About Christian virgins before monasticism

Jesus Christ, having sanctified marriage, as a sacrament depicting His union with the Church, deigned to indicate by His Divine example and word a new, most perfect way of living in a celibate life for the sake of the Kingdom of God: but without obliging everyone to it, He granted it as an inheritance only to those who have received from the Creator of nature and the Spirit of all-sanctifying grace the gift of abstinence and purity. Not everyone can comprehend this word, He told His disciples about a single life, but to them it has been given to eat (Matthew 19:11). But although the height of life equal to the angels is not accessible to everyone, nevertheless, those who have been granted this gift are obliged to be faithful to the Divine calling and sacredly guard the high gift of purity, like every gift of God. He who is able to contain, let him contain, the Lord added to His previous words (v. 12). Given the abundance of spiritual gifts in the turbulent times of Christianity and the general zeal for high achievements, one can see how fruitful this indication of a new path to perfection was. Many, having been born into Christianity, or baptized in their youth, chose a virgin life for themselves forever, and combining the feat of abstinence with other feats of self-mortification, spent all their time in fasting and prayer, spent their wealth on deeds pleasing to God, and thus inseparably dedicated themselves and everything they had to the Lord. The first example of virgin life, after the Most Blessed Ever-Virgin Mother of God, who, even under the Law, began her feat in the spirit of the Gospel, is represented by those of the Apostles who, before being called by Jesus Christ, did not enter into marriage: James, the brother of the Lord, John and his brother James, and Paul. Egesippus, the Palestinian Writer (2nd table), testifies about St. James that he, dedicated to God from his mother’s womb, did not taste wine, did not eat animal flesh, did not anoint his body with oil; His knees, from frequent kneeling before God in prayers for himself and for others, were covered with growths 1. Blazh. Jerome adds to this that Jacob also observed virginity 2 . The same teacher of the Church testifies that John was also a virgin, awarded special love from the Lord and adopted by Him to the Most Blessed Virgin from the cross 3 . St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, calls St. James, the brother of John, also one of the closest disciples of the Lord, a virgin. The Apostle Paul himself says to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they continue, as I also did (1 Cor. 7:8); He himself testifies to himself: I mortify my body and enslave him, so that by preaching to no one else, I myself will not be enslaved (1 Cor. 9:27). Looking at such lofty examples, the first Apostolic disciples sought to imitate them. Disciples of the Apostle Paul and his close children in the faith: Timothy and Titus, like their mentor, renounced the bonds of marriage in order to devote themselves entirely to serving the Lord 5. – Apostolic history shows us four more girls, daughters of Philip, one of the seven deacons of the Church of Jerusalem (Acts 21:8-9); Polycarp, Bishop of Ephesus (2nd table), testifies about two of them who died in Hierapolis, that they remained in virginity until the end of their lives 6 . The son and daughters of another deacon of the Jerusalem Church, Nicholas, chose the same way of life, according to the testimony of Eusebius Bishop of Caesarea 7 . The Corinthian Christians asked the Apostle Paul in writing for instructions on living a celibate life. From the Apostle’s answer we can conclude that some considered it an obligation not only for all unmarried people to remain in this state, but also for those who had entered into marriage to separate (1 Cor. 7:1). The Apostle, affirming the indissolubility of marriage by the generation of the Lord, expressed a desire for those free from marriage to imitate him (v. 8.), and pointed out the superiority of a single life over a married life, both in relation to the tight circumstances of the time (v. 26.), and to Christian perfection (vv. 32-34.): but at the same time he commanded that everyone, in choosing this or that state, should be in accordance with his spiritual talent. Every one, the Apostle wrote, gets his gift from God: ov bositsa, ov sitsa (v. 7.). Among the Corinthian Christians there were zealots of Pavlov's example, as we see from the letter of Clement, Bishop of Rome, who wrote shortly after the death of the Apostle 8. The same disciple of the Apostle - Clement, according to the testimony of Bl. Jerome and St. Epiphanius, wrote district epistles to virgins, and in these epistles he exhausted everything that can be said about the purity of virginity 9 . Another Apostolic disciple, St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, wrote to one Shepherd: “do not impose the yoke of virginity on anyone: for this acquisition is not safe, and it is not easy to preserve it when it happens under compulsion” 10 . But to St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, he wrote: “If anyone can abide in purity, for the glory of the Lord’s flesh, let him abide, but without vanity. If anyone boasts, he is lost; and if he wants to be respected more than the Bishop, then he is completely lost” 11. The voice of the Apostles can also be heard in these Decrees, given on behalf of the Apostles: “We have not received a command regarding virginity, but we leave it to the freedom of those who wish, as a vow (ευχην). We only remind you of one thing, so that you do not take a vow lightly. For Solomon says: It is better not to promise, than not to pay back what you promised (Eccl. 5:4). So, let the virgin be pure in body and soul, like the church of God, like the house of Christ, like the abode of the Holy Spirit. Having made a vow, one must do deeds worthy of the vow, prove that this vow is true, given out of zeal for piety, and not as a reproach for marriage” 12. Thus, from its very origins, the Church of Christ is adorned not only with rules, but also with examples of purity. They revealed a new triumph of the spirit over the flesh in the children of the Church, a new victory over nature itself, and always worthy of surprise, but especially among a world immersed in paganism. After this, the defenders of Christianity, justifying the teaching and life of Christians, before the pagan people and government, boldly pointed to Christian virgins and virgins as new proof of the rules of Christian life, as living experiences of the Divine power operating in the confessors of the faith of Christ. St. Justin Martyr in his Apology, revealing the rules given by Jesus Christ to His followers, wrote: “Very many of us, of both sexes, having become disciples of Christ in childhood, and having now reached sixty or seventy years of age, remain in virginity. And I am ready to point out such people everywhere” 13. Athenagoras, in his defense of Christianity, also assured the pagans: “among Christians, among men and women, you can find many who remained celibate until a very old age, finding in this state more convenient to please God” 14. Minucius Felix says to the pagan: “very many of us observe virginity forever, without being vain about it in front of others” 15. Origen, in his work against Celsus, having shown how the pagan wise men, for being unfaithful to their own knowledge of God, were given over to an unskilled mind to create inappropriate things (Rom. 1:28), continues, “and those despised by them for ignorance, called fools, slaves, as soon as they accept the teaching of Jesus and completely surrender themselves to God, so much become alien to all voluptuousness, impurity and carnal lusts, that many, like perfect priests, remain in perfect purity. The Athenians have one high priest, and then, after strengthening himself with hemlock, he is considered pure and capable of performing legal worship; without this, they do not believe him so that he can dominate sensual desires and hold them at his own will. But among Christians one can find people who have no need for hemlock, for whom one word of God is enough to, having cast away all lust from their hearts, serve God with prayers. Other supposed gods have virgins, but in very limited numbers; and I do not go into the search whether they are guarded or not guarded, so that they remain in purity, for the glory of some god. Christian ascetics observe perfect virginity not for human honors, not for rewards and money, and not for empty glory” 16. In Christian society itself, those who dedicated themselves to a virgin life served as an example for others in renouncing earthly pleasures. Tertullian, convincing his wife, after his death, not to enter into a second marriage, pointed her to virgins. “Look at our sisters,” he wrote, whose names are with the Lord; regardless of beauty or age, they prefer holy purity to marriage, they want to be better brides of God, beautiful for God, virgins for God. They live with Him, they talk with Him; He is treated day and night. They bring their prayers to the Lord like a vein; They receive mercy from Him whenever they want, as if from a spouse. Thus, they forever acquired for themselves the good Lord, and on earth, through celibacy, they are numbered among the ranks of the Angels. – How many are there who, right after baptism, devote their flesh to purity! How many are there who, by mutual agreement, put an end to marital relations—arbitrary eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven!” 17 Such ascetics and ascetics were not only examples of Christian virtues in their home life, but also in the midst of persecution. Free in spirit from everything earthly, burning with fiery love for the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom they committed themselves forever, they willingly endured everything for the Lord and inspired others to suffer. The history of the first centuries of Christianity presents many such examples, especially during the last Diocletian persecution. Eusebius in his history mentions voluntary virgin ascetics (ἀυτοπαρθένος ἀσκητριας) in Alexandria, whom the torturers handed over for reproach 18. Of the two virgins who showed manly patience in Gaza, one, Valentina, trampled under foot the pagan altar and overthrew it along with the fire placed on it 19 . In Caesarea, Hennath, adorned with the crown of virginity, was consigned to fire. In the history of the sufferings of St. Martyr Theodotus of Ancyra, described by an eyewitness, mentions seven virgins. Consigned to mockery by the tormentor, they asked the Lord Jesus for protection. “As long as it was in our power,” they said, to preserve virginity in its purity, You know how zealously we have guarded it until this day,” and the prayer of faith kept the crown of virginity incorruptible for them and prepared a new crown of martyrdom 21 . Another ascetic, St. Justin, in order to preserve a long-preserved treasure, sacrificing her beauty, asked for the protection of the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, and saved with her the one who wanted to deceive her 22. In the last half of the third century of Christianity, St. Methodius, Bishop of Tire, glorified virginity with his book: The Feast of Ten Virgins. At this feast, the virgins, gathered at Aretas, speak one after another about the superiority of virginity before marriage, discuss its true dignity and conclude their pure conversation with a song to God. Let's borrow a few words from this conversation 23. “Great, above nature, wonderful and glorious is virginity. This is a drink that flows not from the earth, but from the sky. It was left to the Lord to teach this teaching (about virginity) to people: since He alone, having come to earth, taught man to ascend to God. It is fitting for the Bishop and the Head of the Prophets and Angels to be called the head of the virgins. The Old Testament could not yet accommodate virginity.” “How great the dignity of virginity is can be seen from the fact that the number of virgins from the beginning was determined to be one hundred and forty-four thousand (Rev. 14:3-4): while the other Saints are countless. And behold, a great people, says John, which no one can destroy, from every tongue and tribe and people and nations, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and finches in their hands. (Rev.7:9) 24. “And the Law testifies that to be purified by purity to the Lord is a great vow, above all vows. (Num.6:2) – What does it mean to completely devote yourself to the Lord? If I open my mouth to explain the Scriptures, or to chant Orthodoxy and worthily according to the power of God, and if I close it, putting a door and a guard with my mouth, so as not to speak vain things, then my lips are pure and dedicated to God. If I train my eyes not to be seduced by physical beauty and not to enjoy shameless spectacles, but to look at grief, then my eyes are pure and dedicated to the Lord. If I block my ears from slander and reproach and open them to the word of God, then I have dedicated my ears to the Lord... If I am pure in heart, I devote all my thoughts to the Lord, I do not think about anything vain, pride and anger do not live in me, I think about the law of the Lord day and night: then truly I make a great vow: to be cleansed by purity - The host of virgins, according to legend, is called the bloodless altar of God 25. St. Methodius wants to say that everything in a virgin should be dedicated to God. “Not only must the body be kept uncorrupted; one must take care of the soul and adorn it with righteousness. And this is achieved when the soul often listens to the word of God, cleaves to it and never ceases to come to the doors of the wise until it reaches Him who is the very truth. A soul that is not salted with salt – in the words of Christ – is of necessity subject to rotting 26 . Pointing to the heavenly glory awaiting those who have renounced the world, one of the virgins says: “Here is our mysterious triumph, beautiful virgins! This is the accomplishment (τελεταὶ) of those secretly kept in virginity! This is the reward for a pure feat of chastity! I pledge myself to the Word, and accept as a gift the eternal crown of incorruptibility and wealth from the Father; having placed a crown on my head, I adorn myself with the bright and unfading flowers of wisdom. I go around with Christ, who gives reward in heaven, around the beginningless and immortal King; I become a light-bearer of unapproachable lights and sing a new song with the face of Angels, proclaiming the new grace of the Church” 27. In their song to the heavenly bridegroom Jesus Christ, the virgins sing: “I forgot my parents, desiring Your grace, the Word (Ps. 44:11). I forgot the faces of the virgins my age, I forgot that my mother and relatives would boast about me. You have become everything to me, Christ. I dedicate myself pure to You and meet You with a luminous lamp, Zhenisha.” “Your forerunner, who washed many earthly beings in cleansing streams, is lawlessly led by a wicked man to be slaughtered for purity. Sprinkling the ashes with his blood, he cries out to You, O Blessed One: I dedicate myself pure to You and meet You with a luminous lamp, Zhenisha.” “And Your mother, the Parent of life, imperishable, immaculate grace, carrying in her seedless womb an undefiled fetus, being a Virgin, cried out, O Blessed One: I dedicate myself to You pure and with a luminous lamp I meet You, O Bridegroom!” “Blessed, beginningless, living in the pure villages of heaven, containing everything with eternal power! We're coming. Receive us, Father, with Your Son into the gates of life. I dedicate myself to You, pure, and with a lamp I meet You, Zhenisha!” Thus the Holy Shepherd praised virginity through the lips of the virgins of Christ, and thus taught those who strived to achieve the heavenly crown through an angelic life. The higher the dignity of this life, the more difficult the feat, the more temptations from the flesh and the world for those who have renounced the flesh and the world: the more concerned the shepherds of the Church were about warning the zealots of virgin purity from the dangers that threaten them. A monument to this solicitude can serve as the writings of St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, in which he inspired virgins to despise jewelry in their clothes, to use their wealth for deeds pleasing to God, not to go to public meetings, and to avoid worldly pleasures. In a book about clothing appropriate for virgins, having shown the need for every Christian to strictly observe the rules of Christian life, the Holy Bishop writes: “Now I turn my word to virgins, about whom I care the more, the higher their glory. They are the color on the tree of the Church, the beauty and beauty of spiritual grace, the best part of the flock of Christ. The Church rejoices over them, the glorious fruitfulness of this mother flourishes in them abundantly; the more the numerous host of virgins increases, the more the mother’s joy increases. I speak to them, I exhort them: because I am afraid of the attack of the devil. This fear is not in vain, fear is not in vain; it leads to the fact that virgins who have dedicated themselves to Christ, and having renounced carnal lusts, have doomed themselves to God in flesh and spirit, properly do their work, for which a great reward is assigned, and do not try to adorn themselves or be pleasing to anyone other than their Lord... What do virgins have in earthly attire and adornments? – Do you call yourself rich and think that you should use what God has blessed you with? Use it, but for saving deeds. Let the poor feel that you are rich. Give back to God from your acquisitions, feed Christ; By your good deeds, incite others to pray for you, so that you may gain the glory of virginity. - Some are not ashamed to be in the circle of girls getting married, and, carried away by the freedom of unchaste people, conduct immodest conversations... What need is there for someone who does not want to get married before marriage? And can a virgin, who has completely different occupations and vows, find any pleasure there? “Strait and narrow is the Path that leads to the stomach. Flee the wide and spacious paths of joy, where pleasures are disastrous, deadly.” – And pointing to the heavenly rewards, the Holy Shepherd adds: “the first, hundredfold fruit is the fruit of the Martyrs, the second sixtyfold is yours (Matthew 13:8). Just as the Martyr does not think about the flesh and the world, does not have the slightest communication with them: so in you, who occupy second place in the reward of glory, virtue should be close to the patience of a martyr.” “Do you want to know what sorrow virginity is free from and what benefit it has? By multiplying I will multiply your sorrows and your sighs: give birth to your children in sickness, and when you turn to your husband, he will have possession of you, God said to the woman (Gen. 3:16). You are free from this sentence... You have already begun to be what we will be. In this age you already have the glory of the resurrection.” Concluding his instructions, St. Cyprian says: “you who are older in years teach the younger; You, the youngest in age, excite your equals, motivate each other with mutual advice.” This is how the words of the Shepherd of Christ expressed the desire to see virgins living in societies, completely removed from the world, fulfilling the vow of purity and the vow of free poverty, in obedience to pious leaders! – At that time, as St. Cyprian wrote this, the Lord was already preparing men in the deserts of Egypt, through whom this desire would soon be fulfilled for the entire Church of Christ. Paul and Anthony, by the glory of their exploits attracting hosts of disciples to themselves, laid the foundation for the correct and well-ordered life of virgins in monasticism. Ap. Evseb. Hist. Eccl. L. 2. With . 23. Contia Vigilantium L I c. 26. Adv. Haeres. 58, 4. 78, 13. cm. Procli Orat. 6. Hieronym. ad Tit. 2, 7. Antiochi Monachi hom. 112. Apud Evseb. Hist. Eccl. Lib. 3. c. 31. 1 Er. av Corinth s. 39. Hieronym. I. 1. contra lovianum. Epiphan He e res 30 s. 15 J. Damaseeni Ra r a ll e l a Sent. to St. Polycarp, ch. 5 Constitut Apostol. L. IV p. 14. παρθενίυς στεμματι κεκοσμημένη (inaudible, perhaps παρθενιος στεμματι κεκοσμημένη) from 9. Combefis. Bibliotheca Graccor. Patrum, auctuary. novissimum Pars 1. p. 64 et seq. Orat. 5. In the Apostolic Constitutions, the altar of God refers to widows who have doomed themselves to a celibate life. L. 3. p. 6. Also in the letter of St. Polycarp, Bp. Smyrna, Philippians, Tertullian ad uxor. I. 1. c7. But from the message of St. Polycarp it is clear that the name widows sometimes also meant virgins. He writes a greeting to the virgins called widows Orat. 6. In the seven descriptions of the crowned reward to virgins who have betrothed themselves to Christ, one cannot fail to see the application to the rites with which the sacrament of marriage was performed in the Church: the crown, the ceremony, the candles, the chants You might be interested in: