Безбрачие

In spiritual terms, the action of non-covetousness is similar to the action of a celibate life. The desire to overcome the property of nature, although fallen, leads to such a feat that those who have not experienced it cannot imagine. This feat, by which the renunciation of nature is accomplished, is supplemented by the crucifixion and cross, which are achieved by non-acquisitiveness, in which only the renunciation of property is accomplished. This feat brings one down into the depths of humility, leads to living faith, and elevates one to a state of grace. During this feat, as can be seen from the biographies of St. Anthony the Great, John the Long-Suffering and others, fallen spirits come to the aid of fallen nature and try to keep a person in the area of ​​fall. According to the difficulties of the struggle, victory is multi-fruitful: it is delivered and will be followed by a renewal of nature from the spiritual sensation that appears in the heart, so-called by the holy fathers. 9 The nature remains the same human nature, but its sensation (in secular terms, taste) changes: thus, paper soaked in oil no longer accepts water, not because the nature of the paper has changed, but because its capacity is saturated with another substance that has no physical affinity with water. "Layman." How can a Christian know whether he is capable or incapable of living a single life? In my opinion, this question should make it very difficult for anyone intending to enter monasticism. "Monk." Capable - willing (see Matthew 19:12). Just as in the immaculate state of man it was left to him at will to remain in this state or to come out of it, so after the renewal of nature he was left to choose at will to assimilate the renewed nature in all its development, or to use it only to a certain extent necessary for salvation, or to remain in a state of fall and develop the fallen nature in himself. Renewal of nature is the gift of the Redeemer. For this reason, every gospel virtue is chosen by good will, but is given by Christ to the willer as a gift. Volition is proven by forcing oneself to virtue, and virtue is asked from God through diligent and patient prayer. All the gospel virtues are not characteristic of fallen nature; the ascetic must force himself to do all of them, he must ask God for everything through humble prayer combined with heartfelt weeping. 10 Like other gospel virtues, celibate life is chosen by choice, the struggle against the aspirations of fallen nature, the curbing of the body by exploits proves the sincerity of will, the gift of purity is asked from God by the consciousness of the inability of fallen nature to purity 11 and the warmest prayer, filled with tenderness; the gift is bestowed by the overshadowing of Divine grace, changing and renewing nature. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, thus explaining man's ability to live a celibate life (see Matt. 19:12), concludes the explanation with the following words of the Lord: “everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds” (Matthew 7:8). Consider those lives of the saints in which their feat against fallen nature is described: you will see that all the saints moved from an ordinary state in which a person is not capable of a celibate life, into a state in which celibacy is characteristic, after an intense struggle against the wishes and attractions of fallen nature; you will see that their main weapons were prayer and crying; you will see that not only virgins have eliminated themselves from the need for marriage, widowers from repeating it, but also the most depraved people, filled with passions, stained with crimes, entangled and bound, as if in chains, by sinful habits, have risen and flown in imperishable purity and holiness. I repeat to you: in the New Testament Church, thousands of thousands of virgins and virgins, blameless widowers and widowers, adulterers and harlots, transformed into vessels of chastity and grace, irrefutably prove that the feat of chastity is not only not impossible, but also not as difficult as it seems to theorists, who talk about it without experienced knowledge, without knowledge delivered by the moral Tradition of the Church, theorists, who reason and conclude - I will say frankly - from their depravity, from blind and stubborn prejudice, from hatred of monasticism and, in general, of Orthodox Christianity. When the Lord forbade arbitrary divorce, permitted by the Mosaic Law, and declared that what was united by God could not be dissolved by a person except because of the dissolution that had already taken place by falling into fornication of one half, then the disciples of the Lord raised the question of celibate life. To this the Lord said: “Not everyone can receive this word, but to whom it has been given...” He who “can receive it, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:11-12). Who is this one who can contain? By what criteria should each of us judge and conclude about our ability and inability to live a celibate life? We borrow the answer from the writings of the holy fathers: according to our will. “The ability is given to those who ask it from God from the sincerity of the heart,” says Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria; “Ask,” said the Lord, “and it will be given to you... everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:7-8). 12 The sincerity of the request is proven by living in accordance with the request, and by constancy in the request, even if the fulfillment of the request is delayed for a more or less long time, even if our desire is attacked by various temptations... Due to their will, experimentally proven and attested, many who did not know their wives remained until the end of their lives in this blissful state or retained their virginity, others, after married life, retained immaculate widowhood, others moved from a depraved life to a life of chastity and sainthood, and finally, some, wavering in their will, returned to it again and regained their lost chastity through repentance. All of them not only refrained from falling into fornication in the body, but also entered into a struggle with passionate thoughts and feelings, resisted them, defeated them, accepted from God the freedom of purity, which is completely alien to communication with sin, even if it did not stop attacks. Thus, the effect of bad weather on the traveler ceases when he enters a comfortable house, even if the bad weather continues or becomes even more severe. Venerable Macarius of Egypt. Conversation 7, chapter 5. Venerable Macarius the Great. Word 1, ch. 13. Venerable Cassian the Roman. Book IV, ch. V. Explanation of the above words of the 19th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. You might be interested in: