. 148:131). 198. What was given satisfied the need, but it was the simplest and meagerest, clothing made of canvas. No one could have had anything better or more, not the caretaker himself, nor Ava; what anyone had in excess of what was required, he had to take it to the appropriate place, without delay and without interference (paragraphs 81, 82, 97, 114, 159, 192). 199. Each was given: two levitons and a third shabby one, two cucullia, a mantle, an amice, a robe, a pair of sandals, a staff, work tools and also a seat with a sloping back for sleeping, and matting for laying on it. That's all the property; and not all of it was in his brother’s hands; others were kept in the pantry, in the hands of the intercessor (Jer. p. 81). 200. It would seem that the brother could dispose of what was brought by his relatives as property, but he could not touch it, but called the gatekeeper, and he took it and took it to the hospital, giving a little to his brother, if possible (paragraph 92:113). Likewise, no one takes a found thing to himself, but hangs it at the church, and there either the one who lost it or whoever is told takes it (item 132). 201. This lack of nothing, incontinence and poverty taught humility, causing everyone to look at themselves as a beggar, and kept everyone in carelessness. No one cared about the morning; Abba and his assistants took care of everyone; It was up to them to satisfy the needs of everyone, but the brethren, relying on them, remained carefree. As soon as the greatest ones were deficient in this regard, they answered. Everyone had the same and equally. No one was disadvantaged by anything and received no extra (paragraph 40). 202. Fasting and abstinence. Their table was generally meager: it consisted of bread and salt, some vegetables and one brew. If one were to consume everything offered, one would not be able to reach satiety; but the brethren also deprived themselves of all contentment. Others came to the meal only to hide their abstinence, and having tasted a little of something, or a little of everything offered, they limited themselves to that. Many had the rule of eating only bread and salt and staying at home for that, loving silence. Others ate after a day or two (prefaced by Jero). 203. At the meal, everyone did not greedily rush to the food, although they could not help but be hungry when they came to it, but they waited until the caretaker began to eat (Jer. p. 30). Likewise, after the table, having received fruits and sweets, they did not immediately put them in their mouths, but they ate a little of it upon arrival in the cell, and that’s not all. Besides this, no one could have anything edible in the cell (item 79). 204. They maintained abstinence on all occasions, not only in the monastery, but also outside - on the road, on barges and with relatives (item 54). Those who looked after the grapes, dates and orchard could not begin to eat the fruits earlier than the other brothers, and always received their share along with the other brothers; also, whoever was in the garden and, passing by the trees, attacked a fallen fruit, he could not eat it, but had to put it at the root of the tree; Likewise, those who prepared the food could not allow themselves any indulgence (paragraphs 75, 76, 77). 205. The usual fasts, on Wednesdays and Fridays, were observed with such strictness that if anyone woke up at night on any of these days and felt thirsty, he had to deny himself quenching it (item 87). 206. The body was not given any relief, and only extreme weakness forced it to be given any leniency; It was forbidden not only to anoint it with oil, but also to wash it with water, unless in extreme exhaustion (item 72). It was also impossible to make a fire separately from the general fire, no matter what the need to warm up was felt (paragraph 120). 207. Humble modesty and sedateness. Closing his eyes with the cucullis and bowing his head, every brother, whether he was going somewhere, whether he was standing in the Church, or sitting at a meal or at work, paid attention to himself alone and to his work, not daring to spy on how others prayed, ate or worked (par. 7:30). 208. Not only in Church and at meals, but also at work, no one could speak, make noise or laugh (p. 8:31). It was considered no less reprehensible to start laughing, joking and idle talk during mutual conversations, or to flirt with children: all this and the like was considered contrary to the honesty of the monastic rank (n. 151:166). One joker, one of the comedians who converted to Christianity and entered the monastery, and often indulged in his old habit, was supposed to be expelled from the monastery; and this was not fulfilled only because St. Theodore took him on his guarantee. 209. For the same reason, i.e. for the sake of honesty, for the sake of the title, the two of them were not allowed to mount a donkey (item 109), nor walk idly around the monastery before striking the bell for prayer or a meal (item 90:178), nor leave the ranks when going in order to work (item 65), nor tug too hard on the leviton when washing their clothes (item 69). 210. Mutual love. Although from some points of the charter it is clear that everyone had to behave as if he lived alone, in spirit, nevertheless, everyone had to be in strong love, peace and harmony among themselves. Paragraph 150 directly says: “There is any fulfillment of the law. The night will pass and the day will come. Let us put aside dark deeds, which are zeal, envy, and enmity.” The 179th paragraph also inspires: “Let there be peace and harmony among everyone, and let everyone willingly submit to the greatest, sitting, walking and standing in their own order and trying to surpass each other in humility.” 211. Among the brethren, not a single action by which the law of love was violated was left without reproof and proper correction. He who is quick to slander, who is angry and contentious, who has a bad disposition to irritate others with words, who wants to confuse the brethren and sow quarrels - immediately, as he was noticed, listened to the reproof, and upon reproof he bore penance, sometimes very severe. Those who did not correct themselves were expelled from the monastery (paragraphs 60, 61, 63, 69). 212. In the spirit of this love, the greatest were forbidden to burden the brethren with anything (n. 179); and if, for example, someone who came from work outside felt tired, he was not forced to go to prayer if at the same time the hour for it approached (paragraph 187). 213. Also, the caretaker was subjected to strict reproof if he, noticing his brother sad, did not pay due attention to this and did not rush to console his brother and calm him down; especially if he himself was the cause of confusion (p. 170). 214. Warnings Against Temptations Against Chastity. But there was nothing carnal or sensual in this love. All the same, everyone had to be loved, and preference in this regard for anyone was considered reprehensible (instruction Orsisiya). 215. So that nothing carnal might creep into brotherly friendliness, no one was allowed to talk to another in the dark, or to hold anyone’s hand; but it was prescribed whether someone would stand with another, or walk, or sit, to keep himself one cubit away from him (item 94). 216. In the same way of preventing temptations against chastity, although women were accepted into the hotel, they were not allowed to look inside the monastery, “so that the fraternal herd would calmly go about their business, and no stumbling block would be given to anyone” (p. 51). That is why the brethren, who did not have to go outside, never saw this floor. Ave. Theodore refused to even see his mother. 217. For the same reason, although the brethren were dismissed from the monastery, no one could go to the village or village (paragraph 108); and when the brethren went somewhere in their boat, it was not allowed to take wives onto it (paragraph 119). The same purpose also applies to the fact that in the monastery it was strictly forbidden to make friends with children (paragraph 166). 218. About the sick, says Bl. Jerome, the Tabenisiots had the most tender care; and they were given as much food as they wanted. 219. When someone received a wound or bruise, or became a little ill, but did not go to bed, but moved, the caretaker of the house had to go to the hospital and other stewards and take for him what was required (paragraph 40:105). 220. When someone became seriously ill, the caretaker of the house took him to the hospital and gave him to the hospital workers, who from that moment took full care of him in all his needs, whether he needed clothing or food. He himself could not touch anything, or order the preparation of anything for himself according to his own will. He declared everything to the hospital administrators, and they satisfied his wishes that should have been satisfied. The stewards themselves, if they fell ill, could neither take anything ready nor order it to be prepared. This was done for them by those who took their place (n. 41:42). 221. The sick were allowed to give wine and prepare fish soup (paragraph 45). They were not even denied meat if any of them wanted it. In the life of St. Pachomius it is said that for refusing this to a patient, he gave a very severe reprimand to the hospital workers. 222. If one of those sent somewhere to the side fell ill on the road, or in a barge, and wanted to eat fish or something else that was unusual in the monastery, the leader on the way had to provide them with everything in abundance, so that the sick brother would not be saddened by anything; only he had to take this food separately from others (paragraph 46). 223. No one was supposed to enter the hospital except those who were sick (paragraph 42). Both brothers and relatives could visit the sick, only with the permission of the greater ones (item 47). The 129th paragraph says that wherever the brethren were sent as a group, one of the weekly servants serving in the hospital had to go with them, in case someone was seized with illness in the field or on the road. 224. Each monastery had a hotel where everyone who came was received and laid to rest, without distinction of gender, faith or condition. But no one was allowed inside the monastery. An exception in this regard was made, at the discretion of Abba, only for monks and priests. 225. This is what their charter says about them! “When clergy or monks come to the gates of the monastery, they must be received with great honor: their feet must be washed, according to the commandment of the Gospel, and everything that is possible according to monastic customs must be provided. If they want to come to the meeting of the brethren during church prayer, then when they are of the same faith, the caretaker of the hospice will announce this to the Abbas of the monastery, and with his permission will introduce them to the Church (item 51). 226. But they were not introduced to the meal, but were offered food at the hotel. One priest of the Tantir Church, named Dionysius, known to St. Pachomius, noticed to him that this violated the commandment of hospitality and advised him to abolish such a rule. Ave. Pachomius answered him that a greater violation of the commandment would result if they were offended by something in the brothers, or the brothers in them, and left his law in force. 227. Of the other persons, everyone was accepted equally; Only women received stricter attention; so a special section was set up for them, away from the proximity of men. The Charter commands: “If lay people come to the gates of the monastery, then receive them in special rooms, as required by rank and gender; We must especially care for women with great attention and with all the fear of God; and appoint a special place for them, remote and fenced off, with all caution and caution” (paragraph 51). 228. Apart from the hotel guests, no one could receive outsiders. The 50th paragraph says: “None of those staying inside the monastery has the power to receive anyone and feed him, but must send him to the hostel, and there those assigned to this matter will receive him.” 229. Likewise, when those returning from outside to the monastery see a stranger at the gates asking for one of their relatives staying in the monastery, they should not go to that brother to tell about this or call him. This must be done in their own way by the gatekeepers (Section 57). 230. The charter defines these cases as follows: “If someone appears at the gates of the monastery, saying that he wants to see such and such his brother or relative, then the gatekeeper will tell the Abba of the monastery about him, and he, calling the caretaker of the house, will ask about his brother and allow him to be released through the gates. The caretaker, having given the inquired brother another, proven brother as a companion, lets him go to the hotel to see his brother or relative who has come (paragraph 52). 231. In the same order, the brother is dismissed to go to the house of his parents or relatives, when it is announced that one of them is sick and wants to see him, namely: the gatekeeper will tell the Abba of the monastery about this, and he will call and ask the caretaker of the house and dismiss the brother. Then a brother who is faithful and established in the order of monastic life is chosen as a caretaker and sent with someone whose relative or friend has fallen ill. They will take as much for the road as the caretaker determines (section 53). 232. If need forces them to delay there, then they should not stay in the house of their parents or relatives, but let them stay in a house that is attached to the Church, or in a monastery, if they are of the same faith (i.e. Orthodox). 233. If relatives and friends offer them food, they should not eat anything other than what they usually eat in the monastery. They should not taste wine, fish soup, or anything else that they are not in the habit of eating (Section 54). 234. If they receive anything edible from their relatives, let them use what they need on the road, and what remains, let them, upon arrival at the monastery, give it to the caretaker of the house, and he will take it to the house of the sick (paragraph 54). 235. If one’s neighbor and half-blood dies, then his brother cannot participate in the funeral send-off unless he has received permission from Abba (paragraph 55). 236. When one of the brethren passed away, how long he remained unburied is not clear from the charter. Collector of the lives of St. Eastern ascetics says that the brethren spent the whole night in prayer for the deceased, in front of his remains, alternating one with the other. The statute speaks only about funerals, commanding that when a brother dies, the entire brotherhood accompanies him to the funeral, singing the prescribed psalms, and maintaining reverent order and order in everything (par. 127:128). They were buried in one specific place on the mountain. 22) A note about children raised in a monastery 237. From the life of St. Pachomius it is clear that children were raised in monasteries, but the charter says little about the procedures that were observed in this regard. 238. How they were accepted is not clear either from the lives or from the charter. Perhaps this was done in the same way as St. later determines. Basil the Great. Orphans were accepted directly themselves, and children who had parents were accepted with the permission or at the request of their parents. 239. The purpose of their upbringing was not only so that they would later become monks, although this could also be the case; but to educate them in the fear of God and true piety, teaching them to read and write, to write and to do handicrafts. This is evident from the circumstances of the life of St. Pachomius, where children are remembered. 240. They lived inside the monastery and had a special house, and of course, a special caretaker and mentors. It seems they went to the dining room together with the monks, but probably not everyone took part in the common prayers. 241. Condescension was made to them in food: they always ate twice a day (Jerome); but it doesn’t appear that anything special is being prepared for them. 242. They sometimes worked together with their brothers, as an incident from the life of St. Pachomius shows. The charter prohibits the brethren from having fun with children, making jokes or friendships with them, under fear of strict punishment (clause 166). 243. Children's behavior was to be monitored strictly. If any children indulged too much in games and idleness, the caretaker had to admonish them and take corrective measures against them - himself for up to 30 days; if they did not correct themselves, they had to inform the Abba of the monastery (item 172). 244. If, seeing that the children persisted in their malfunction, the caretaker did not report, and meanwhile they did something very bad, then he himself was subject to responsibility, depending on the offense that was noticed in the children (paragraph 172). 245. Those children who were not afraid of being ashamed for pranks, and through foolishness did not think about God’s judgment, and were repeatedly rebuked and were not corrected, were ordered to be subjected to corporal punishment until they obeyed decorum and accepted fear (item 173). 23) About the deanery of young women or nuns 246. Women's monasteries, one by St. Pachomius, and the other by St. Theodore, were built on the other side of the Nile. To look after them and satisfy their spiritual and economic needs, special proven elders were elected, who alone had free entry there. And admission to the monastery, and the monastic order, and the very maintenance of the nuns, everything depended on the Abba of the monasteries. There were abbesses, but they only maintained established routines internally, under the guidance, supervision and authority of Abbas, through the mediation of selected elders. 247. The charter regarding these monasteries contains only one point - 193. It reads: “No one should go to the nuns to visit, unless he has a mother there, or a sister, or the mother of his children. If anyone has an urgent need to see them, send the elder assigned to them: they will see them and return together. 248. No one should go there except those shown above, like this: first they will tell the Abba of the monastery, and he will send virgins to the elders assigned to the monastery, so that they go with them to see the virgins. And they will see those whom they need in their presence, with all reverence and fear of God. “They shouldn’t talk about worldly things.” 249. Human weaknesses are so great that the most beneficial institutions for others remain fruitless, or are not always and not fruitful in everything. The same took place in the Kinovia established by St. Pachomius, with a wise charter effectively aimed at the goals of monasticism. Sometimes due to weakening of attention, sometimes due to laziness, sometimes due to enemy temptation, falls often occurred in them, violating not only the monastic rules, but also the Divine commandments. Since such falls were not the end, but were either immediately accompanied by repentance and a desire for correction, or promised correction ahead, it was not lawful to immediately expel everyone who fell from the community of Saints, but it was necessary to use measures of correction and admonition, so that if there was a need to expel someone, expel him upon confirmation that there was no more hope for his correction. St. Pachomius paid special attention to this, and just as he himself treated the fallen with compassion and love, so he inspired his successors and all abbots to engage in healing the infirm with all zeal. This is how it was done. From the measures taken to correct the fallen and maintain them in good order, rules of punishment or penance were drawn up, which are often mentioned in the charter. 250. All those who fell were subject to corrective measures, and not a single violation or omission was left without punishment. The severity of penance was determined, on the one hand, by the importance of the broken rule, and on the other, by feelings of repentance. It was a general law that anyone who had misbehaved in anything, as soon as he noticed his mistake, without waiting for reproof, had to stand up, admit his mistake and ask for forgiveness. This was followed by either a simple remark or a more or less severe reprimand, admonition or punishment. “Whoever goes past any of the commandments, let him without any delay bring repentance for negligence, so that he may receive the Kingdom of Heaven” (p. 194). 251. The punishment consisted either of only standing in one’s place when others were sitting, either at home, or at meals and during the common teaching, or in the fact that, having removed the belt, bowed the head and lowered the hands, stand in the Church before the altar, and at meals on Wednesday. This latter is the most common type of penance, which in the statute is often called ordinary punishment. Sometimes, the culprit was left hungry or lost his place and even his position. Others were subjected to corporal punishment. Those who remained incorrigible and persisted in their bad habit were finally expelled from the monastery. One Ave. Pachomius deprived of the usual burial, to intimidate the living. We can assume that this is not the only example. 252. The general law required that any violation of the rules be punished: “Those who despise the commandments of the great and the monastic rules established by the command of God, and who do not value the advice of the elders, should be subjected to corrective measures according to the established procedure until they correct themselves” (p. 167). 253. The judge of all is the Abba of the monastery, without whom no one had the power to reprimand anyone (item 147). “Let the Abba of the monastery hear, says one paragraph, and reward according to the measure and deed of sin” (para. 151). 254. The overseer and those who follow him only have the power to force the brethren to confess and take upon themselves the prescribed penance, either in a house meeting or in a general meeting of all brethren (item 181). It was their responsibility to admonish those who sinned from 3 to 10 times; in general, their job was to inform Abba, which if they did not do, they themselves were subject to punishment. Here are the corrective measures found in the charter. a) For malfunctions during prayer 255. If it happens that during singing, or prayer, or reading, someone speaks, then he must immediately remove his belt, and bowing his head and hands to his lower members, stand in front of the altar, and the Abba of the monastery will give him an order. He must do the same at the meal, when the brethren gather to eat (clause 8). 256. When during the day the knocking of the bell calls one to the Church, the one who came later for one prayer receives penance from Abba in the Church and stands at the meal (item 9). 257. At night, when a concession is made to bodily weakness, the one who comes after three prayers is subjected to the same penance, both in the church meeting and at the meal (item 10). 258. Whoever comes to the meeting one prayer later from the 6 evening prayers (at home), or who whispers, speaks or laughs during prayer, must bear penance in the established order (clause 121). 259. Whoever, during home prayer, sings his alternate psalm, mixes in speaking, must bear penance for oblivion and negligence (paragraph 13). 260. If at the time when one of the major ones sings on the Lord's Day, one of the weekly churchmen is not in place (to sing the next verse antiphonally), he must bear the prescribed penance before the altar (item 18). 261. Whoever, during the offering of a bloodless sacrifice, leaves the Church without greater permission, immediately receives penance (item 19). It was generally not allowed to leave the Church unless absolutely necessary and without permission (paragraph 11). Probably, any exit from the Church without permission was also punished. b) For malfunctions during training 262. If the caretaker of the house or Abba of the monastery is having a conversation and falls asleep while sitting, make him stand up, and let him stand until he is ordered to sit down (paragraph 22). 263. Whoever remains in the cell when they are called to listen to the instructions of the great ones must be subject to the above-mentioned penance (paragraph 23). c) For malfunctions in the meal 264. If anyone speaks or laughs during a meal, he must ask for forgiveness and immediately pay penance in the same place - stand until everyone gets up from the table (paragraph 31). 265. If anyone comes late to the meal, he bears the same penance and returns to the house hungry (paragraph 32). d) For malfunctions in the hospital 266. If any of the rules established for the hospital are violated or neglected by someone, he is subject to correction by ordinary penance (clause 48). e) For violating the rules on clothing 267. Whoever keeps his clothes in the sun longer than noon will receive a reprimand for negligence (n. 102). 268. If someone’s clothes (on any occasion) are found hanging in the sun on the third day, the one to whom they belong will receive a reprimand and suffer penance in the assembly publicly (item 148). 269. And in general, whoever, through negligence, violates any of the regulations regarding clothing should be subject to appropriate corrective measures. f) For carelessness about monastic things 270. Whoever breaks any vessel or breaks any other thing bears penance during six prayers in the evening (item 125). 271. If anyone loses anything, he must bear penance publicly before the altar. If what is lost is one of the things that belongs to him, then he will not receive another for three weeks, and on the fourth week, after he has suffered penance, he will be given what he lost (clause 131). 272. Whether a mantle, or sandals, or a belt, or anything else that anyone loses, the loser will receive a reprimand (paragraph 148). To reconcile this with the previous one, we must assume that here we are talking about a thing lost and found, and above – about a thing lost and not found. 273. Whoever takes something that is not his (deliberately, leaving his worst to someone else), place it on his shoulders, and let him bear penance in the church meeting and stand at the table (item 149). 274. If any of the fraternal products, no matter what the craftsmanship, is lost or is abandoned due to negligence, Abba will reprimand the supervisor of the work, and he will reprimand the one who destroyed the thing, according to the will, however, and the award of Ava (item 147). g) For defects in character 275. Whoever lies or has hatred towards someone, or is disobedient, or indulges in jokes more than decently, or has the habit of slandering the brethren and outsiders, and in general, whatever anyone does against the commandments of Scripture and the rules of the monastery, let the Abba of the monastery hear about it and repay according to the measure and deed of sin (item 151). 276. An angry and irritable person, who often gets angry for no reason, or because of something empty, admonish him six times, take him out of his place and place him among the latter, inspiring him to cleanse himself of such a restless spirit. When he presents three worthy witnesses who would vouch for him that he will no longer do anything like this, then let him sit down again in his place; if he continues in his sin, let him remain among the latter until he corrects himself (n. 161). 277. Whoever points something false at another in order to oppress the innocent, admonish him up to three times; then, having found him guilty of wrongdoing, subject him to the appropriate measure of correction, whether he is one of the first or one of the last (item 162). 278. Anyone who is grumbling and unjustly burdened with work must be admonished up to 5 times. If he doesn’t improve, take him to the hospital and feed the idle man there until he comes to his senses. But if his complaint is justified, and he is unjustly oppressed by his greatness, the one who led him into temptation will be subject to appropriate punishment (item 164). 279. Also, send to the hospital someone who promises to correct any other faults and still does not correct them (paragraph 171). 280. Anyone who is disobedient or argumentative, or argumentative, or deceitful, and is of a mature age, should be admonished up to ten times to give up these vices. If he does not listen, subject him to corrective measures according to the monastery laws. But if he is subjected to such sins through the fault of another, and this is proven, then the one who caused it will suffer due retribution (n. 165). 281. Anyone who confuses the souls of the brethren, is quick to slander and sows discord, should be admonished up to ten times. If he does not correct himself, he should be punished according to the monastic order until he corrects himself (paragraph 169). 282. If it is noticed that one of the brothers laughs or plays with children and makes friends with this tender age, admonish him up to 3 times to give up this habit, remembering the honesty of his rank and the fear of God. If he does not stop, subject him to the strictest corrective measures, as is worthy (paragraph 166). 283. Anyone who has the extremely evil custom of irritating (setting fire to) others with words and corrupting the souls of simpletons (outraging the whole house or monastery) should be admonished up to 3 times. If he does not listen and stubbornly remains the same with a hardened heart, take him outside the monastery and subject him to corporal punishment in front of the gates. Give him only bread and water, outside the common meal, until he recovers from his bad character (item 163). 284. If anyone is caught stealing, give him 39 blows; He eats only bread and water outside the common meal and is covered with sackcloth and ashes and is forced to repent at all times of prayer. The same law can be observed regarding fugitives (item 149). 285. If one of the brothers, one, or two or three, having been seduced by someone, leaves the house and then comes again, to consider the matter between them and the one who seduced, and whoever turns out to be guilty will be punished according to the laws of the monastery (item 175). 286. Whoever indulges those who have sinned and wrongfully defends those who have fallen into misdeeds, may he be cursed before God and man, and may he be subjected to the most severe punishment. But if it turns out that he was deceived out of ignorance and did not believe it to be true, forgive him. – And to forgive everyone who sins out of ignorance without difficulty. Whoever sins, knowing it, let him bear punishment according to the extent of his deed (n. 176). h) Collections from the caretaker and punishment to him 287. The caretaker of the house is subject to accusation and reprimand if he does not report to Abba within three days when something was lost on the road, or in the field, or in the monastery: he will also suffer penance in the publicly established manner (clause 152). 288. If someone runs away and the caretaker does not inform Abba before three o’clock, then he will be guilty of his brother’s death, unless he finds him again (item 152). 289. This is the punishment for the one who destroys which brother from the house: to bear public repentance for three days. But if he informs the same hour as he runs away, then he will not be guilty (paragraph 153). 290. If the caretaker sees some sin in his house, and does not immediately expose the sinner, and does not inform the Abba of the monastery, he himself will bear the penance established for that sin (item 154). 291. If all the brethren of one house see that the caretaker is too careless, or unfairly and rudely reprimands them, or in some other way does not comply with the rules, as required in the monastery, then they will report this to Abba, and he will reprimand him (p. 158). 292. The caretaker is usually judged by the Abba of the monastery. In the event of his absence, his chosen elders judge him. If any of the brethren has sorrow against the caretaker of his house, or the caretaker himself has a complaint against any brother, the brethren of tested life and faith should listen to them, and judge between them if the Abba of the monastery is absent. First they will wait for him; but if it is thought that he will remain outside for a long time, then they will listen without him what is between the caretaker and the brother, so that due to the postponement of the trial for a long time, discord and grief will not increase. And the overseer, and the brother subordinate to him, and those who listen to them, do everything out of the fear of God, and do not in any way give rise to increased disagreement (item 190). 293. In case of injustice by the overseer to the brother, the case between them will be decided by elected judges; and if it turns out that the caretaker was negligent, or that he, out of pride, oppressed his brother and judged him not according to the truth, but according to partiality, bring him down from his place until he is corrected and cleansed from the filth of unrighteousness - that he did not look at the truth, but at face value, and followed not the judgment of God, but the unrighteousness of his soul (p. 170). 294. The Abba of the monastery, if he was subject to trial and punishment for anything, then the main Abba did it; but the reason for this could have been a complaint from the monastery, similar to a complaint from the brethren of the house against the caretaker. Brief instructions from St. Pachomius 1. Honor God and you will be saved. 2. Remember the hardships that the saints went through. 3. Let us be of one accord, standing firm in what we are called to do. 4. Most of all, we will take care to bring the life we ​​have accepted to the end as it should, and to carry it out according to our order in a manner pleasing to God. 5. Let us not be jealous of those who find pleasure in vain and corruptible things, so that our mind does not deviate from the right path, and, having fallen into sin, we do not lose our hope. 6. The best subject for the mind is knowledge of the will of God. 7. The person who obeys the truth becomes the highest. 8. The worst of all evils is to resist the will of God and please your own desires. 9 . Whoever does his own will will not achieve Divine knowledge. 10. He who does his own will cannot walk in the way of the saints, and on the last day he will meet destruction and mourning. 11. Now is the time to please the Lord; for salvation is obtained during tribulation. 12. Let it not be so that in times of joy we are willing to believe, but in times of adversity we fall away (Luke 8:13). 13. It is written: “If you promise a vow to God, do not hesitate to pay it” (Eccl. 5:3); and in times of trouble do not fall away, but be patient and devour yourself to the Lord. 14. Unshakably complete faith is given by God; The Prophets received it from the Holy Spirit, and the Apostles were established in it, who, having endured various misfortunes and persecutions for their faith, achieved the promised rewards. 15. Knowing this, let us not be blown about by the wind of charming delusions, but rather let us remain firm and motionless, the wanderings of thoughts rising like waves, taming the unceasing remembrance of the Divine law, by which, destroying the law of carnal lust, we will be strong to fulfill everything pleasing to God and to be kept unscathed by the cares of this age and all the praise that There is the greatest madness among madnesses and the worst evil among evils. 16. Always having the Lord before our eyes, let us remember His suffering on the cross and death, by which we were redeemed and quickened. 17. Let us hate the world and everything in the world; Let us also hate all bodily rest; Let us renounce life itself, so that we may live in God's hands. 18. Let us remember our title, and how, upon entering it, we promised to serve God: on the day of judgment this very thing will be required of us. 19. Let us hunger, thirst, be hungry, watch vigilantly, and sighing from the depths of our hearts, shed tears during psalmody and prayer. 20. We must subject ourselves to a strict test to see whether we are doing anything worthy of God’s boundless mercy towards us. 21. Let us not run away from oppression by sorrows, so that we may receive the peace of consolation in the Lord and be rewarded with eternal blessings in an endless life. 3. St. Orsisius Abba of Tavennisiot instructions 1) About the arrangement of monastic residence 1. “Hear to Israel the commandments of life, instill understanding in them. What does Israel have? What are you in the land of the enemy? You have promised to foreign lands, you have defiled yourself with the dead, you have been imputed with those in hell, you have abandoned the source of wisdom. If only you had walked the path of God, you would have lived in peace forever. Learn where there is understanding, where there is strength, where there is wisdom, and understand everything: where is longevity and life, where is light and peace? Who will find her place? And who is inside her treasure? (Bar.3:9-15). This was spoken by the Prophet Baruch to those who were taken captive to the land of Babylon - to the land of their enemies because they did not want to fulfill the admonitions of the Prophets and forgot the law given through Moses. God, however, brought such executions and punishments upon them and subjected them to the yoke of slavery in order to admonish them as his own, and as a father corrects his children, to correct them. He did not want them to die after experiencing such punishment, but wanted to save them through repentance. 2. And we, looking at this, must remember the words of the Apostle, who says: “If God does not spare the natural branches, lest he also spare us” (Rom. 11:21). – Will we still neglect to fulfill God’s commandments? - “All these images were written about him; they were written for our teaching, and in them the ends of the ages reached” (1 Cor. 10:11). - And they were transferred from the city of Judea to the city of Chaldea, - that is, they changed their place on earth; and we, if God always sees in us only carelessness, we will lose our city, which is in the next century. Then, instead of joy, we will be given over to captivity to torment and will be deprived of the eternal joy that our fathers and brothers gained through constancy in work. 3. Let's not forget about this; and judging by God’s long-suffering towards us, we will not think that He does not know what we are like. God is long-suffering and postpones punishment so that, having turned to something better, we would not be given over to torment. Having sinned (unpunished), let us not think that God deigns our sins when He does not immediately punish; but let us think about this, that we are about to leave this age and in it we will be separated from our fathers and brothers, adorned with crowns of victory. - But we, too, can have them if we want to follow in their footsteps, prompting ourselves to do so with the thought that if the Apostle is still here separating the saints from sinners, and “giving over those who sin to the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved” (1 Cor. 5:5); won't it be all the more so there? Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, and whom the Lord disciplines so that he may reform, and teaches His law, so that he may walk in His commandments all the days of his life, without experiencing torment of conscience for any sin. 4. So, let us also consider our ways and explore our paths; and turning to the Lord, let us lift up the mountain - to heaven with our hands and heart, so that on the day of judgment He will be our helper, and so that we will not be ashamed, “when we speak against our enemies in the gates” (Ps. 127:5); but even more worthy to hear: “Open the gates, that a people may come in who keep righteousness and keep the truth, who accept the truth and keep peace, who can say: For in Thee is our hope, O Lord, forever” (Is. 26:2-4). Let us remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem (the above) ascend into our hearts. Let us strive to be like the man about whom it is written: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his hope: and like a tree planted by waters and in the moisture it will root; it will not fear when the heat comes, and its stem will be green, and in the rainy season it will not be afraid, and will not cease to bear fruit. The heart of man is deepest above all others, and man is, and who can know him? I am the Lord, search the hearts, and tempt the bowels, to reward each according to his way” (Jer. 17:7-10). 5. Let us remember ourselves and do not care about the sins we have committed; Let us meditate with a caring heart on every commandment of our Father and those who taught us. Believing in Christ, we will be ready to endure everything for His sake, knowing that the secret of life is in walking according to the commandments, as it is written: “The lamp of my feet is your law and the light of my paths” (Ps. 119:105); and again: “Thy word make me live” (ibid., v. 50); and: “The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls... The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 19:8-9). And the Apostle says: “The law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). Having experienced all this in practice, we will be worthy of what is said about the righteous: “When he falls he is not broken, for the Lord strengthens his hand” (Ps. 36:24); and again: “The righteous will fall sevenfold and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16). 6. Now, brethren, if God shows such long-suffering towards us, calling us to repentance, let us awaken from a heavy sleep, “before our adversary, like a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), which we must boldly resist, knowing that the same battles happened to our fathers. Let us not cease to work and sow the seeds of virtues in order to reap joy in the next century. Heeding what the Apostle Paul says: “You have followed my teaching, life, greetings, faith, long-suffering, love, patience” (2 Tim. 3:10), let us follow the examples of the Saints and continue in the feat that we began, having Jesus as our leader and finisher. 7. And so, leaders of the brethren, Abbas of the monasteries, to whom the people of God are entrusted, let each of you with his regiment await the coming of the Savior, trying to prepare His army, decorated with all kinds of weapons, for the review. Do not indulge your brothers in the flesh without at the same time providing them with abundant spiritual food; and again, do not strengthen them in the spiritual with extreme oppression in the flesh, that is, in food and clothing; but provide them with spiritual and carnal food equally, and do not give them any reason for negligence. - And also - what kind of truth will it be - to oppress the brothers with labor, and indulge in peace? Or impose on them a burden that we cannot bear ourselves? – We read in the Gospel: “When you measure accordingly, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2). May we have both labor and leisure in common with them; Let us not consider the disciples to be slaves and find pleasure in their oppression, so that the word of the Gospel does not reproach us with the Pharisees: “Woe to you lawyers too, because you impose on men burdens that are inconvenient to bear, but you yourselves do not touch the burden with even one finger” (Luke 11:46). 8. Some of those who zealously live according to God's commandments, only listening to themselves, think in themselves and say: what do I care about others? My job is to work for God and fulfill His commandments; what others do does not concern me. But the prophet Ezekiel condemns such thinking, saying: “O shepherds of Israel, when do the shepherds feed themselves? Isn't it the shepherds who tend the sheep? Behold, you eat the milk, and clothe yourself with the waves, and slaughter the fat, but you do not feed my sheep. The weak were not treated, and the sick were not healed, and the contrite were not obliged, and the erring were not returned, and the dead were not recovered, and the severely insulted by labor, and by the power of punishment and abuse. And my sheep were scattered, having no shepherds” (Ezek. 34:3-5). The Lord Himself will come with His elders and principalities, and it will be said to us: “Your servants reap you and the tormentors possess you” (Is. 3:12), instead of saying: “Blessed are you in the land, whose King is Your son, the son of the free, and your princes eat in their time with strength and will not be put to shame” (Eccl. 10:17). 9 . Therefore, man, do not cease to exhort and teach everyone entrusted to you, every single soul, to what is holy, presenting in yourself an example of good deeds; Most of all, beware of loving one and hating another, but express the equation to everyone: otherwise it may happen that whom you love, God hates, and whom God loves, you hate. For the sake of friendship, do not indulge the sinner, and do not allow yourself to oppress one in order to give an advantage to another, otherwise your work will be in vain. - When one of the brethren accidentally insults you, be careful not to get angry and say: I will neither admonish nor correct him; whether he is saved or perished is of no concern to me. -What are you saying, man? Realize how you are overcome by fury! Hatred prevailed in your heart so that your brother would perish more from your passion than from his sin. You must forgive and accept him, who repents, so that you can (without shame) say this Gospel word: “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). So, if you want God to forgive you your sins, also forgive your brother, no matter what he sins against you, remembering the commandment: “Thou shalt not hate your brother in your mind” (Lev. 19:17), and the word of Solomon, who teaches: “Encourage your friend also, for him you have corrupted” (Prov. 6:3); and again: “Do not stop punishing a child: if you beat him with a rod, he will not die from him” (Prov. 23:13); Listen to Moses, who says: “Thou shalt reprove thy neighbor with reproof, and thou shalt not accept sin for his sake” (Lev.19:17). 10. Let all who are entrusted with the care of the brethren prepare themselves for the coming of the Savior and His terrible Judgment Seat. For, if giving an account for oneself is associated with cautious bewilderment (what to do - how to be) and fear, isn’t it all the more to be tortured for the guilt of another and fall into the hands of the living God? – And we cannot hide behind ignorance when we know from Scripture “that God will bring all creation into judgment for every sin, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12:14); and from the Apostle we read: “It is fitting for us all to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that everyone may receive what he has done with his body, either good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10). Isaiah also announces that a day has been appointed on which God will judge the world in righteousness: “Behold, the Day of the Lord is coming, unhealed by wrath and wrath, to make the whole world void, and to destroy sinners by it” (Isaiah 13:9). We know that one day we will be taken to judgment and will have to give an account of everything that is written in the law, what is depicted by the Prophets, and what our holy father taught us - why we did not do all this, or did it, but with extreme negligence. - And behold, He, to whom all judgment is committed by the Father, - this Truth, teaching all truth, says: “Do not remember that I am a river against you to the Father: it is like Moses who spoke against you; If they believed quickly in Moses, they also believed in Me: for that is written about Me” (John 5:45–46). 11. From all this we learn that we must stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged in all not only our deeds, but also our thoughts, and that after accounting for our lives, we will equally have to give an answer for others entrusted to us. This, however, applies not only to the abbots - Abbas and caretakers - but also to every brother included in the brotherhood. For everyone must “bear one another’s burdens, so that the law of Christ may be fulfilled” (Gal. 6:2), taking heed, moreover, to what the Apostle writes to Timothy: “O Timothy, keep the tradition, avoiding the vile talk and contradictions of a false mind” (1 Tim. 6:20). “We have a pledge, given to us by God, to take care of the God-pleasing life of the brothers, for whose sake, by working hard, we can expect future rewards.” Let us beware, lest it be said to us: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me” (Ex. 4:23), and let the judgment of Scripture not fall on us if we forsake the traditions of our father: “Those who keep the law do not know Me, and your shepherds dishonor Me” (Jer. 2:8). The Prophet Isaiah reproaches such people in the person of the daughter of the Chaldeans, saying: “I gave my inheritance into your hand, but you did not give them mercy; We should not only hear this, but also understand it; for if anyone does not understand, according to the words of the Apostle, “let him not understand” (1 Cor. 14:38). And in another place it is written: “Because you have rejected my skill, I will also reject you, so that you should not be a priest to Me” (Hosea 4:6). 12. So, beloved brethren, following the life and rules of Kinovia, stand in the once-made determination and exactly fulfill the work of God, so that the father who first established the community could joyfully say about us to the Lord: as I delivered to them, so they live. This is what the Apostle, while still in the body, said: “I praise you, brethren, because you remember all my things, and keep the traditions that I gave you” (1 Cor. 11:2). 13. Be, Abbas of the monasteries, caring and make every effort for the brethren, with fear and in the truth of God. Do not abuse your power, showing it only in punishments, but set an example in everything for the flock under your control, just as our Lord set an example in Himself in everything. – Be merciful to the flock entrusted to you and remember the saying of the Apostle in which he says: “I did not hesitate to tell you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27); and again: “without ceasing teaching you alone with tears” (Acts 20:31). You see what compassion and what mercy there was in the man of God, that he not only cared for all the Churches, but also grieved with those who mourned and suffered with those who suffered. Let us beware lest through our negligence anyone be tempted and fall, learning from the word of the Lord Savior, who says in the Gospel: “Father! which you gave to me, and through them I did not destroy anyone” (John 18:9). We will not despise a single soul, so that no one perishes through our indifference. For if anyone dies (mentally) through our fault, his soul will be collected from our soul at the trial. This is what our father used to constantly instill in us, warning us so that the Apostle’s threat would not be fulfilled on us: “If you bite and devour one another, take heed, lest you be destroyed from one another” (Gal. 5:15). From this it is clear that whoever guards the soul of his neighbor is the guardian of his own soul. 14. And you, who invade monasteries, show yourselves first in virtues, so that no one perishes because of your sinfulness. See that you do not fall into the same blasphemous fate that fell to those who ate and drank with drunkards, and who did not give their minions in due time, as it is said: “And the Master of that servant will come on a day that he does not know, and at an hour that he does not know. And half of it will grow, and part of it will be placed with the unbelievers: it will weep and gnash its teeth” (Matthew 24:50-51). Let no such condemnation befall any of us; but when the time of reward comes, may we be worthy to hear: “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). 15. You also, overseers of houses, “be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you about the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Encourage the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, treat everyone with patience. Hear the Apostle who says: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and teaching of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), and know that “to everyone, much will be given to him, much will be required of him, and what he has given much will be taken from him” (Luke 12:48). “Look not at each of your own, but also at each of your friends” (Phil. 2:4), so that the sentence of Scripture may not be fulfilled on you: “For this reason the sky will be kept from dew, and the earth will be drained of its wear” (Hag. 1:9-10); and what is said in another place: “Until you made one of the least of these, neither did you make them for Me” (Matthew 25:45). 16. I have repeatedly said and will repeat again: beware of loving some and hating others, of supporting this and not caring about that, so that your labor will not be in vain and your sweat will not be in vain; and so that when you leave the body and free yourself from the storms of this world, you hope to enter the haven of peace, the shipwreck of unrighteousness does not befall you, and with what measure you measure, it will not be measured to you from Him who does not accept face at judgment. If any mortal sin or any shameful deed is committed in the house due to the negligence of the caretaker, then, after the punishment of the sinners themselves, the caretaker will be judged as guilty of the same sin. This is what our father, of holy memory, always used to instill in us. 17. Therefore, with all care and caution, let each of you shepherd the flock entrusted to him, imitating the shepherds mentioned in the Gospel (Luke 2:8), to whom the Angel of God appeared not asleep, but awake and announced the coming of the Savior. Consider also what the Savior Himself says: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But a hireling, who is not a shepherd, and whose sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs; and the wolf will spoil them, and scatter the sheep. But the hireling flees, as if there is a hireling, and neglects the sheep” (John 10:11-13). About the good shepherds, the Holy Gospel of Luke writes: “And the shepherd was in the same country, keeping vigil and watch over his flock at night. And behold, the Angel of the Lord was in them, and the glory of the Lord was theirs: and they were afraid with great fear. And the Angel said to them: Do not be afraid, for here is the great joy that is brought to you with good news, which will be for all people. For today the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born to you in the city of David. And behold, a sign for you: you will find a baby lying in a manger" (Luke 2:8-12). Were they the only ones at that time tending sheep and walking through the desert with their flocks? - But since they alone were caring, and natural sleep was overcome by the fear of lurking wolves, the first were honored to hear about what happened nearby; but sleeping Jerusalem did not know about it. Therefore, you too, be vigilant, working out your salvation with fear and trembling, and remembering that the Lord of all, from Whom all flesh will receive reward for everything it has done, appeared after the resurrection and said to the Apostle Peter: “Simon the Jonah, do you love Me more than these? The verb to Him: Lord, You know how much I love You. The verb to him: Feed my lambs. The second verb to him: Simone Ionin, do you love Me? The verb to Him: Lord, You know how much I love You. The verb to him: Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–19). And for the third time He commanded him to feed the sheep; - and thus he placed upon all of us the duty of carefully shepherding the sheep of the Lord, in the hope on the day of His coming, for this work of shepherding, to receive what He promised in the Gospel: “Father, I will, that where I am, they also may be with Me” (John 17:24); and again: “Where I am, there also will My servant be” (John 12:26). Let us look at this promise, so that, being confident in reward, we will undertake all labor more easily and willingly, walking as the Lord, the promise of rewards, walked. 18. You, too, who visit homes, adhere to humility and meekness and consider the commandments of the elders to be the law of common life, so that, by keeping them, you may preserve your souls, being like the One who said: “I will take my life into your hand” (Ps. 119:109). - And fulfilling what is written: “Let the Son glorify the Father.” - For this you will be happy with the fruits of your labors. Without labors and fruits, no one will be pleased with fellowship with the Lord. Only by having fruit in the Lord can you become heirs and joint heirs with Him. 19. And to all of you, brothers who are in subordination, according to the order of free enslavement, I say: “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning: and you are like a man who waits for his Lord when he returns from marriage, so that when he comes and pushes, it will be opened to him. Blessed are the servants, for whom the Lord will find those who are watching” (Luke 12:35–37). The same will happen to you if the duration of labor does not give rise to relaxation in you; you will be invited to a heavenly supper, and you and the Angels will serve you. Such are the promises to those who keep the commandments of God - such are their rewards in the future! “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). Submit to your fathers with all humility, without grumbling or different thoughts, and apply simplicity of soul to good deeds, so that, filled with virtues and the fear of God, you become worthy of sonship with God. “Take the shield of faith, in which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one: and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:16–17). “Be wise as a serpent, and purposeful as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Children, listen to your parents in everything” (Col.3:20); and receive the salvation of your souls through those who have been appointed over you. And in another place it is written: “Obey your guide and repent, for they will watch over your souls, so that they may reward the word” (Heb. 13:17). Always remember with fear what the same Apostle also says: “You are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone corrupts God’s church, God will corrupt him” (1 Cor. 3:16–17); and again: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Him you are marked on the day of deliverance” (Eph. 4:30). 20. Maintain the chastity of your body, “that the city may be closed, the fountain sealed” ( Song 4:12 ); for “whoever is born of God commits no sin, for His seed abides in him” (1 John 3:9). The same St. John also says: “I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong by nature, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). When you, with God’s help, defeat the enemy, then the Lord himself will say: “I will deliver you from the hand of hell, and I will redeem you from death. Where is yours, death? Where is your Osten Ade? (Hos. 13:14) When death is sacrificed in us, and we overcome it, then it will be said about us: “death does not possess them” (Rom. 6:9). Death became dead in us from the moment we once died to sin forever and began to live the life with which we were made alive in Christ. For whoever “dies to the flesh is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:7), so as to live “no longer in the lusts of men, but to live the rest of the time in the flesh according to the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:2). Why, having been overshadowed by the fear of God, put on chastity, so that you may be worthy to hear: “Ye are not in the flesh, but in Dus” (Rom. 8:9). And know that perfection will be given to the perfect, but among those who have not, poverty will increase, according to the word of the Gospel: “To him who has, everywhere will be given and he will have abundance; But from the one who has nothing, even if he thinks I am, it will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:29). Let us imitate the wise virgins who were deemed worthy to enter into the palace with the Bridegroom, because they had the oil of good works in their vessels and lamps. The foolish virgins found the doors of the palace closed, because before marriage they did not bother to prepare oil for themselves. “This whole image was received by him, and was written for our instruction,” so that we would avoid the sins into which those who preceded us fell, observing the lessons of the All-Wise One, who says: “Son, if your heart is wise, make my heart rejoice, and in all your words your lips will remain on my lips, even if they rule” ( Proverbs 23:15–16); and further: “Let not your heart be jealous of the sinner, but be in the fear of the Lord all the day long” (Prov. 23:17). 21. Let us watch with great attention, making sure that God has shown us great mercy through our father Pachomius, who taught us how to renounce the world and count as nothing all the sorrow of this age and all worries about worldly things. - Is there any excuse left for us to have something of our own, from a rope to a shoe strap, when we have great people who take care of us with fear and trembling, both about our food and clothing and about bodily weakness, if any happens, so that we have nothing to fear for ourselves, so that because of the flesh we lose spiritual benefits. We are free; we have thrown off the yoke of worldly slavery; Why do we want to return to the old way again and have something - which, of course, will worry us, and the loss of which we will be afraid of. - Why an extra robe, or more refined food, or a better bed, when everything is prepared for us in common for everyone? Or do we want to flee from the cross of Christ? – But wasn’t it living under His banner, “our fathers edified us on the basis of the Apostles and Prophets and the Gospel teaching, which is the cornerstone of Jesus Christ himself”? (Eph.2:20). – Following him, we must descend from deadly pride to life-giving humility, exchanging wealth for poverty, and all kinds of sweets for simple food. 22. Do not forget, I beg you, the intention you once accepted, and striving for the Kingdom of Heaven, honor the traditions of our father by the steps of ascent there. Do not desire again what you trampled on in the beginning. It is enough for us to have what we cannot do without: two levitons and another old one, a linen mantle, two headpieces, a linen belt, sandals, a mantle and a stick. If someone who is entrusted with any service or order in the monastery derives any gain from it, then everything that he obtains in this way and uses for his peace of mind should be considered evil acquisition and sacrilege. Despising, as a result of this, others who have nothing and are rich only in blissful poverty, he not only perishes through this, but also drags others into destruction. Those who, having bowed their necks under the yoke of monastic poverty, with all humility, without self-pity, in tears and lamentations, try to please God in the present century, after separation from the body, will be taken to a place of rest and will lie down with the holy fathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, with the Prophets and Apostles, and will enjoy the worthy consolation, like Lazarus enjoyed it in Abraham's bosom. But woe to those who, while living in Cinovia, turned something from the common to their advantage! They will be told after their separation from the body: “Remember that you received your good things in your belly” (Luke 16:25); while your brothers worked and shed sweat, spending their lives in fasting, abstinence and incessant labor. So you, too, will see those who despised the present life in order to acquire the future living in joy and gladness, but you yourself will be thrown into a place of stench, torment and suffering, filled with suffering, because you did not want to heed the Gospel teaching, and ignored the words of the Prophet Isaiah, who says: “All those who work for Me will eat, but you will hunger; All the working Mi will drink, but you will thirst; All who work will rejoice, but you will be put to shame; All who work for Me will rejoice with gladness of heart, but you will cry out in the pain of your heart and weep because of contrition of spirit” (Is. 65:13-14). You heard in Scripture about all the blessings, and did not want to take upon yourself the proper discipline to achieve them! 23. So, brethren, let us all be as one, from the least to the greatest, both rich and poor, prospering in perfect harmony and humility among ourselves, so that it can be said about us: “Whoever has much has not greatly increased, and whoever has little has not diminished” (2 Cor. 8:15). No one should worry about his own peace of mind, seeing his brother in poverty and cramped conditions, lest this prophetic word be spoken to him: “Is not there one Father of you all? Wasn't God the only one who created you? Why would you leave every one of your brothers to desecrate the covenant of your father? Judah was left and an abomination was left in Israel” (Mal. 2:10-11). Why is it in accordance with what our Lord and Savior commanded the Apostles, saying: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as you have loved, and that you also love yourselves; of this everyone understands, as you are My disciples” (John 13:34–35), - we must love ourselves mutually, showing that we are truly servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, children of Pachomius and students of the hostel. 24. If the caretaker of the house reprimands one of the brethren subordinate to him, instructing him in the fear of God and wanting to correct him in his sins, and another begins to speak for him and defend him, corrupting his heart, then the one who does this sins on his soul, for he corrupts the one who could correct himself; he plunges the one who rebels down again, and the one who strives for better he seduces with harmful suggestions, deceiving himself and leading others astray. To these it is appropriate to add the following word: “Woe to him who has drunk his girlfriend with the corruption of muddy and intoxicating” (Hab. 2:15); and again: “Cursed is he who deceives the blind on the way” (Deut. 27:18); and again: “Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble who believe in Me, let the millstone of the village fall upon his neck and drown in the abyss of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). Because he, as we said, puts down the one who rises again, makes the one who shows humility proud, turns the one who could have been the sweetness of love into the bitterness of quarrelsomeness, corrupts the obedient to the monastic rules with his bad advice and makes him begin to harbor indignation and hostility towards the one who taught him the mind of God, and sows discord and disagreement between brothers, not fearing what is said in Scripture: “Who art thou, a judge of a strange servant? His Lord stands or falls. It will become: “God is able to establish him” (Rom. 14:4) Think about what the Apostle says: “God is able to establish him.” He who ignores the words of God is not strong. 25. Therefore, brethren, let us in every possible way avoid transforming someone’s mind and setting him up against the one who teaches and admonishes him, remembering what was said: “Wash your heart from wickedness, so that you may be saved” (Jer. 4:14). Let us not sow pride and stubbornness in each other’s hearts instead of submission. For he who fears his Lord, seeing that his brother sins and falls, must show him what is holy and show him the straight path, so that not only he himself can live with all chastity and the fear of God, but also fulfill the following instruction of Solomon: “Deliver those who are led to death, and redeem those who are killed, do not spare. If you say, “We do not know these things,” understand that the Lord tells the hearts of all” (Prov. 24:11-12); as well as what Jude says in his epistle: “Save everyone through fear, from admiration of fire, from hatred, even from the flesh that is defiled” (Jude 1:23). Let us beware of having such a robe, “let us put on the full armor of God, so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11–12). 26. And one must especially be careful that no one transfers any of the things for safekeeping to another house, or to another’s cell, acting in this case contrary to the monastic rules. Whoever is like this is not one of the brethren; but there is a mercenary and a stranger and should not eat the Passover of the Lord with the saints; for he became a stone of temptation for others in the monastery. This is the word that goes to him: “throw away the stones from my path.” If we don’t have the power to keep our levitons, when, having been washed, they do not dry in the evening, but we give them to the caretaker of the house, to whom we ourselves are entrusted, or to the one who is entrusted with the cellar, so that he takes them to the place where the clothes are always stored, and in the morning they are given to us so that we hang them in the sun; and when they are dry, we do not keep them for ourselves, but, according to the commandment of the fathers, we give them for storage with all others: then how much more do you sin against the monastery charter if, having recognized something as your property, you transfer it to someone else for safekeeping or keep it in your own power? “And you do not understand, it turns out, the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: “Call ye quickly to freedom, brethren: so let not your freedom become the guilt of the flesh, but work for one another through love” (Gal. 5:13). And again: “The Lord is near.” Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication...let your requests be made to God” (Phil. 4:6). - Let the one who takes something from another for safekeeping know that, thinking of doing a pious deed by calming his brother, he is sinning against his soul, violating the monastery charter. Oh, crazy! your soul is entrusted to your nearest greatest (caretaker); but is the one who guards your soul and body not worthy of you trusting him with perishable things? Let us love the truth, that we may be justified. For we read: “mercy and truth are found” (Ps. 84:11). 27. Everyone must also beware lest, being deceived by an unreasonable thought, or rather entangled in the nets of the devil, he says in his heart: “When I die, I will give to my brothers what I have.” Oh, the craziest man! Where did you find this in Scripture? Didn’t all the saints, when they began to work for God, immediately put aside all worldly acquisitions? Didn't the first believers lay everything they had at the feet of the Apostles, as they say in Acts? (Acts 4:35). And how do you, having died, wish to put on the garment of truth, which you did not bother to acquire while alive? Or have you forgotten what is said in Scripture: “Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap” (Gal.6:7); and: “Whoever does good will receive it” (Eph.6:8); and: “He will reward anyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6); and again: “The Lord searches the hearts and bellies righteously” (Ps. 7:10), “Give to everyone according to his way and according to the fruit of his undertakings?” (Jer.32:19). – Why, while still rotating in this life, and still in this body, do you not heed the words of the Prophet David, who says: “I am a treasure keeper and I don’t know for whom I will gather it” (Ps. 39:7); and the word of the Gospel, denouncing the stingy: “You fool, this night they will take your soul from you, and what you have prepared will be for whomever it will be” (Luke 12:20); and to the next one: “On that day all his thoughts will perish” (Ps. 146:4). Insane! Why don’t you want to follow the admonition of the Lord: “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor; take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21, 16:24). The young man, hearing this, turned back; for his heart was not right, and he was unable to lay aside the heavy burden of wealth. Although he had a desire for a perfect life, as Scripture testifies, and was attracted by the brilliance of his virtues to what is praiseworthy; but his wealth, rushing forward, distracted him back, and he could not accommodate the teachings of the Savior, because he was still thinking about the pleasures of the world. Therefore, the Savior says: “The rich man will enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23); and again: “no one can work for two masters: either love one and hate the other, or hold on to one and begin to neglect each other: you cannot work for God and for mammon” (Matthew 6:24). The Pharisees, being covetous, heard this and laughed; We, running away from their unbelief, will not laugh at those who call us to this (detachment from everything). Let us renounce the world in order to strive entirely to acquire true treasures. To those whose souls are possessed by covetousness, poverty for Christ's sake seems madness. In truth, “there is the attainment of great piety with contentment. We have brought nothing into this world, except that we can take away what we can. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to get rich in misfortune and snares and in lust are many senseless and harmful, even plunging a person into all-destruction and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:6-10). 28. Even to this day, the Prophet Elijah denounces Israel, saying, “How long will you continue to worship on both your heads? If the Lord God is, follow Him” (1 Kings 18:21). And one can say to us: if these are God’s commandments, which were handed down by our fathers so that, by following them, we could achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, then we will fulfill them with all zeal. If we follow our thoughts, and our soul strives for something else, then why not simply admit our error and show that we are ashamed to be what we appear to be? - See that it is not said to us: “Why has My holy been desecrated” (Ezek. 22:26); and: “I will put you out of my house” (Hos.9:15). – Monastic brotherhoods in truth are the house of God and the heirloom of saints. Let us be afraid to desecrate this house, lest we be thrown out, just as, according to the Gospel, those who sold sheep and oxen in it were expelled from the church, when the Lord and Savior, having entered and created a scourge from the rope, drove them out, and scattered the money of the traders, and overthrew their tables, saying to those selling doves: “Take this from here, and Do not make My Father’s house a bought house” (John 2:16). For it is written: “My church will be called the church of prayer, but you have also made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). And in another place: “for your sake my name is blasphemed among the nations” (Is. 52:5). 29. I beg you, brethren, we will not allow it to be said about us: “He hungers, but he gets drunk. You don’t have food at home, so you can eat and drink? Or are you neglectful of the Church of God, and are you disgracing the poor?” To such it is said: “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you do not enter into sin” (1 Cor. 11:21-22, 34). Let our house not be the house of an alien voice (foreign voice, a mood alienated from God), so that this saying is not justly applied to us: “You have not forsaken the works of Egypt, you have not made excuses, you have rejected My commandments, and you have desecrated My Sabbath” (Ezek. 20:8-24). Let us not remain in the hardness of our hearts, otherwise we will anger God, and He, becoming our enemy, will say: “I gave them unkind commandments, and excuses, in which they will not live” (Ezek. 20:25); for they ate the fruit of lies and worshiped the work of their hands, and their land was filled from the beginning with sorceries, like the land of foreigners. 30. Having renounced the world and begun to march under the banner of the cross, let us not turn back, and let us not seek temporary coolness, imitating Ephraim, who said: “He became rich, and found coolness for himself” (Hos. 12:8), so that we would not hear the same thing that he heard: “all his labors will not be found to him for the sake of iniquities,” “for he has sinned; so that it may not be fulfilled on us: first in spirit, now you are finished in the flesh. You will suffer so much” (Gal.3:3–4); so that it will not be said against us: “the law will perish by the priest, and the counsel by the elder... and the hands of the people of the earth will weaken” (Ezek. 7:26-27). “The elders are destitute from the gates, the chosen ones are silent from their songs” (Pl.5:14); and again: “The name of God is blasphemed among the nations by you” (Rom. 2:24); and so that, for despising the instructions of our father, we should not be forgotten from him, and through our sins we would not be completely deprived of the help of God and His saints. 31. For what is the fruit in us and what is the sign that we keep the commandments of God? Or in what way do we fulfill the calling we have perceived? Isn’t everything broken by us, and aren’t we overcome by covetousness? It is also proper for us to say: “Where does the fighting and quarrel come from among you?” (James 4:1). Is it not from covetousness? since each of us seeks our own benefit, and not our neighbor, the prophet Ezekiel, as if alive, still denounces us with a prophetic word, saying: “these are merchants” (Ezek. 27:21). What answer will we give on the day of judgment, or what can we present in that last hour in defense of ourselves? - All this happened to us; because “the priests clasped their hands, and loved the people, and like the people, so did the priest” (Jer. 5:31). For this reason the Lord says: “I will avenge their ways on them, and I will repay them for their plans” (Hos. 4:9). 32. I do not say this about all of you, but about those who neglect the commandments of their fathers. “It would be better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than for those who have known it to turn back from the holy commandments handed down to them” (2 Pet. 2:21). Grieving for such people, the prophet Jeremiah writes: “My eyes became weak in tears, my heart was troubled, my glory was poured out on the earth, about the contrition of the daughter of my people, when the baby was always poor and pissing on the city’s haystacks. Ask your mother: where is the wheat and wine? they were always weakened, as if they were wounded on the hundredfolds of the city, when their souls were poured out into the bosoms of their mothers” (Pl. 2:11-12). We know that “God does not delight in the strength of the bones, but rather in the baldness of men” (Ps. 146:10). 33. Therefore, let us turn to the Lord our God, so that when we pray, we will be heard by the One who calls to us daily: “Become silent and understand that I am God” (Ps. 45:11). “Turn to Me, and I will turn to you. Turn back, you backsliding sons, for I will prevail over you” (Jer. 3:14). Ezekiel also testifies to the same thing, saying: “Where are you dying, O house of Israel? For I do not want the death of a dying sinner, but turn him from his way, and let his soul live” (Ezek. 18:31-32). Also, the most merciful Lord, the head of all goodness, calls to us in the Gospel, saying: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). Let us understand from this that “the goodness of God leads us to repentance” (Rom. 2:4), and Holy men convince us to finally begin to work out our salvation. Let us not harden our hearts and “let us not store up wrath for ourselves in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to His deeds” (Rom. 2:6); but let us turn to the Lord with all our hearts, according to the words of Moses, who reminds us: “turn to the Lord your God... with all your heart... and the Lord will purify your heart, and the heart of your seed” (Deut. 30:2-6). 34. Let us work as good soldiers of Christ, trying to observe what is said in Scripture: “No one who has been a warrior is bound by the purchases of this life, so that it may please the commander. Even if someone suffers, he will not get married, and even if he is unlawfully tortured. It is fitting for the laboring worker to first partake of the fruit” (2 Tim. 2:4-6). It is also written: “All people will go every one of their ways” (Mic. 4:5), “but we will call in the name of the Lord our God. They fell asleep and fell: but we rose up and were reformed” (Ps. 19:8-9). 35. “If anyone walks in days, he will not stumble. If anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, for there is no light in him” (John 11:9-10). But we, says another Apostle, “have no accusation of destruction, but faith to supply the soul” (Heb. 10:39); and in another place: “You are all sons of light by nature and of sons of a day; There are no nights lower than darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). So, if we are sons of light, then we must know what is characteristic of light and create the fruits of light in every good deed: “everything that is revealed is light” (Eph. 5:13). If we turn to the Lord with all our souls, and in simplicity of heart we walk according to the commandments of Him and our Father, then we will abound in every good deed. If we are overcome by carnal passions, then in the middle of the day, as in the middle of the night, we will touch the wall and will not find the way to our city and abode, as it is said about some: “hungry and thirsty, their soul disappeared in them” (Ps. 107:5). For just as they despised the law given to them by God and did not heed the voice of the Prophets, they could not enter into the promised rest. 36. Let us watch and pay attention. “Unless God spares the natural branches, neither will He spare us” (Rom. 11:21). I do not say this about everyone, but about the careless, to whom it is fair to apply this complaint: woe to those who have retreated from Me, and have clearly dishonored Me: “You have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and dug up broken treasures for yourself that cannot contain water” (Jer. 2:5, 13). “They not only did not listen to God’s judges, but they did not listen to God himself when He said: “I will set a guard over you: do you hear the voice of the trumpet?” And rekosha: we will not listen” (Jer. 6:17). Where does this unbelief come from? Is it because they recognized alien gods and did not turn away from them? “For this reason the Lord says to them: Behold, I will feed this people with straits, and I will scatter them into tongues, and I will send a sword against them” (Jer. 9:15-16). 37. Hearing this, let us arise as if from sleep, and try to present ourselves as worthy servants of the Lord, so that we may be worthy of His mercy, about which He Himself says: “Call Me and I will hear you. He who scatters Israel will gather him” (Jer. 31:10) and in another place: “I will not do according to the wrath of My fury; I will not leave Ephraim to be consumed” (Hos. 11:9): and again: “I will not be angry with you forever” (Jer. 3:12). 38. If such is the mercy of the Lord the Savior, and He calls us to salvation, then let us turn our hearts to Him: “For it is now time for us to rise from sleep... the night has passed away, and the day is drawing near, let us therefore put aside dark deeds and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:11-12). My children! First, let us love God with all our hearts, then we will love each other mutually, remembering the commandments of the Savior God, in which He says: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you: not as the world gives, I give to you” (John 14:27). “On this two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). 39. If any of those staying in any house of the monastery under the supervision of a caretaker, and not lacking in anything, has a father, or a brother, or a beloved friend out of everything that is required to be had in a monastery; let him not accept anything from them - neither Leviton, nor mantles, nor any other thing. If it is discovered that he does not have something of what is required, then this will be blamed on the caretaker, who must be punished for this. 40. So, great ones in the monasteries, if you see that someone needs anything and suffers a lack, do not neglect him, knowing that you must give an account for the whole flock, in which “the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which we acquired with His blood” (Acts 20:28). Therefore, “we must bear the weaknesses of the weak and not please ourselves: let everyone please your neighbor for the good of creation. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: The reproaches of those who reproach You, attack Me” (Rom. 15:1-3). And the Apostle says about himself: “In everything I please, not seeking my own advantage, but many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33). 41. If our Lord and Savior commanded this way, and the Saints acted this way, and our fathers taught us this way, then let us wake up from sleep and diligently fulfill what is commanded to us. “For it was ordained that it was written for our punishment: that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures the imams might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Let none of us be a source of error for another, and let us not be jealous of those who prosper in this life (Ps. 36:7). Let them have in abundance everything necessary for the body, but when they die, they will not take any of it with them. The sons of this age have hope only in this life; because they are of the world, and the world loves its own. – But those who are the sons of God remember the word of the Gospel: “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you” (John 15:18); and again: “Whoever desires to be a friend of the world, he becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4); and again: “You will be in a world of sorrow: but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33); and again: “Blessed ones who mourn: for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be satisfied; blessed are they who have driven away righteousness for the sake of them: for the kingdom of heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:4–6, 10). – What is said on the contrary about the sons of this century? “Woe to you who are rich, for you have defended your consolation. Woe to you now that you are filled, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh: for you will mourn and weep” (Luke 6:24-25). 42. Therefore, let us avoid fellowship with the world, so that we may be worthy to hear: “Weeping may endure for an evening, and joy will come in the morning.” The Lord heard and had mercy on me... You tore my sackcloth to pieces, and you girded me with gladness” (Ps. 29:6–11, 12). For which of the Saints has walked the path of this world without struggle and sorrow? Jeremiah says: “I did not ride in the company of them who play, but were afraid from the presence of Your hand: I sat alone, because I was filled with sorrows” (Jer. 15:17); and St. David writes: “as I wept and mourned, so I humbled myself” (Ps. 34:14). Following in their footsteps, we understand that our salvation lies in enduring sorrows. Let's be patient; and the promise of him who said will be fulfilled on us: “I will leave you for a little while, but with great mercy I will have mercy on you” (Is. 54:7). So, if sorrow and distress are temporary, and not always, let us sow with tears, without weakening, so that we may reap with joy: for we know that the Lord delivers His worshipers from temptations. 43. The Lord is our Father, the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Master, the Lord is our King, the Lord Himself will save us; if we despise His commandments, we will experience sorrowful oppression. For He Himself says: “those who take hold of Me will acquire the land and inherit My holy mountain” (Is. 57:13). We too can inherit it if we fulfill His law and obey what is said: “Make your ways pure before Him and listen to the voice of the Lord your God” (Jer. 26:13); and again: “take away the stumbling block from the path of My people” (Is. 57:14); and again: “Purge the destroyer from the congregation, and strife shall come with him” (Prov. 22:11). Whoever calls what is right wrong, and whoever recognizes what is wrong as right, both are unclean before God. Let us beware, lest it be said about us: “The sinner is alienated” (Ps. 57:4); and again: “the daughter of Zion was lifted up, and walked with her neck high and her hair crossed, dragging her garments along the valley, and playing with her feet” (Is. 3:16); with which another accusatory word of the same prophet agrees with us: “How was the harlot a faithful city, Zion is full of judgment, in which righteousness rested, but now in it are murderers?” (Isaiah 1:21), and: “people of understanding are entangled with a harlot” (Hosea 4:14). If we study the word of God, we will be able to say what St. David: “I will rejoice in Your words, for I have gained much gain” (Ps. 119:162). “If your words are sweeter to my throat than honey to my lips. Peta byahu mi Thy justifications in the place of my coming" (Ps. 119:103, 54); and in another place: “I have not set before my eyes a thing that is unlawful: I have hated those who commit crimes: do not cling to me with an obstinate heart: the evil one who turns away from Me I have not known: the slanderer of his sincere secret, whom I have driven out: with a proud eye and an insatiable heart, with this I have not eaten. My eyes are on the faithful lands, plant them with Me” (Ps. 100:3-6). 44. Let us also imitate all such deeds, so that there may be peace and truth in our days, and may not what we read in the Prophet Isaiah be fulfilled: “In the lands of My people thorns and former things will arise” (Is. 32:13). Let us clear our fields, so that we do not sow among the thorns. – If we keep the commandments, then it will clearly be that we love God, as He Himself testifies to this: “If you have My commandments and keep them, you love Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:21–23). – And again: “You are my friends by nature, and whatever you do, I command you” (John 15:14). – And why talk too much? – Let us turn to the Lord our God, “and give Him the fruit of our lips” (Hos. 14:3), and our soul will rest within us. 45. Oh, that we may repent of our error and negligence, so that when we turn back, God may say: “I will love it manifestly, because My wrath has turned away from them. I will be like the dew of Israel, I will prosper like the land, and I will spread out my roots like Lebanon. His branches will go forth, and he will be fruitful like an olive tree, and his sense of smell will be like Lebanon; they will turn and sit under his roof, and they will live and be strengthened by wheat, and his memory will flourish like grapes, like the wine of Lebanon. What is Efremov and his idol? I will humble him, I will also strengthen him: like the frequent tornadoes, from Me is Your fruit found. Who is wise and understands this, and understands this message? ( Hos. 14:5–10 ). - Oh, when would we begin to bear good fruit, with the help of Him, without Whom not a single good deed can be accomplished! 46. Let us turn to the Lord, so that He may say about us: “I will not remember their sins and iniquities” (Jer. 31:34, 36:3). Let us not omit the law of God, which our father received from God and handed down to us; and we will not despise his own commandments; so that otherwise this lamentable cry would not be raised over us: “How dark is the gold, change the good silver? The Kamyts of the Holy Place crumbled at the beginning of all exoduses” (Pl.4:1). Having undertaken so many labors to save us, our father, who was an example of all virtues, spoke with praise of us before the Saints, saying: behold, my children! After such testimony, may we not lose the hope of a good conscience, having taken off the clothes with which he has clothed us; and having been led by him into the field of warfare, to fight lawfully, so that we may not be defeated by our enemies. See to it that when we reach the time of our departure from the body, we do not turn out to be children, but opponents of our father; and this will happen if we are slaves to treasures, and, being obliged to acquire freedom of the soul by fasting and exhaustion of the body, we become enslaved to flesh and sweets, red clothes and soft beds - not only destroying ourselves in this way, but by our example dragging others into destruction, who otherwise could have succeeded in virtue. We, as the Apostle writes, “have not received the spirit of work through fear” (Rom. 8:15), but of power, love and chastity. And again: “Food does not place us before God: for if there are pits, we are in abundance; for if there are no pits, we are deprived” (1 Cor. 8:8): “For the Kingdom of God is not free and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and known to everyone as skillful in everything. The prophet Isaiah says: “those who endure the Lord, change their strength, they will take wings like eagles, they will flow and not be weary, they will walk and not hunger” (Is. 40:31). And again: “They will neither hunger, nor be weary, nor slumber, nor sleep, nor will they untie their belts from their loins; the thongs of their boots will be rent” (Is. 5:27). 47. Let us be imitators of the Saints, and let us not forget the instructions that our father taught us while he was still alive. We will not extinguish the burning lamp that he has placed over our heads. By his light, as we walk in this age, let us remember that through his efforts God accepted us into His family, giving us refuge to strangers, refuge to those who wander in the sea, bread to hunger, coolness to heat, clothing to nakedness, guiding the inexperienced through spiritual commandments, conquering passions, protecting us with chastity, and attracting those who are far away to ourselves and uniting them with ourselves. - And now, when our father has fallen asleep, let us not forget such mercy of God, and such immeasurable good deeds of God to us, so that it is not said to us: “Judge between me and my grapes... I waited for him to create grapes, and create thorns... I waited for him to create judgment, but create lawlessness and unrighteousness, but cry” (Is. 5: 3-7); so that the oath that this prophetic word further expounds does not overtake us, and which we must try to avoid in every possible way, following the lives of the saints who preceded us. fathers, as well as brothers, who, having renounced the world, and approaching the Lord with unstumbling feet, now possess His inheritance. I am afraid that we might lose this bliss due to our laziness, and that this prophetic word spoken about Ephraim would not be applied to us: “You sent oil into Egypt” (Hos. 12:1); and the word of another Prophet: “mingled among the nations and habituated by their deeds” (Ps. 105:35). - As if, after we are called to freedom, according to what was said: “I will understand you, one from a city, and two from a nation, and I will bring you into Zion, and I will give you shepherds after My heart, and they will feed you with understanding” (Jer. 3:14-15), - we will not weaken the bonds of love, and not hear the reproach: “The Son glorifies the Father, and the servant of his Master will fear: and if the Father I am Az, then where is My glory? and if the Lord is I, then where is My fear? (Mal.1:6). 48. Therefore, let each of us cry out to the Lord (according to what was said by the prophet Jeremiah): “Cry out their hearts to the Lord, let the walls of the daughter of Zion pour out, like a stream, tears day and night: do not give yourself rest, and let not the apple of your eye be silent. Arise, learn in the night, at the beginning of your battle, pour out your heart like water before the Lord, lift up your hand to Him for your infant souls, weakened by famine at the beginning of all outcomes” (Pl. 2:18-19); so that it would not be said against us: “The earth mourned, and the world was corrupted, the heights of the earth wept. The earth has created lawlessness for the sake of those who live on it, since they have transgressed the law and changed the commandments, destroying the eternal covenant. For this reason, a curse will cover the earth, as if those living on it have sinned. Because of this, those who live on it will become miserable, and there will be few people left” (Is. 24:4-6); or this: “yet they will go and fall backwards, and will fall into trouble, and will be crushed, and will be captivated... as we have said: we have made a covenant with hell and with death” (Is. 28:13-15). If we avoid this, then we believe that “in due time a star will rise from Jacob, and a man will arise from Israel, and he will destroy the princes of Moab and take captive all the sons of Seth” (Num. 24:17). “And there shall not be a wall of grief or a thorn of pain against that house of Israel” (Ezek. 28:24). “And Jacob his people became the portion of the Lord: Israel was his inheritance” (Deut. 32:9); and again: “I will give their labor to the righteous, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their grandchildren among men: everyone who sees me will know that these are a blessed seed of God, and they will rejoice in the Lord with joy” (Is. 61:8-9). Through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord says: “If these laws remain silent before Me, then the race of Israel will cease to be a tongue before Me all the days” (Jer. 31:37). 49. So, let us examine our ways and discuss our steps; and let us follow the stench of knowledge, always hiding the words of truth in our hearts, so that we may be “blameless in the way and walk in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 119:1). Let the weakness of the body and the long duration of labor not frighten us; (for we will not live here forever, according to what has been said): “Where are your fathers and prophets? Food will live forever? Otherwise you accept My words and My laws, because I commanded in My soul My servant the prophet, which your fathers comprehended” (Zechariah 1:5–6). Let us feel the ineffable goodness of our God, Who still calls us to repentance, saying: “If you fall, will you not rise?” or does he turn away and not convert? These my people in Jerusalem turned away with a cold-hearted disgust and became strong in their own will and did not want to turn” (Jer. 8:5-6). When we turn to Him, He will build us up by His Spirit, just as it is written: “The LORD, the builder of Jerusalem, will gather together the scatterings of Israel” (Ps. 146:2). 50 That our life and fellowship, by which we are mutually connected, is according to God, the Apostle assures us of this when he says: “Do not forget charity and fellowship: for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb. 13:16). In the Acts of the Apostles we also read: “the people who believed had one heart and soul: and not one thing came from their own possessions, but they had all things in common” (Acts 4:32–33). And the Psalmist, in agreement with these words, says: “Whatever is good, or whatever is good, but let the brethren live together” (Ps. 132:1). - While we are in the monasteries, and united with each other in mutual love, let us make every effort so that, just as in this life we ​​are worthy of the community of the holy fathers, so in the future we will be partakers of them, firmly remembering that the beginning of our life and teaching is the cross; and that we must suffer for Christ, in the conviction that without hardships and sorrows no one will receive the crown of victory. St. Apostle James writes: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; Having already been skilled, he will receive the crown of life” (James 1:12). To this St. Paul adds: “For as long as we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified with Him. For I do not care, for I am not worthy of the passion of this present time for the glory that desires to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:17-18). And our Lord says in the Gospel: “he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). In another place it is also written: “This is the book of God’s commandments and this law forever: all who hold on to it will enter into the belly, but those who leave it will die. Turn, Jacob, and follow her, go straight to the radiance of her light. Do not give Your glory to others, nor to a tongue that is useful to You. Blessed are we, O Israel, for what is pleasing to God is reasonable. Be of good cheer, O my people, remembrance of Israel” (Bar.4:1-5). And the Prophet Isaiah says: “Rejoice, O Jerusalem, rejoice in it, all you who love it, and you who live in it, rejoice... May you sow and be satisfied from the breast of its consolation” (Is. 66:10–11). 51. Let us be diligent in reading and memorizing the Scriptures, and let us always repeat its words into memory with meditation; for it is written: “By the fruit of a man’s mouth a man’s soul will be filled with good things; the reward of his lips will be rewarded to him” (Prov. 12:14). It leads us to eternal life, as our father gave us, commanding us to always learn from it, so that we too may fulfill what is written: “Put these words in your hearts and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they will be steadfast between your eyes. And teach your children to say this: I sit in your house, and I walk with you on your way, and I recline you, and I rise up for you. And I will write on the graves of your houses and your gates” (Deut. 11:18–21). 52. Look at how many testimonies the word of the Lord convinces us to study the Holy Scriptures, so that what we turn in our mouths, we may possess in our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah says: “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. He will sit alone and be silent” (Pl.3:27-28). And in another place it is said: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart please you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, and not in the sight of your eyes: and understand that in all these things God will bring you to judgment. And put away wrath from your heart, and put away wickedness from your flesh: for youth and foolishness are vanity” (Eccl. 11:9-10). And again: “Remember him who created you in the days of your youth, until the days of your wickedness come and the years are ripe, in which you said: I have no desire in them” (Eccl. 12:1). And in the Gospel it is written: “as a child he abounded in wisdom and stature and grace with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Joshua also in his youth was a servant of Moses and did not leave the Tabernacle (Ex. 33:11). And St. Timothy, while still a youth and youth, learned the Holy. Scripture, so that through it I came to faith in the Lord Savior. Joseph was also his father’s most beloved son, because he carried out his commands, and being still seventeen years old, he considered his commands to be the law of his life (Gen. 37:2-3, 14). 53. I brought all this into memory so that, considering the lives of the saints, “we are not blown about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14), but are inspired to work, and, having their lives as a model for the life set before us, we become the special people of God. - “Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom we were marked on the day of deliverance” (Eph. 4:30), “neither quench Him, nor disparage prophecies” (1 Thess. 5:19-20), so that it does not turn out that when the Holy Spirit deigns to dwell in us, we do not give Him room. Let us fear no one else except God, Who is the righteous Distributor and Judge of everyone’s deeds, and Who with the venerable is reverend, and with the innocent man is innocent, as He Himself says: “I love Me, but those who seek Me will find grace” (Prov. 8:17); and in another place: “If you come to Me by country, I will also go with you in fury by country” (Lev. 26:23–24). 54. Let us not be angry with each other; and if, when we are overcome by anger, we will do so that even when we are angry we will not sin, that is, we will precede the setting of the sun with repentance (Ps. 4:5; Eph. 4:26). Let us remember that we are commanded in Scripture to repeatedly forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 18:21), and even leave our gift before the altar, threatening that it will not be accepted until through reconciliation we make it pleasing to God, so that we can boldly proclaim in prayer: “forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12), and The apostle commands to “forgive if anyone blames anyone, just as Christ also forgave us” (Col. 3:13). Let us be meek disciples of all the Saints, and especially of the Prophet David, about whom it is written: “Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness” (Ps. 132:1), and Moses, about whom we read that he was “meeker than all men that are on earth” (Num. 12:3). And the Lord in the Gospel says about the meek: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5); and it is also said: “Be imitators of God, like beloved children” (Eph. 5:1); and: “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48); and in another place: “You will be holy, even as the Lord your God is holy” (Lev.11:44) 55. As we read these testimonies, may we also sow the seeds of righteousness in order to reap the fruit of life. Let us strive to kindle the light of knowledge; for it is time for us to know God, so that through this the fruit of righteousness may come to us. “Behold, now is the time acceptable, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Let us sincerely love one another, in accordance with the word of Scripture: “The fulfillment of the law of love is” (Rom. 13:10). Which is confirmed by St. John, saying: “This commandment is received from the Father... that we love one another” (2 John 1:4; 1 John 3:23); and again: “Let him who loves God also love his brother” (1 John 4:21); and again: “He was not like Cain from the evil one, and he slain his brother. And for what crime did she kill him? For his deeds are evil, but his brother’s are righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have come from death to the stomach, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:12-14). - Let us love ourselves mutually. 56. Beloved brothers! I will tell you something with great boldness. Since then, God entrusted you to me as a holy flock, “not ceasing to teach you one at a time with tears” (Acts 20:31), so that you might please God. “I have fallen into nothing useful to tell you” (Acts 20:20). “And now I commend you, brethren, to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to reward and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). Be vigilant, and with all diligence and care try not to forget the intention you have accepted, and fulfill everything that, as you yourself know, you have promised. “I am already hungry, and the time of my departure has come. I fought the good fight, I died, I kept the faith. Otherwise the crown of righteousness will be kept for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will reward me in the day, not only to me, but also to all those who loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8), and to those who fulfilled the commandments of their Father. “The end of the word - listen to everyone: Fear God and keep His commandments: as is every man: as God will bring all creation into judgment for every sin, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12:13-14). 2) About the six thoughts of the saints Firstly, we must think and remember the Lord God, so that we may rejoice in our trust in Him, imitating blessed David, who says about himself: “I remembered God and rejoiced” (Ps. 77:4). Secondly, about the suffering of Christ, so that we ourselves could graciously endure everything for His sake, constantly thinking and revolving in our minds how the almighty Lord and eternal Son of God descended from heavenly heights, took on a human body, was ascended to the cross in this holy body, and through this returned all the higher kingdoms to peace with us; poured out priceless blood on the earth, and thereby opened the path to grief for us on earth, so that we may be fellow citizens of the Angels. Thirdly, about the hour of our exodus, so that we can always be ready for it. A person’s whole life, all wisdom is in the thought of death; For this one day all the wise will tremble. Fourthly, about the day of judgment, in order to prepare to give an answer. This day is great and worthy for us to think about and remember. On this day the Lord will destroy the creation He created in the beginning. Behold, the Lord will shake the earth and expose it. Heaven and earth will pass away, and the Lord will reveal its face, i.e. He will open the earth, and the dead will come out of their graves, and all the deeds of people will be proclaimed publicly. They will still appear before the judgment seat of Christ; “And nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and in secret, it will not be taken away” (Matthew 10:26) - only sins that were previously cleansed by repentance will be covered by the Lord at judgment. On this day, none of the wicked will escape the great wrath of God. - Therefore, in advance we need to remember what blessed David says: “a good man, generous and giving, will order his words in judgment, for he never moves” (Ps. 112:5). Fifthly, to fear that terrible torment about which Isaiah speaks: “their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched” (Is. 66:24). – Worm – i.e. conscience; for those who are tormented will realize that they are suffering such torment because of their deeds. Sixthly, about eternal life, in order to desire to reach where the Saints will inherit joy and joy, and from where fear and illness will flee. With these six thoughts the soul of the righteous conquers the enemy and is protected from him by them. - Always and diligently remembering and thinking about the Lord will dispose us to love Him above all else, so that after this age and throughout all eternity, with the Angels and Archangels and all the Saints, we will love Him - by the grace of Himself, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. 4. Statutory monastic rules of other saints. Fathers of ascetics 1) Three small collections of rules of St. fathers Between the Rule of St. Pachomius and the Rule of St. Basil, the following three small collections of rules for monks, drawn up by the great Fathers at a general meeting, should take place. They were preserved by Benedict of Anian in his collection of rules of St. Fathers. (Patrol. Lat. t. 103, p. 435). a) Rule of St. Fathers, Serapion, Macarius, Paphnutius and other 34 elders 1. Having come together for a saving meeting, we asked our Lord in warm prayer that He would send us the Holy Spirit, who would teach us what rule of life, or what rule to lay down for our brethren. 2. Ave. Serapion said: “The earth is filled with the mercies of the Lord” (Ps. 32:5), and many regiments of zealots strive for a more perfect life. But since, due to the inconvenience of the desert and because of the terrible ghosts and attacks that occur there from the enemy, it is extremely difficult for brothers to live alone, we find it best for them to gather together and live in obedience to one most experienced elder, following his commandments as the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. These are not our words; Doesn’t Scripture also confirm it, saying: “Everything is good or good, but the lives of the brethren together” (Ps. 132:1) - and also: “God brings like-minded people into the house” (Ps. 67:7)? 3. So, we decree that many brothers gather in one monastery and live together, in unanimity and mutual love. How to maintain this unanimity and love - with the help of God we will indicate this too. 4. We decree that all the brethren gathered together should be ruled by one elder, whose advice and command no one should evade; but as to the Lord himself, so let everyone obey him with all joy, according to the word of the Apostle: “Be obedient to those who guide you: for they will watch over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). Let those who unanimously desire to strive in the cause of God also think that by obedience Abraham pleased God and was called “friend of God” (James 2:23); through obedience the Apostles were honored to be witnesses to the Lord among the peoples and tribes of the earth; and our Lord Himself, who descended from the heaven above to the one below, says: “I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 6:38). Let the obedience confirmed by such testimonies be observed with all diligence. 5. Ave. Macarius said: about the corporate life, about unanimity and obedience; Now, with God’s help, we will show what kind of ruling fathers should be. You must, superior fathers, show yourself as the Apostle wants you to be, saying: “For you to be an image of those who believe” (1 Thessalonians 1:7). You must, with the warmth of love and the severity of authority, raise the souls of your brothers from earthly to heavenly, edifying them in every possible way, as the same Apostle says: “Reprove, rebuke, entreat with all long-suffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2), and in another place: “What do you want? Will I come to you with a club, or with love and a spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). The abbot, with reasoning, must determine to what extent to show a fatherly disposition of love towards everyone and to what extent - the severity of authority, remembering the word of the Lord, Who says: “When you measure accordingly, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2). 6. When the brethren gather for prayer, no one dare begin to sing a psalm without the order of the superior father. And one must always maintain that order, so as not to forestall the Abba of the monastery in anything, neither in standing nor in singing, according to the word of Solomon: “Do not stand in the place of the mighty” (Prov. 25:6); – and the word of the Lord: “Do not sit in the first place” (Luke 14:8–9); and the word of the Apostle, who says: “Do not be arrogant, but be afraid” (Rom. 11:20). If he slows down for any reason, you must notify him, and then do as he orders. 7. We will also show you how those who, leaving the world, want to enter the monastery should be tested. They must first of all be stripped of all the acquisitions of this age. Even if a poor person comes, he also has acquisitions from which he must lay bare. These are the ones that Wisdom points to in Sirach, saying: “My soul hates the poor and the proud and the rich and deceitful” (Sir.25:4). And in another place it says: “You have humbled the proud, like a plague” (Ps. 89:11). So, the present Abba must carefully adhere to this rule: when someone comes from the world, first of all let him lay down the burden of pride and, after testing, be accepted. For this, let him endure for a week outside the gates of the monastery: not to allow any of the brethren to enter into communication with him, and not to show him any kindness; on the contrary, treat him as if with contempt and hostility. If, despite all this, he persists, pushing at the doors, he will not be denied entry into the monastery. However, when accepting such a person, let Abba Abbot show him how the brethren live and what orders he must obey. If anyone who is rich and has great wealth desires to renounce the world, let him first fulfill the will of God and the direct commandment of the Lord concerning him, which He spoke to the rich young man: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and follow Me, take up the cross” (Matt. 10:21). The abbot must convince him not to leave anything for himself except the cross of Christ, which he will take and follow the Lord. If he wishes to contribute any part to the monastery, he should know that this does not give him any advantage in the monastery. If he brings one of his slaves to the monastery, let him no longer have him as a slave, but as a brother, so that that person may be perfect in everything. 8. When strangers come, no one should go out to them except the one who is entrusted with the care of the stranger. None of those who come should be given the kiss of peace until Abba sees him: then, after praying together, in their own order, the kiss of peace should also be given. None of the brethren is allowed to start a conversation with a visitor; and no one should have any trouble asking him where he came from and why, or where he was going, except Abba and those to whom he commanded. When the brethren go to dinner at the proper hour, the brother wanderer should not be allowed to eat with them: let him eat with Abba for greater edification. He should not hear anyone’s word except God’s, which he reads from a book, or the words of Abba, or those whom he orders to talk to him, and, moreover, about something divine. 9. Ave. Paphnutius said: much that is useful for the salvation of the soul has already been spoken, brothers; but we should not remain silent about what order we should follow regarding reinforcing ourselves with food. In this regard, the brethren must adhere to such an order that they never take food before nine o'clock, excluding the Lord's Day and the days of Pentecost. On the Lord's Day one should do nothing, but devote it all to God, speaking to oneself in psalms and songs and spiritual songs. 10. We also command the brethren to devote the time from the first hour to the third hour to God; from the third hour to the ninth, work whatever Abba commands, without grumbling, remembering the word of the Apostle: “Do everything without grumbling” (Phil. 2:14), and fearing the terrible saying for such: “Do not grumble, as none of them grumbled and perished from the Destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:10). Let Abba appoint one person to oversee the work, and everyone must obey him. 11. If any of the brethren are diligent in fasting and laboriously engaged in handicrafts, following the example of the Apostle, who says about himself: “We worked with our own hands, so that we would not burden any of you” (2 Thess. 3:8), - if one of these falls ill, Abba should take care to help him in this weakness. Whoever, on the contrary, is weak in spirit, let him overwork himself more; imitating the Apostle, how he killed and enslaved his body (1 Cor. 9:27). It is necessary, however, to ensure that he does not do his will in anything. 12. If the fraternity is large, the abbot must establish weekly ones, and establish a sequence in which the brethren should follow one another in service; It must also determine how the one who maintains a fraternal cell should act. For this position it is necessary to elect someone who would be strong to overcome all temptations of gluttony and, according to the word of the Gospel, would righteously distribute life-size to his brethren, trying in every possible way to avoid the sentence that Judas deserved, i.e., that he was a thief from the beginning. Let him who is assigned to this work be jealous to hear: “Those who serve good will gain a degree of goodness for themselves, and much boldness in the faith” (1 Tim. 3:13). All brethren serving in the monastery must keep in mind that in the monastery the vessels, instruments and everything else are sacred things. If any of the brethren treats these things carelessly, let him know that part of him will be with the king who, with his concubines, drank from the consecrated vessels of the house of God and what vengeance he deserved (Dan. 5). All these rules must be strictly observed and often reread aloud to the brethren, so that out of ignorance they do not fall into mistakes. 13. Another St. Macarius said: the truth itself testifies that “by the mouth of two and three witnesses every word will stand” (Matthew 18:16). This confirms the already stated rules of piety; but one should not remain silent about how the monasteries should maintain firm peace among themselves. For this purpose, one should not accept brethren from another monastery without the will of the abbot in it; do not even accept this to the eye, because he, according to the words of the Apostle, “has denied the faith and is an unbeliever who murmurs” (1 Tim. 5:8). If he begs his Abba to give him permission to join another monastery, then let his Abba write information about him to the Abba of the monastery where he wishes to be admitted; in such a case, accept it. Without the consent of Abba, one should not accept someone else’s brother anywhere. And this brother, having been accepted legally, may have as many brethren as he finds in another monastery, and so may he have over him and his elders. One should not look at what he was before, otherwise he should experience what he has begun to be now. If he has anything, be it things or books, let him no longer be the owner of them, so as to appear here in perfection, which he did not have in the previous place. When the brethren come together to talk about the subjects of Scripture, one should not say anything to such a person unless Abba commands. 14. When one of the altar servants comes to visit the monastery, receive him with all respect. Do not allow any cleric to live in a monastery except those who fall into sin and seek the healing of humility to heal a sinful ulcer. 15. When correcting the brethren, there must be penance based on the quality of their guilt. Stick to this order in this regard. Whoever indulges in idle talk, we command him to be excommunicated from the community of brethren for three days; Let no one enter into communication with him or speak to him. Who is noticed that he makes jokes and annoys people with laughter, “whatever is inappropriate,” according to the words of the Apostle (Eph. 5:4); We command him to be kept for two weeks in the name of the Lord under humiliating penance, according to the commandment of the Apostle, “not to interfere if someone who is called a brother commits disorderly conduct” (1 Cor. 5:11), “not as having an enemy, but as punishing a brother” (2 Thess. 3:15), as he says in another place: “brother, even if a person falls into some sin, You who are spiritual, correct such a one with a spirit of meekness” (Gal.6:1). 16. Most of all, you, Abbas, are charged with the duty of not showing partiality, but of loving everyone with equal love. Such an equation pleases God, as the Prophet says: “If you love righteousness in truth, you will rightly judge the sons of humanity” (Ps. 57:2). Your job is also to carefully watch those who fall and try in every possible way to heal them with wise corrective measures. Let it be known to you that whoever leaves a sinner without correction will answer for him with his face. Be faithful and good mentors to everyone; rebuke the restless; be sick for the weak: be patient with everyone. As many as you acquire for the Lord, for as many you will receive a reward from the righteous rewarder. These rules are sufficient for you, brothers, and by observing them you will remain blameless before God. b) Other similar St. father rule for monks Having gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we decided, guided by the tradition of the holy men, our fathers, to write a statute, which, observing the brethren in the monasteries, would ascend to perfection, and under which both we would be at peace, and Abba would not have any hesitation in the way of acting; but everyone, unanimously and with one mind, doing more to honor each other than themselves, strictly lived according to the same laws, obeying them as the good yoke of the Lord. 1. First of all, you must have love, humility, patience, meekness, and other things that the Apostle teaches (Col. 3); so that no one should appropriate anything to himself as property, but as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, so that everything should be common to everyone (Acts 4). Whoever, by the judgment of God and the decree of the elders, is elected rector, must be revered, loved and obeyed in everything. Whoever despises him despises God, as it is written: “He who listens to you, listens to Me; sweep you away, I am swept away. Cast aside Me, the One who sent Me will be cast aside” (Luke 10:16). Without his will, not a single brother should do anything, neither receive anything from anyone, nor give anything to anyone, nor go anywhere. 2. It is necessary to watch that idle talk does not arise between the brethren, but that everyone does his own work with his hands, and his thoughts are with God. In a general meeting, juniors should not say anything unless asked. Whoever needs consolation or admonition, let him seek it in private and at a convenient time. 3. When a stranger comes, give him the kiss of peace, and that’s all; You shouldn’t ask about where he’s coming from, where and for what, or start talking to him about extraneous things. 4. In the presence of Abba, no one should begin to do anything before him, neither sing, nor speak, nor conduct an instructive conversation. Do everything according to his beginning and instructions. When he commands, the capable and teaching can speak instead of him to the brotherhood. Still, let it be love, without rivalry and claims. 5. The sequence of prayers and psalmody must be observed as prescribed. In the morning, until the second hour, the brethren should always be diligent in reading with meditation; Unless the need arises, leaving reading, it’s time for everyone to go out and do something. After the second hour, let everyone take up his work, and work until the ninth hour “without grumbling” (Phil. 2:14), as St. Apostle. If anyone complains or argues and opposes these orders, keep him under penance until he shows complete repentance and corrects himself. Anyone under penance should not go anywhere. If any of the brethren becomes at one with him, subject him to the same excommunication. 6. When a sign is given for prayer, if someone immediately abandons what he is doing (for nothing should be preferred to prayer) and does not rush to the meeting, he should be left outside in shame. Let the brethren make every effort so that, when during church meetings, whether day or night, it is necessary to stand longer in prayer, not to weaken and not to leave the Church, because in the Gospel it is written: “It is appropriate to always pray, and not to be cold” (Luke 18:1). If anyone thinks of going out not out of necessity, but out of whim, let him know that when he is noticed, he will be condemned as guilty, both for himself and for the fact that he seduces others with his negligence. At vigils, it is necessary to observe that if anyone, being burdened with sleep, goes out into the courtyard, he does not engage in idle talk there, but rather returns back to the work of God for which they gathered. In the assembly where the reading is taking place, let everyone put his ear to the words of Scripture and let everyone remain silent. 7. And one more thing must be added, so that a brother who is accused of some offense and admonished to be correct has patience and does not contradict the one who accuses him; but he humbled himself in everything, knowing that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5), and that “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Whoever, after frequent reproofs and convictions, does not correct himself, is ordered to stand last in order, as the Lord says: “Be like a pagan and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). - No one should talk during the meal, except perhaps Abba, and when he asks someone about something. c) The third is the same St. father rule for monks 1. Having gathered together with our brethren, in the name of our Lord, we ordered to first read the Charter and Decrees of our fathers in a row. After reading them, we decided to decree that when anyone wishes to enter a monastery, the rules should be read to him and all monastic rules should be announced to him. If he agrees to do everything willingly and unquestioningly, he will be accepted properly and included in the brotherhood. If he wants to bring something into the monastery, let it be placed on the table in front of all the brethren. After this, the one who is accepted has no power not only over what he brought in, but also over himself. 2. Abba is not allowed to turn anything into his own property, because already everything, by the grace of God, is in his power. If any of them keeps anything inherited from their parents or given by someone for themselves, and does not bring it into the community, let them be convicted of this by their brethren. If he remains at fault, bring this to the attention of the council of elders; if even after their suggestion it does not improve, change it. 3. Abba should order that the robes for the brethren be prepared such as are appropriate for monks - not colored, with the exception of the cucullium, which, we believe, should be black. 4. Entry into the monastery for women, both relatives and strangers, and monks meeting with them is strictly prohibited, in order to avoid the snares of the devil and preserve the purity of thoughts. If any Abba makes concessions in this regard, then he should no longer remain Abba. A shepherd must be placed over the holy flock who would bring all the sheep to God blameless, and not give them over to be plundered by mental wolves - the devils. 5. At the end of Matins, let the brethren read until one o'clock; if, however, there is no common cause for which everyone should go out, leaving reading. From the second hour to the ninth, let everyone sit at his work, which is given to anyone, and work diligently without grumbling. 6. At the hour of prayer, when someone, according to a given sign, does not immediately appear in the meeting, abandoning the work he was doing (for nothing should be preferred to prayer), Abba will reprimand him, and if he falls to the ground in contrition and does not ask for forgiveness, excommunicate him. 7. 3 It is not permissible for anyone to speak during the meal, unless Abba needs to say something or ask someone about something. 8. It is necessary to appoint two or three to go out for the needs of the brothers - those who do not want to talk a lot and do not suffer from gluttony. 9 . If anyone, without the knowledge of Abba or his second in command, goes out somewhere and eats and drinks without measure, such a person will be excommunicated from communication with the brethren for thirty days. 10. If anyone, under the pretext of some temptation, wants to leave the monastery, do not give him anything except the worst clothes - and in this form, let the infidel leave the fraternal society. 11. We also decree that the Abbas eat food with the brethren at all times. Unless absolutely necessary, they should not distance themselves from their brothers, when there is a need for supervision and fatherly suggestions. 12. To maintain the good reputation of monks, we decree that no monk, during illness, should leave the monastery to go to his parents or relatives, because there he will be more desecrated mentally by seeing worldly things and hearing about them than he will be healed physically. 13. If any monk commits theft, which is better called sacrilege, then he should be punished corporally. 14. No Abba should accept a foreign monk into his monastery unless he left his previous monastery with the permission and without the will of his Abba. 2) Two outlines of the rules of St. Macarius of Alexandria a) Rules of St. Macarius of Alexandria 1. The soldiers of Christ must arrange their procession in such a way as to demonstrate the most perfect love in everything - to love God with all their soul, with all their heart and with all their strength (Matthew 12). 2. They must show each other the most perfect obedience, be peace-loving, meek, modest, not proud, not offensive, not slanderers, not mockers, not long-winded, not pretentious, not pleasing to themselves, but to Christ God, Whom they make war on, not blasphemers, and not speaking anything but good things, not being lazy in obedience, diligent in prayer, perfect in humility, steadfast in vigils, eager to fast. 3. Let no one consider himself more righteous than another; but everyone look at himself as the worst of all: “For everyone who exalts himself will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted to himself” (Luke 14:11). 4. Take the elder’s commandment as salvation; perform every task without grumbling; and do not allow yourself to say anything against when they order you. 5. Do not be proud or boast that you have done any useful work; do not rejoice over the gain and do not be sad about the loss. 6. Do not get carried away with meeting the laity, but let all your consolation lie within your cell. Have your cell as paradise, and your spiritual brothers as eternal relatives. 7. Fear Abba of the monastery as a master, and love him as a father. You should equally love all your brothers with whom you hope to see the glory of Christ. 8. Do not hate difficult work (Sir.7:15), and do not love idleness. Be vigilant in your vigils, tireless in your labors, believing to find peace in Christ the Lord. 9 . Love the monastic rite, and be vigilant in prayer, believing that whoever prays often finds the most abundant mercy from Christ. 10. After Matins, until the second hour, let the monks be diligent in reading and contemplating God: if, however, there is no work that everyone will have to do, leaving reading. 11. From the second hour, let everyone sit at his work until the ninth hour, working on what is assigned, without grumbling, as St. Apostle (Phil.2). 12. Whoever grumbles or argues, or resists the orders of his elders, will be subjected to the prescribed penances, according to his guilt and feelings of repentance or bitterness. 13. Whoever is on the same page with someone who sins in something in the Church or in a cell is considered equally guilty. 14. If someone, when given a sign to pray, immediately abandons what he is doing and does not rush to the Church, he should be left outside it, to be ashamed: for nothing should be preferred to prayer. 15. During vigils, the brethren should try to remain cheerful. If someone is extremely burdened by sleep and goes out to refresh himself, let him not start idle talk there, but rather return back to the work of God for which he has gathered. In the assembly where the reading is taking place, let everyone apply his ear to hear the Scripture, and let everyone remain silent. 16. It is also necessary to ensure that a brother who is reproached and reproached for any offense has patience and does not respond to the reprover, but humbles himself in everything, according to the commandment of the Lord, who said: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6) and: “He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). 17. Anyone who, after frequent reproof, does not show correction, is ordered to stand in last place. Whoever does not correct himself even after this, remove him, as the Lord said: “Be as a pagan and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). 18. No one should speak during the meal, except perhaps Abba and the one he asks. 19. Do not exalt yourself with your art and do not raise your voice, but be humble and rejoice in obedience. 20. “Keep your love of strangers” (Rom. 12:13), do not turn your eye away from the poor and do not send him away from you empty-handed. Did not the Lord come to you as a stranger or a poor man? See that, having found you unwelcoming, He himself does not despise you. Be glad to everyone and serve everyone in any way you can. 21. When you are being lied to, remain silent. Don’t offend anyone yourself, and when others offend, be patient. Do not be deceived by empty hopes, but rather be established in Christ. Do not consider anyone as your closest relatives except your brothers living with you. 22. When you need to send somewhere for something necessary for the brethren, let two or three go, and, moreover, those who have the fear of God in themselves, are not long-winded and not gluttonous. 23. When one of the laity wants to enter a monastery, read the Rules to him and tell him all the rules of the monastery. If he promises to fulfill everything, then, in order, accept him into the ranks of the brotherhood. 24. If he wishes to bring something into the monastery, place it on the table in front of all the brethren, as the Rules indicate. Having been accepted into the monastery, he no longer has power not only over what he brought in, but also over himself. 25. If later, due to some temptation, he wishes to leave the monastery, then he cannot get anything back except the clothes in which he came. 26. If any brother is guilty of anything, punish him by removing him from communication with the brethren in prayer and meals. If he falls in front of all his brothers with contrition and asks for forgiveness, forgive him. 27. If he persists in his lewdness and says in pride: I don’t want to stay here anymore, but I’ll take what’s mine and go wherever God pleases; Whoever of the brethren hears such speeches first, let him say to the preposit (the second after Abba or his deputy), and let him preposit to Abba. Abba will sit down in front of all the brothers, judge him and order him to be punished with rods. Then everyone will pray for him and accept him into fellowship. “Whoever does not correct himself with a word of admonition must be punished with rods.” 28. Humbly and with patience, let the brethren remain in the monastery, believing that the humble and peace-loving will reach the Kingdom of Heaven, will be recognized as the sons of the Most High and will receive bright and valuable crowns, and the sons of disobedience will go into utter darkness to eternal torment. “On whom will I look, but to him who is meek and silent, and who trembles at My words” (Isaiah 66:2). 29. Whoever breaks the fast of Wednesday and heel is considered to be a participant in Judas, who betrayed Christ. 30. And then it is also necessary to ensure that in the monastery only those whose loyalty has been tested are engaged in mastery, and who is ready to do everything that he does for the benefit of the monastery. b) Epistle of Blessed Macarius to the monks The abundance of wood excites the strongest flame: the abundance of food gives birth to lust. Obscene lust for food and disobedience give birth to death. A hungry belly promotes vigor in prayers and brings a crown to the soul; a full one induces the most difficult sleep. The eye of a glutton looks for where the feasts are, but the eye of the wise thinks about abstinence. The cowardly warrior is horrified by the trumpet calling him to battle; and a glutton is not willing to listen to someone who preaches about abstinence. An extinguished flame ignites again if you add more wood, and lust that has been lulled to sleep comes to life again in satiety. Do not feel sorry for the body when it pretends to be exhausted: a calm horse is a body withered by fasting, and never throws off its rider. Laryngeal madness is the mother of lust. Oil feeds the flame of a lamp, and conversation with a woman kindles the fire of lust. A woman's gaze is like an arrow with poison: it mortally wounds the soul. Avoid conversation with wives like poison if you want to stay clean: the most destructive poison of snakes is hidden in them. It is better to approach a flaming fire than a young woman. Especially when you are young, avoid conversations with your wife to avoid the attacks of lust. Whoever, while filling his belly, thinks to remain pure, deceives himself. The sight of beauty is more destructive than storm and lightning. If a woman’s face penetrates into her soul, she will force her to despise her very soul. Just as fire left in straw stirs up a flame, so the memory of a woman left in the soul kindles lust. Just as a heavy ship breaks easily even in small waves, so the many-named monk will not be saved. A monk who has nothing is an invincible fighter; a monk who has nothing is an easy walker, soon achieving an honorable title. A sufficient monk does not neglect his work; but he who has nothing, after moderate labor, devotes himself to prayer and reading. A sufficient monk gathers up his wrath for the day of wrath; but he who has nothing is laying up treasure for himself in heaven and will give praise to God with the Angels. The glory of a monk is patience in sorrow. The glory of a monk is generosity with love. The glory of a monk is to have nothing of the things of this world. The glory of a monk is vigil and weeping in prayer. The glory of a monk is meekness of heart and silence of lips. Glory to the monk when he loved God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. The glory of a monk is abstinence from food and verbosity. Glory to the monk when he tolerates his neighbor as himself. Glory to a monk when his deeds match his words. Glory to a monk when he patiently remains in his place and does not wander here and there. The glory of a monk is the complacent patience of everything. Like a lamp in a dark place, like a shining sun, a monk is sober in mind and cheerful in heart. Just as a heavy burden oppresses the weak, so does the sleep of a careless monk. Like thorns and thistles on the good land, so are evil thoughts in the heart of a monk. Just as moth wears away clothes, so do vain worries wear out the soul of a monk. Do not engage in conversation with a woman, so as not to be excommunicated from the Kingdom of God, and do not dare to say: I will talk to a woman, and I will be clean. A wise monk makes things with his own hands and acquires his daily maintenance; His profit comes from prayers and fasting. And whoever receives support from another, what benefit does prayer and vigil give him? He is always naked, like a skinny mercenary. Why is it written: it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Let the one who reads this understand the Lord. You might be interested in: