Answer to Fathers Dorotheus and Gerontius. About not eating meat

The answer of our venerable father Paisius to his students, fathers Dorotheus and Gerontius, who are in Bucharest, sent by his reverence to school to teach the Greek language. About not eating meat 1 Dear brother Dorotheos, save yourself in the Lord. Do not be surprised, my dear, that I did not quickly send an answer to your letters, for you are well aware of what serves as an obstacle for me, especially about the distance of the journey and the incidents on the border, since here the region is not free. This prevents me from fulfilling my desire - only the Lord knows what it is for me - to take care of you in your needs. I'm talking about sending food. It would be a small matter for our vineyards to send you what you need for food, but the border is not a free land. And if you were in school in Iasi, it would be possible for you to receive sufficient help from the monastery. But now, as for helping you, the only hope left, according to Bose, is in Father Matthew, whom I asked quite a lot in a letter written to his shrine, so that he would take upon himself the trouble of helping you with what is required for food. I hope that after this request of mine, help will follow, since I promised in a letter to reimburse his shrine in money for everything that he spends on you. Now I am sending you a small amount of money, for you know our former poverty, but now even greater poverty has befallen us. However, I trust in God that we will not be abandoned until the end. At the same time, of necessity, I should give an answer to the question about meat-eating, which is advised to you (that is, they are advised to allow meat) by those who dream of being rulers. It seems to me that, according to the rightful meaning and establishment of the entire Holy Orthodox Church, even the angel himself should not obey in this, and to refute the advice of those people and your statement, the essay on meat-eating of the blessed memory of Elder Basil, who composed it not without the assistance of the grace of the Divine Spirit, is sufficient. I think that you have read it yourself; it is filled with much power and Divine wisdom. In it, Elder Vasily shows well, as far as I can remember, that from the beginning of the creation of the world and man there was no true and perfect will of God for people to eat meat; It is also true that not only in paradise, but even before the flood there was no meat-eating among people. And after the flood, the omniscient God foresaw and foresaw that people (humanity) would reach such weakness that if they were not given freedom through blessing, they would begin to eat without blessing, therefore the All-Bounteous and All-Good God, knowing the weakness of human nature, showed condescension and blessed 2. But the order of monastic life in everything, as far as possible, depicts being in paradise, corresponds to it and is subject to the perfect will of God. There was no meat-eating then - and monks were not supposed to eat meat. In paradise there was a special life, different from life after breaking the law - in the same way, monastic life in everything, as far as possible, in justice should differ from the worldly one. At the beginning of monastic life, at a time when it was not yet fully established by the traditions and statutes of the holy fathers and, in general, the entire Orthodox Church, they had the custom of eating meat in some monasteries, especially those located in large cities - at that time, monastic life was like a young woman who had not yet reached the proper age. And in the deserts and hermitages, as well as in the great Egyptian Skete, there was no custom of eating meat. But after our reverend and God-bearing father Savva the Sanctified established that monks should not eat meat at all, all the holy fathers accepted and approved this establishment, and as an unshakable and inviolable church law and order, all true monks everywhere accepted it with great zeal: in Jerusalem, throughout Palestine, in Mount Sinai, in Mount Athos, in Constantinople and throughout Greece, as well as in other empires, in the East and West, in Georgia and Bulgaria. Subsequently, in Russia, with the adoption of the holy faith, it was accepted and is still observed by everyone, because nowhere do they eat meat at meals. This same institution in these two countries 3 was introduced and accepted in all monasteries, and it is still observed in many monasteries by the grace of God. If it were only in one country or only in some of the monasteries, then someone could say that this institution is only local or of a certain country. And since in all Orthodox countries, in all monasteries and Churches it was legalized and in all types 4 it was approved that monks should not eat meat, who would ever dare to violate this Church institution? And it is not left to anyone’s discretion whether to eat meat or not, but it is fitting for everyone to act exactly as the God-bearing fathers established for monks in the Church’s typologies. And those who, in physical weakness, find a reason to allow themselves to eat meat - they themselves, and anyone else, could find out after a thorough test that this is not a reason, for on fast days they are stronger and healthier than on days of meat-eating (although it seems to them that without eating meat for one day, they cannot remain in full health), and all their affairs are arranged both on the days of meat-eating and on fasting days, and sometimes on these last and better than the first. But if anyone is ashamed of the reproach of those who advise him to eat meat and whose advice he will not follow, then let him be ashamed of such an honest monastic image, for one is connected with the other. If someone has entered the monastic order with good will, he is charged with the duty of observing everything related to the monastic form and in any other place until his very last breath, without violating it under any pretext. And this is very appropriate, for we should seek glory not from people, but from God (see John 5:44) and again we should please not people, but first of all God (cf. Gal. 1:10), and this is the kindest deed, in the accomplishment of which nothing is impossible (see Mark 10:27). But even those who, as you wrote, reproach you, if they see and find out that you have left the order of the monastic image, then, I believe, if not openly, they will be greatly tempted within themselves; They will consider, perhaps, that you are not studying what you are studying out of divine jealousy, but for the sake of the most short-term benefit, honor and human glory. And when they see that you actually adhere to the monastic rules in everything, they themselves will praise and please you and, thanks to this order of yours, will receive considerable benefit. For a good deed tends to glorify those who love it, and it always brings more benefits than tempts. In addition to this, the following must be reported: I communicated the answer to your questions regarding such subjects only to Brother Honorius, who should rewrite this answer for you. If the brothers of our cathedral, which includes those who live in the desert, knew and heard about such a question, they would be much tempted, since they consider you angels of God, believing that while you are there, you in no way deviated from your feat, which you had before, as you yourself wrote in the answer sent to me, that God Himself gave you a similar comrade, a saint from the Holy Mountain, from whom you receive a lot of benefit, living with him as you lived before you are in the desert, which I rejoiced at a lot and for which I glorified God. ABOUT! If again I heard good news about you and this would make me happy the Savior, Christ our true God, who preserved three beautiful youths healthy and unharmed in the oven of Babylon, they ate seeds and turned out to be more beautiful than those who abounded in many luxuries. Like them, children who trust in His Providence and gratefully accept every shortcoming, may He keep you healthy and unharmed physically and mentally, and may He grant you good success in your studies, which you have begun to undergo for the common spiritual benefit. Tell this answer to brother Gerontius. Your spiritual father, Elder Paisios Translation of the message from Church Slavonic. language is based on a book that is being prepared for publication by the Heritage of the Orthodox East Foundation: Paisius (Velichkovsky), St. Polemical works, teachings, letters / comp. P. B. Zhgun, M. A. Zhgun; under general ed. O. A. Rodionova. [M., 2007.] Probably, the Monk Paisius means Moldavia and Wallachia. Typik (from the Greek τυπικόν) - statute.