О монашестве

Conversation between Orthodox Christians, a layman and a monk Layman. My father! I recognize myself as happy that, when I met you, I found in you a person before whom I can open my heart, and from whom I hear a sincere word. I wish, I wish from the bottom of my heart and completely, to belong to the Orthodox Church, to follow its dogmatic and moral tradition. To this end, I try to have a definite understanding of all subjects of legend. Wrong concepts lead to wrong actions; wrong action is a source of harm, private and public. In this conversation, do not refuse to explain to me the meaning of “monasticism” in the Church of Christ. Monk. God bless your desire. Everything good is born from precise and correct concepts; All disasters are born from perverse and false things. This opinion belongs to the Gospel. It offers us Truth as the initial cause of salvation, and points to lies as the initial cause of destruction (John 8:32, 44). Why do you want the subject of our conversation today to be “monasticism”? Layman. In the society I visit, there is often talk about monasticism, and various modern opinions about it are expressed. My acquaintances almost always address me as someone who is in contact with many clergy, expressing a desire for me to express my opinion. I want to deliver accurate information to my neighbors, and therefore I ask you to tell me it. Monk. I don’t know to what extent I am able to satisfy you: but I want to be sincere with you and present what I have learned from reading the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, from conversations with monks worthy of respect and trust in life, and finally from my own observations and experiences. At the basis of our conversation, as if laying the cornerstone at the foundation of a building, I will say that monasticism is an institution of God, not at all human. Layman. Imagine! I have never heard of the idea that monasticism is a Divine institution in society. Monk. I know that. That is why, when a conversation about monasticism begins in secular society, one says: “It seems so to me!” – another: “but it seems like this to me!” - another: “I would have done that!” another: “I would do it!” One hears a thousand contradictory opinions and assumptions uttered by people who have no idea about monasticism, but are ready to become writers of rules for monasticism and dispose of monasticism at their own wise discretion, without any information. Some even repeat the blasphemies uttered against monasticism by Protestants and atheists. The heart is filled with a feeling of sadness and fear from such exclamations and judgments, in which ignorance tramples under its hooves the most precious pearls of Divine tradition and institution. Layman. Exactly! The reason for this is ignorance, as you said, father. Monk. Do not think that ignorance is an insignificant evil. The Holy Fathers call ignorance a great, initial evil, from which evil is born in full abundance. The Monk Mark the Ascetic says that ignorance is the first, main giant of evil 443. Ignorance does not know its ignorance, ignorance is satisfied with its knowledge, said another Father 444. It is capable of doing a lot of evil, without even suspecting that it is doing it. I say this out of a feeling of compassion for people who do not understand what the dignity of man is - for Christians who do not know what Christianity consists of, acting out of their ignorance against themselves. Do not think that I had the intention of covering up human abuses and human weakness in the Divine institution. No! the denunciation and elimination of human abuses in the institution of God serves as a sign of reverence for this institution, a means of preserving in due holiness the institution bestowed by God and placed at the disposal of men. Layman. The last thought is again new to me. I have never looked at monasticism from this point of view, and I have not encountered this view in others. Monk. What I have said applies not to monasticism alone, but to the entire Church, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. That the Old Testament Church was founded by God, that it was handed over to workers - the Jewish people, this was depicted by the Lord in the parable of the vineyard, in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of Matthew 445. That the New Testament Church was founded by the God-man, that it was transferred to another people, made up of all nations, Christians, this is clear from the Gospel and from all Holy Scripture (Eph. 1:22-23, 2:10-11, etc.). The Jews had to give an account to God for preserving the gift of God, for managing and disposing of the gift of God. As their behavior turned out to be criminal, they were eliminated - however, when they had already eliminated themselves arbitrarily in the spirit - and were executed. In the same way, an account will be required from Christians, what use they have made in general from the institution of God - the New Testament Church - and from the private institutions in it, what monasticism is. Layman. Is it not possible to discern from the Holy Scriptures what the fate of the New Testament Church on earth will be? Monk. Holy Scripture testifies that Christians, like the Jews, will gradually begin to cool towards the revealed teaching of God; they will begin to ignore the renewal of human nature by the God-man, they will forget about eternity, they will turn all their attention to their earthly life; in this mood and direction they will engage in the development of their position on earth, as if eternal, and the development of their fallen nature to satisfy all the damaged and perverted demands and desires of soul and body. Of course: the Redeemer, who redeemed man for a blessed eternity, is alien to such a direction. A retreat from Christianity is typical of this trend. The retreat will come, according to the prophecy of Scripture (2 Thess. 2:3). Monasticism will participate in the weakening of Christianity: a member of the body cannot help but take part in the weakness that affects the whole body. The holy monks of ancient times predicted this at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in them 446. When Christianity diminishes to the extreme on earth: then the life of the world will end (Luke 18:8). Layman. What is the significance of monasticism in the Church of Christ? Monk. Monks are those Christians who, if possible, leave all earthly pursuits to engage in prayer, a virtue that is higher than all virtues, so that through it they can be united into one with God, as the Apostle said: “When you cleave to the Lord, there is one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17) 447. And since prayer borrows its power from all other virtues and from the entire teaching of Christ, the monks apply special care to the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, adding to the fulfillment of the commandments, which is obligatory for all Christians, the fulfillment of two councils of Christ: the advice on non-covetousness and the advice on celibacy 448 . Monks, through their residence, strive to resemble the residence on earth of the God-Man: for this reason, holy monks are called “venerables.” Layman. Where did the monks get their name? Monk. The words "monk, monastery, monasticism" come from the Greek word "μóνος", one. Monk means one who lives alone or alone; monastery - a secluded, separate dwelling; monasticism is a solitary residence. This residence differs from the ordinary residence common to everyone - there is a different residence, and therefore in the Russian language the name “monasticism” was formed for it. Monk in Russian means “monk”. The words “community, skete, silence, hermitage, seclusion, desert life” mean different types of monastic life. A monastic community is the cohabitation of a more or less numerous collection of monks who have a common divine service, a common meal and clothing, and are under the supervision of one abbot. Silence is the cohabitation of two or three monks in a separate cell, living on mutual advice or on the advice of an elder, having a common meal and clothing, holding divine services in the cell for five days, and on Saturday and Sunday coming to public services in the church. Hermitage is the name given to a monk living alone. When a hermit remains permanently in a cell located in a monastery, then he is called a recluse, and his residence is called a retreat; when he lives in a deserted desert, he is called a hermit, and his residence is a desert life. Layman. When did monasticism begin? Monk. From the time of the Apostles, according to the testimony of the Monk Cassian 449. The Monk Cassian, a writer and monk of the fourth century, who surveyed the monastic monasteries of Egypt, in which monasticism especially flourished at that time, spent considerable time among the monks of the Egyptian “Skete,” and passed on to later posterity the rules and teachings of the Egyptian monks, says that in the first times of Christianity in Egypt, the chosen disciples of the holy Apostle, the Evangelist Mark, the first bishop of Alexandria received the name monks. They retired to the most remote suburban places, where they lived in the most exalted manner according to the rules that the Evangelist 450 gave them. – The biography of the Venerable Martyr Eugenia tells that during the reign of the Roman Emperor Commodus – Commodus ascended the throne in 180 after the birth of Christ – the Roman nobleman Philip was made ruler of Egypt. At that time there was a monastery in the Alexandria suburb; It is mentioned about the bishop of that time, Saint Elias, that he entered monasticism in his youth 451. The Jewish historian Philo, a modern Apostle, a citizen of Alexandria, describes the life of the therapeuts, who retired to the outskirts of Alexandria, exactly as the life of the first Alexandrian monks is depicted by the Monk Cassian, and calls their dwellings “monasteries” 452. It is not clear from Philo's description whether the Therapeutes were Christians; but the description of Philo as a secular writer is superficial; Moreover, at this time many did not distinguish Christianity from Judaism, recognizing the first as a sect of the second. In the biography of St. Anthony the Great, which was compiled by his contemporary, St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, it is mentioned that at the time St. Anthony entered monasticism - Anthony was then about 20 years old - Egyptian monks spent a solitary life in the vicinity of cities and villages. The Monk Anthony the Great died in the year 356 after the birth of Christ, being 105 years old 453. – There is a fact that proves that monasticism has existed in Syria since the times of the apostles. The Venerable Martyr Eudokia, who lived in the Syrian city of Iliopolis during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, was converted to Christianity by the Monk Herman, the abbot of a monastery in which there were 70 monks. Evdokia, upon accepting Christianity, entered a nunnery in which there were 30 nuns 454. Trajan began to reign in the year 96 after the birth of Christ. – In the last years of the 3rd century, St. Anthony the Great laid the foundation for desert living; at the end of the first half of the 4th century, the Monk Pachomius the Great founded the Tabennisiot monasteries in the Thebaid desert, and the Monk Macarius the Great founded a residence of the silent in the wild desert of Skete, close to Alexandria, which is why such a residence received the name monastery, and the monasteries built for this residence were called sketes. Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who lived in the second half of the 4th century, studied monastic life among Egyptian monks; Having returned to his fatherland, Cappadocia, he spent there, in the desert, a monastic life before entering the service of the Church, and wrote rules for monks, which were later partly accepted for leadership, and partly for edification by the entire Eastern Church. Thus, monasticism, lurking in the vicinity of cities and villages, in the 4th century, moved mostly to uninhabited deserts. There it developed and grew, as if on its own soil. However, both in cities and in the vicinity of cities, monasteries remained and were established again. – The Monk Cassian, having spoken about the establishment of monasticism in Alexandria by the Holy Evangelist Mark, provides those seeking more detailed information about this with reference to Church History. This History has not reached us, like almost all written acts of Egypt: they were destroyed by the Mohammedans in the 7th century, which they did in other Christian countries they conquered, but to a lesser extent. Layman. What was the reason for the relocation of monasticism to places remote from cities and villages? Monk. This resettlement took place at the very time when the feat of martyrdom ceased, and not only the chosen ones began to accept the Christian faith, not by a special calling, not with determination for the greatest disasters and death, but everyone in general, as the dominant faith, protected and spread by the government. Christianity has become universal; but it did not retain its former self-sacrifice. Christians in cities and villages began to indulge themselves in many everyday concerns, to allow themselves luxury, carnal pleasure, participation in popular entertainment and other indulgences, which the primitive confessors of the faith shunned as renunciations of Christ in spirit. The desert provided a natural refuge and refuge, undisturbed by temptations, for Christians who wanted to preserve and develop Christianity in all its strength. “The desert,” says Saint Isaac of Syria, “is useful for both the weak and the strong: in the former, by moving away from matter, passions are not allowed to flare up and multiply, but for the strong, when they are away from matter, they achieve a fight against evil spirits” 455. Saints Basil the Great and Demetrius of Rostov depict the reason for the departure of Saint Gordius into the desert as follows: “Gordius ran away from hail rumors, mercenary cries, grandeurs of princely flights, ships speaking, selling, buying, swearing, lying, blabbering, running away from games and mockery and ridicule, who lived in the city, having pure hearing, pure eyes, and above all a purified heart, able to see God, and being granted Divine revelations, and having learned great mysteries, not from man or man, but from the great teacher of truth, the Spirit,” 456. Since the resettlement of monasticism in the desert, he acquired a special robe, with the aim of finally separating him from the laity. During times of persecution, both the clergy and monks used the most common attire: this protected them to a large extent from their persecutors. Layman. The lofty teaching with which Saint Gordius was vouchsafed is the exclusive property of very few. In modern times, the Christian faith is taught satisfactorily and in detail in seminaries, and the highest teaching about it in theological academies. Monk. There is the greatest difference between the teaching taught in theological schools and the teaching that is taught or should be taught in monasteries, although the subject of both teachings is the same: Christianity. The Savior of the world, sending His holy Apostles to preach worldwide, commanded them to teach all nations to “faith” in the true God and to “live” according to His commandments. “As you go,” He said, “teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things given to you in the commandments” (Matthew 28:19-20). The doctrine of "faith" must precede "baptism"; the teaching of “living” according to the commandments must follow “baptism”. The first teaching is theoretical, the second is practical. The holy Apostle Paul said about the first: “I have not hurt myself in anything useful, what should I tell you and teach you before men and at home: testifying by both Jews and Greeks to God the repentance and faith that is in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:20–21); about the second: “Christ is in you, the hope of glory; and Him we preach, chastening every man, and teaching all wisdom, that we may make every man perfect in Christ Jesus” ( Col. 1:27–28 ). God has given two teachings about God: the teaching by word, acceptable by faith, and the teaching by life, acceptable by activity according to the commandments of the Gospel. The first doctrine can be likened to the foundation of a building, and the second to the building itself, erected on this foundation. Just as it is impossible to build a building without a foundation for it, so a foundation alone will serve no purpose unless a building is erected on it. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). The Holy Apostle Paul depicts the necessity of the first teaching as follows: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. How can they believe without hearing Him? How can they hear without him preaching” (Rom. 10:17, 14)? This is the beginning of catechetical teaching. To those entering Christianity, the Apostles and their successors expounded the basic teaching of Christianity about God, about the God-man, about man, about its meaning in time, about its meaning in eternity, about the sacraments, about heavenly bliss, about hellish torment (Heb. 6: 1-2), and about other things that constitute the basic, dogmatic Christian teaching, to which was added the theoretical teaching about life according to the commandments of the Gospel (Heb. 11, 12, 13). This is the beginning of dogmatic and moral Theology, this most sublime, sacred science. From the very times of the apostles, heretical teachings began to arise in the Church of Christ, that is, teachings about the Revelation of God from the false human mind. In the Revealed Teaching of God there is no place for human speculation: there, from alpha to omega, everything is God’s. The Holy Ecumenical Church carefully tried to preserve the priceless spiritual treasure entrusted to her - the Revealed Teaching of God: she denounced her obvious enemies - idolaters, pagan philosophers and Jews, and repelled their attacks; she denounced her internal enemies - heretics, refuted their teachings, cast them out of her depths, and warned her children against them. For this reason, over time, Theology became more and more extensive. He needed schools to study. The oldest and most extensive school was in Alexandria; it especially flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Teachings hostile to the Divine Teaching constantly multiplied, appearing in various forms: the need for schools, their systematic organization, became constantly more noticeable. The West, having deviated from the East by falling into heresy, adopted pagan education and life: from that time on, teachings hostile to the Orthodox Church, the most cunningly constructed, the most daring, ugly, blasphemous teachings multiplied to infinity. Theological schools have become an essential need for the Orthodox Church, like the breath of life. Judge for yourself: it is necessary to clearly present to an Orthodox Christian, especially one who is preparing to be a shepherd, both the true teaching of the Orthodox Church, and all its victorious struggle with secret and open enemies, with hidden and open ones, a struggle that lasted 18 centuries, flaring up more and more. It is necessary to expound the errors of Arius, and Macedonia, and Nestorius, and Eutyches, and the iconoclasts, and papism, and Protestantism with their countless branches, crowned with atheism and modern philosophy; it is necessary to present a satisfactory refutation of all these doctrines. The study of Theology required a short time in the first times of Christianity - it now requires a long time; Previously, it could be taught in teachings delivered in the church of God, but now needs systematic teaching over several years. Delivering this study, in its full extent, is the goal of our theological seminaries and academies: they teach basic, introductory knowledge about Christianity, as the Monk Mark the Ascetic called them, 457 they teach it to youth who have not yet entered into public service, prepared for it only theoretically, unfamiliar with the knowledge imparted by the experience of life. Theoretical knowledge about faith must be developed into active, living, grace-filled knowledge. To acquire this knowledge, man was given earthly life. A Christian living in the middle of the world according to the commandments of the Gospel will certainly be enriched with knowledge not only by experience, but also by grace to a certain extent. The one who, leaving all earthly cares, will use all his time, all the strength of body and soul for pleasing God, that is, a monk, should be incomparably enriched by them. He is called in the Gospel “having” the commandments of the Lord, because the commandments of the Lord constitute his entire heritage. “Having My commandments,” said the Savior of the world, “and keeping them, he is the one who loves Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself” (John 14:21). For this reason, the most zealous Christians of all centuries, having completed their education in schools, entered and are still entering monasticism in order to acquire the education that monasticism provides. Who were the great teachers of the Church of all times? monks. Who explained her teaching in detail, who preserved her tradition for posterity, who exposed and trampled heresies? - monks. Who sealed the Orthodox confession of faith with their blood? - monks. It's very natural. Christians living in the middle of the world, entangled in its connections, busy with various concerns, voluntary and involuntary, cannot devote much time, cannot devote all their love to God. “He who is not married cares for the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but he who is married cares for the things of the world” (1 Cor. 7:32–33): one who is married cannot constantly and intensely cleave to the Lord through prayer, detached from everything earthly, and unite “in one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17), as is possible and characteristic of a monk. – For personal Christian success, there is no need for human learning, which is necessary for teachers of the Church: many illiterate Christians, among others, and the Monk Anthony the Great, having entered monasticism, achieved Christian perfection, shedding spiritual light on their contemporaries by example, oral teaching, and their grace-filled gifts. “Who, says Saint John Climacus, was the miracle worker among the laity? who raised the dead? who cast out demons? nobody; all these are monks of honor, whom the world cannot accommodate” 458. Layman. Not all monks achieve such a high state, not all fulfill their purpose. Rarely do it. Monk. Those monks who live according to the monastic rules will certainly acquire grace according to the promise of God. The promise of God cannot fail to be fulfilled, by the very property of the Word of God and the commandments of the Gospel, the property of communicating the Spirit of God to its workers. On the contrary, monks who neglect the God-given regulations for monasticism and lead a self-willed, absent-minded, voluptuous and peace-loving life are deprived of spiritual success. This happens to all Christians. Those Christians who live a Christian life are saved, and those who, calling themselves Christians, live a pagan life, perish. In the past there were many more saints among monks and people being saved among Christians than there are now. The reason for this is a general weakening in faith and morals. But even now there are true monks and true Christians. I repeat to you: there are monks unworthy of their name and calling; but this is an abuse of God’s institution. The institution of God does not cease to be the institution of God, despite its abuse by people. Likewise, Christianity is not deprived of its great dignity for the reason that some or many Christians lead a life that is contrary to the teachings of Christ. Both Christianity and monasticism must be judged by true Christians and monks. This is not easy: piety and virtue, like chaste virgins, are always under veils and cells and obscurity, as if under the veils of fabrics; On the contrary, harlots try to appear half-naked for shame. Often the high life of a monk is revealed only at his death or after his death. Often a monk, a participant in the grace of God, showers the world with slander and slander because of the world’s hatred of the Spirit of God (John 15:18–19). Success itself has different degrees: because, as mentioned above, monastic solitude, while useful to strong Christians in one respect, is also useful to the weak in another. Of course, the number of the latter was always greater than the number of the former. Layman. After everything you have said, a definitive explanation and proof becomes necessary that monasticism is an institution of God. What you have said already leads to this conclusion to a large extent. Monk. The Savior of the world indicated two paths, two ways of life for those who believe in Him: a path or lifestyle that brings “salvation,” and a path or lifestyle that brings “perfection.” The Lord called the latter path and residence “following Himself,” since they serve as the most accurate expression of the teaching taught by the Lord, and a feasible imitation of the kind of life that the Lord led during His earthly wanderings. The conditions of salvation lie in faith in Christ (John 3:36, 17:3), in living according to the commandments of God (Matt. 19:17; Mark 10:19), and in healing through repentance the shortcomings of fulfilling the commandments (Luke 13:3, 5): therefore, salvation is provided, and it is possible, to everyone, with duties and ministries in the middle of the world that are not contrary to the Law of God. Some were called by the Lord Himself to follow the Lord, like the Apostles; but in general, following the Lord is left by the Lord to the will of everyone, 459 which is clear from all the places in the Gospel where the Lord speaks about this subject. “If anyone wants to walk after Me” (Matthew 16:24), “if anyone wants to be perfect” (Matthew 19:21), “if anyone wants to come to Me” (Luke 14:26), says the Lord at the beginning of the teaching about “following” and Christian “perfection”. The assumption of residence is subject to arbitrariness; but the conditions for residence have already been prescribed by the Lord; Without preserving these conditions, following the Lord cannot take place. The Lord depicted the conditions for following, or the path and life leading to perfection, as follows: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and come after Me” (Matthew 16:24). “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor: and have treasure in heaven: and come after Me” (Matthew 19:21), “let us take up the cross” (Mark 10:21). “Unless anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and also his own soul, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and comes after Me cannot be My disciple... Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26–27, 33). Here are prescribed precisely those conditions from which the essential vows of monasticism are composed; monasticism, as we said, at its beginning was nothing more than a solitary residence of Christians, distant from rumors, striving for Christian perfection. The Christians of populous and rich Alexandria retired to the outskirts of the city at the direction of St. Mark the Evangelist; The same instruction is given by the Holy Apostle Paul to all Christians who wish to enter into the closest communion with God. “You know,” he says, “the churches of God live, just as God said: I will dwell in them, and I will walk, and I will be God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and separate yourself, says the Lord, and do not touch their uncleanness, and I will receive you: and I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:16-18). Saint John Climacus refers this calling specifically to monks 460. The above words of the Lord were understood in the primal Church exactly as they are explained here. Saint Athanasius the Great, in his biography of Saint Anthony the Great, says that Anthony, as a youth, entered the church to pray. On that day, the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 19) was read about a rich man who asked the Lord about salvation and perfection. When the above words were read: “If you want to be perfect, go and sell your property,” and so on, Anthony, whose soul was preoccupied with the question of what kind of life to choose, felt special sympathy for these words, admitted that the Lord Himself had told them to him, which is why he immediately sold his property and entered monasticism 461 . These words of the Lord are still recognized by the Holy Church as fundamental for monasticism, and are always read during tonsure as a monk 462 . – The establishment of monasticism far from villages, in deserts, took place by revelation and command of God. The Monk Anthony the Great was called by God to live in the deep desert; The monk Macarius the Great was commanded by an Angel to settle in the desert of Skete 463, the monk Pachomius the Great was also commanded by the Angel to establish a monastic community in the desert, and gave written rules for the residence of monks 464. The mentioned monks were men filled with the Holy Spirit, who were constantly in communion with God, who served for the monks as the “verb” of God, as Moses served them for the Israelites. The Holy Spirit has constantly, through all centuries of Christianity, shone on monasticism. The teaching of the Holy Spirit, the teaching of Christ, the teaching of God about monasticism, about this science of sciences 465, as the Holy Fathers express about this Divine science, is set forth by the venerable monks with all clarity and completeness in their God-inspired writings. All of them testify that the establishment of monasticism, this supernatural life, is in no way a human matter: it is the work of God. It, being supernatural, cannot be the work of man, cannot but be the work of God. Layman. Some believe that the initial cause of monasticism was the persecution raised by idolaters against Christians in the first three centuries of Christianity. Monk. Carnal wisdom always erroneously speaks about spiritual men. Spiritual men, such as the monks of the first centuries, longed for martyrdom, and many of them were crowned with the crown of martyrdom, such as: the venerable martyrs Nikon 466, Julian 467, the venerable martyrs Evdokia 468, Eugene 469, Fevronia 470, and others. The above-mentioned holy desert dweller Gordius, when the feat for martyrdom opened in Caesarea in Cappadocia, came to this city during a nationwide celebration, exposed the error of idolatry, confessed Christ, and sealed the confession with martyrdom. When the fierce persecution of Christians was instituted by the Emperor Diocletian, the Monk Anthony the Great was already a monk and a desert dweller. Hearing that Christians are being tortured and executed for confessing Christ, Anthony leaves the den and the desert, hurries to Alexandria, joins the martyrs, publicly confesses Christ, and by his very deed proves his desire for martyrdom. “The monk,” says the writer of his life, “as if he became a martyr out of his love and will: although he wanted to suffer for the name of the Lord, martyrdom was not given to him by the Lord.” The Lord was already replacing the harvest of holiness, which was abundantly accomplished by the martyrs who confessed Him before the idolaters, with another abundant harvest, which the monks were to accomplish in the field of another martyrdom. The torment barely stopped, and Christian blood barely stopped flowing in city squares and disgraces, when thousands of Christians moved to the wild deserts, so that there they could crucify their flesh with “passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24), in order to confess Christ in the face of the very rulers of the world, the principalities and powers of evil (Eph. 6:12). The reason for the departure of the Monk Paul of Thebes into the desert was the desire to avoid attacks on his life during the persecution instituted by Emperor Decius. Perhaps some others withdrew into the desert for the same reason. Others retreated into the desert due to other circumstances. But these are special cases from which one should not conclude at all about the beginning of monasticism. The initial reason for monasticism is not human weakness, but the power of Christ’s teaching. St. John Kolov, compiler of the biography of St. Paisius the Great, in the preface to this biography says: “Eternal heavenly blessings arouse in those who hope to receive them an immeasurable desire for themselves, saturate the hearts of these desirers with some insatiable Divine sweetness, force them to always remember the bliss there, the reward of labor, the bright triumph ascetics, and are encouraged to strive for themselves in such a way that they not only despise the temporary and vain, but also do not spare their lives, deigning, according to the word of the Gospel, to lay down their beloved soul for Christ. They love death for Christ more than all pleasures and delights. But since now there are no persecutors, and the desired death is not achieved soon, they try to suffer it in a different way, establishing for themselves a long and violent mortification of themselves. They endure thousands of illnesses every day, fasting, laboring in many different ways, fighting invisible demons, constantly forcing their nature, clothed in flesh, to resist incorporeal enemies” 471. Layman. Are you comparing the feat of monasticism with the feat of martyrdom? Monk. This is one and the same feat, in different forms. Both martyrdom and monasticism are based on the same sayings of the Gospel; both were not invented by men, but were given to humanity by the Lord; both cannot be accomplished otherwise than by the omnipotent help of God, by the action of God’s grace. You will be convinced of this if you read the lives of St. Anthony the Great, Macarius the Great, Theodore of Studium, Mary of Egypt, John the Long-Suffering, Nikon the Sufficient and other monks whose feat and suffering were beyond natural. Saint Simeon, the New Theologian, says about his mentor, Simeon the Blagogoveyny, a monk of the Studite monastery, that through sorrows and bodily suffering he became like many martyrs 472. Layman. Explain, my father, what significance do celibate life and non-covetousness have in monastic feat? It is dark for those who live in the midst of the world, who work for the public good, who give alms abundantly, and who do many good works, indicated and approved by the Gospel. With a lack of explanation, monastic life seems to be an idle life, devoid of both activity and benefit. Monk. The activity of the laity that you mention, consisting of fulfilling the Gospel commandments by the actions of the body, is necessary for “salvation”, but not sufficient for “perfection”. Nothing prevents one from engaging in such activities in the midst of the cares and responsibilities of the world. Even earthly prosperity makes it possible to do more good deeds: thus, a rich man can help the poor brethren a lot with alms, and a nobleman can help them with protection from violence and representation in courts. During this activity, one must be careful not to act out of oneself, 473 as did the Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel (Luke 18), who certainly did many good deeds, but with the wrong view of his activity. As a result, he fell into a wrong opinion about himself and his neighbors; his good activity became displeasing to God. The Apostle says that those who do good works should do them, “as good builders of the diversified grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10). Let the rich man give alms from his estate, not as from his own, but as from what was given to him by God. Let a nobleman do good from a high position, not as from his own, but as from one given to him by God. Then the look of contempt on the activities of one’s neighbors, even if they were insufficient, will be destroyed; then the question of one’s own activity will begin to appear in the conscience, as was the case with the righteous Job (Job 1:5), does it satisfy God’s requirement? Does it have any major or minor flaws? then, little by little, the concept of a more perfect residence will begin to form. Agree that monastic life seems devoid of activity and benefit precisely for those who highly, that is, erroneously, value their activity. The sign of correct Christian activity is humility; Pride and conceit are a sure sign of wrong activity, as directed by the Lord Himself. The opinion you expressed reveals ignorance of Christianity, a false, distorted understanding of it. Christian perfection was offered by the God-Man Himself to His chosen disciples. Perfection begins where the good deeds prescribed for the laity reach their fullness. Study Christianity, find out what its perfection lies in - and you will understand the meaning of monasticism, you will understand the absurdity of the blasphemous accusation of idleness of those people who strive to fulfill the most sublime bequests of the Gospel, inaccessible to the laity. Those who shower monasticism with criticism and blasphemy necessarily blaspheme the very establishment of Christian perfection by the Lord. Layman. I agree, I agree! Reveal to me with clarity the meaning of non-covetousness and celibate life on the path to Christian perfection. Monk. Their meaning is of extraordinary importance. I will try my best to make it understandable for you. The one who distributed his property to the poor in order to show complete obedience to the Savior and completely follow Him, who himself became a beggar in order to subject himself to the hardships associated with poverty and abundantly bringing humility, destroys by this action all his hope for the world, concentrating it in God. His heart moves from earth to heaven (Matthew 6:21), and he begins to walk on top of the waters of the sea of ​​life, supported by faith. His care is entrusted to the Lord, Who, having commanded His closest disciples to distribute property (Luke 12:33) and set aside worries about providing themselves with bodily needs, promised that those who seek the “Kingdom of God and His righteousness” will have all these needs “supplied” by the providence of the Heavenly Father (Matt. 6:33). The servants of God are allowed various sorrows, during which God’s providence for them is, as it were, hidden, and the influence of the world receives special strength: but this is necessary for teaching them a living faith in God, which constantly grows and strengthens from experience. Experiences expose the unbelief living in the fallen nature; They denounce the apostasy and renunciation of God that lives in fallen nature: because the heart, at the slightest weakening of observation of it, with sorrowful blindness rushes to place trust in itself, in the world, in matter, and retreat from trust in God (Matthew 14:22, 33). It seems that from this brief explanation it becomes obvious that abandoning acquisitions elevates the ascetic of Christ to an exalted spiritual state, which separates him from his brethren living in the middle of the world, and cannot be known to them experimentally. However, this elevated state is at the same time a state of constant suffering for the body and for the entire fallen nature: the Lord called it “the cross.” 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 renunciation of nature is accomplished, complements the crucifixion and the cross; delivered by non-acquisitiveness, in which only 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 474: it is delivered and will be followed by a renewal of nature from the spiritual sensation 475 that appears in the heart, so-called by the Holy Fathers. The nature remains the same human nature, but its sensation (in secular terms, taste) changes 476: 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 477. Layman. Nowadays, many people argue that a celibate life is unnatural for man, impossible for him, that the conclusion of a legal door for nature only forces nature to look for illegal doors. Monk. It is common for every person to judge by his own experiences. The unknown and untested seem to be impossible, but the known and experienced seem to belong to everyone. The Holy Fathers who wrote about this subject agree that celibate life is unnatural to fallen nature, that it was natural to man before his fall (Gen. 2:25), that after the renewal of nature, the ability for virginity and celibate life was returned to nature, that virginity and celibate life are respected above marriage, although married life has been elevated by Christianity to a higher degree than what it stood before Christianity (Eph.5:32). The God-man led a virgin life; His Most Holy Mother was and remained a Virgin; the holy Apostles John the Theologian, Paul, Barnabas and, no doubt, many others were virgins. With the advent of Christianity, regiments of virgins and virgins appeared. This feat was extremely rare before the renewal of nature by the Redeemer. Through the mediation of the Redeemer, God's favor was poured out on people, as the Angels rightly sang (Luke 2:14), and sanctified people with manifold gifts of grace. The grace-filled abundance of Christians is picturesquely depicted in the sermon, which, according to church regulations, must be read by the priest to the newlyweds at the end of the wedding ceremony. “The great field of the Church of the great Possessor, God, is cultivated in three ways, decorated with harvest and fruit in three ways. The first part of this field is cultivated by those who love virginity and keep it uncorrupted until the end of their lives, and it brings into the Lord’s granary the fruits of virtues a hundredfold. The second part of the field is cultivated by the abstinence of widowhood, and bears fruit sixtyfold. The third is cultivated by the cohabitation of those married, and if they live their lives piously, in the fear of God, then the field bears fruit thirtyfold. In the same field there are different departments with different fruits, but all of them are blessed and praiseworthy, according to their purpose. The God-wise Ambrose says: we preach virginity in such a way as not to reject widows; We honor widows in such a way that we can preserve the marriage in our honor 478.” 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 479. 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 at will to assimilate the renewed nature in all its development, or to use 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 gospel virtues are alien to fallen nature; The ascetic must force himself to do everything; He must ask God for everything through humble prayer, combined with heartfelt crying 480. Like other gospel virtues, celibate life is chosen by choice; the fight against the aspirations of fallen nature, the curbing of the body through 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 481 and by the warmest prayer, filled with tenderness 482; the gift is bestowed by the overshadowing of Divine grace, changing and renewing nature. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, thus explaining a person’s ability to live a celibate life (Matthew 19:12), concludes the explanation with the following words of the Lord: “Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds” (Matthew 7:8) 483. Consider those lives of the saints in which their feat against fallen nature is described: you will see that all the saints moved from the ordinary state in which a person is incapable of a celibate life, to a state in which celibacy is characteristic, after an intense struggle against the wishes and desires of the 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 towards 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 the knowledge that comes from 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. The Monk Isidore of Pelusia rightly wrote to Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria: “Prejudice does not see clearly, and hatred is completely blind” 484 . Layman. We must admit that temptations, abundantly and sharply exposed, serve as the reason for rumors against monasteries and monastics. Monk. I agree with this. Don’t think that I want to cover up an evil that is harmful to everyone. On the contrary, I would sincerely wish that evil would be eradicated from the field of Christ, so that this field would bear fruit only clean and ripe wheat. I repeat to you: it is necessary to define with all accuracy the Divine institution, to separate it from human abuses, in order to successfully act against abuses. It is necessary to have a correct view of evil in order to take the right means against it, so as not to replace evil with evil, error with error, abuse with abuse, so as not to trample, reject, or distort the Divine institution, as the Protestants did in relation to the Roman Church. It is necessary to know the very methods and art of healing in order to use medicines that are truly useful and effective, so that incorrect healing does not replace the sick person’s illness with death. In general, the view of modern laity on monks is very wrong precisely because the former separate the monks too much from themselves, in moral and spiritual terms. There is a very close moral connection between Christians living in monasteries and Christians living in the middle of the world. The inhabitants of the monasteries did not fly there from the moon, or from any other planet: they entered from the midst of the earthly, sinful world. Morality, which is condemned in monasteries, was formed in the middle of the world, is nourished and supported by relations with the world. The decline in the morality of the monks is in close connection with the decline in the morality of the laity; the decline of morality in monasteries is a direct consequence of the decline of morality and religion among the laity. Monasticism is based on Christianity, is built and supported by it, and prospers and weakens according to the success or weakening of Christianity. The essence of the matter is Christianity: monasticism is a type of it, its special manifestation. The disease is common! Let's mourn for him together, and together we'll take care of his healing! Let's show compassion for humanity, let's show love! Let us leave behind harsh, mutual condemnation - this is an expression of hatred and pharisaism - striving to destroy diseases in the sick by hitting them with logs! Layman. Your concept of the moral connection between monks and laity is again news to me. I understand that it was brought to you by experience. Without this, it could not be so deep, it would not differ so sharply from the superficial views of the theory. Please feel free to explain it in more detail. Monk. You're not wrong. The concept I have expressed is partly the fruit of my own observations, partly brought to me by persons worthy of complete trust. St. Petersburg Metropolitan Seraphim, when talking about the contemporary increase in divorce cases in the consistory, told me that when he was a vicar bishop in Moscow, then in the Moscow consistory there were one, many two, divorce cases a year; The elders and bishops of that time told him that in their youth divorce cases did not exist at all. Here is a fact that describes the morality of former times and its progress towards the present situation, a fast, disappointing progress. The stories of other monastic elders confirm the conclusion that follows from the story of Metropolitan Seraphim. Even at the beginning of this century, many virgins entered the monasteries, many people who had no taste in wine, who did not take any part in worldly amusements, who did not read any secular books, educated by abundant reading of the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, who had acquired the skill to constantly attend the Church of God, and were filled with other pious skills. They brought to the monastery a morality that was integral, unshakable by vicious habits; they brought to the monastery health unspoiled by abuse, capable of enduring exploits, labors, and hardships. The strict piety of the world educated and prepared monks who were strict and strong in soul and body. Nowadays, weakened Christianity prepares and supplies, according to its condition, weak monks. Nowadays the entry of a virgin into a monastery is the greatest rarity! Nowadays, the entry of a person who has not acquired vicious skills is a rarity! Nowadays, the entry of someone who has maintained unspoiled health and is capable of monastic achievements is a rarity! The weakest, those damaged in body and soul, enter most; those who have filled their memory and imagination with reading novels and other similar books enter; those who are satiated with sensual pleasures enter, having acquired a taste for all the temptations with which the world is now filled; they enter with deep-rooted vicious habits, with a dull conscience, killed by the previous way of life, in which all lawlessness and all deceptions were allowed to cover up lawlessness. For these individuals, the struggle with themselves is very difficult. It is difficult both because of the vicious habits ingrained in them, and because of the loss of sincerity, due to their inability to do so. For the same reason, it is difficult to instruct them. They entered the monastery, took off their worldly clothes, and put on black monastic clothes; but the skills and mood acquired in worldly life remained with them, and, while remaining dissatisfied, acquired new strength. Sinful habits and attitudes can only weaken when the one who possesses them acts against them by confessing them and fighting against them as directed by the Word of God. Otherwise, as soon as a hungry skill presents itself, which has retained all power over a person, convenience to satisfy itself, it does this with greed, with frenzy. Many piers that were previously reliable havens for those suffering from moral illnesses have changed over time and lost their dignity. I call monasteries marinas. Many monasteries, built by their founders in a deep desert, or at least remote from the world, now, with the increase in population, already stand in the middle of the world, among countless temptations. Not only does the sick person, unable to face temptation face to face, encounter it out of necessity as soon as he leaves the monastery gates, temptation itself forcibly and violently invades the monastery, causing moral devastation and atrocities. The spirit of hatred for monasticism recognizes the introduction of temptation into the monastery as a triumph for itself. Success arouses loud laughter and applause, as if from winning a famous victory, while sin and disaster are common. According to modern morality and the direction of the world, monasteries, more than ever, need to stand away from the world. When the life of the world was united with the life of the Church, when the world lived the life of the Church, when the piety of the laity differed in appearance from the piety of monks only in marriage and acquisitions; Then it was common for monasteries to be located in the middle of cities, and city monasteries proved this by raising many holy monks. But now special attention must be paid to the above exhortation of the Apostle (2 Cor. 6:16-18), and special care must be taken to fulfill it. Layman. A significant aid, in the opinion of many, to reducing temptations would be the enactment of a “law” prohibiting young people from entering the monastery, on whom temptations from the outside act with special force, in whom passions run high - a law that would provide monastic life only to people of mature age and elders. Monk. A measure, outwardly so prudent, which, according to the theory of carnal wisdom, should protect and elevate monasticism, in essence is nothing more than a strong and decisive measure for the destruction of monasticism. Monasticism is the science of sciences. In it, theory and practice go hand in hand. This path is sanctified throughout its entire length by the Gospel; In this way, from external activity, with the help of heavenly light, they move on to self-perception. The correctness of self-view delivered by the Gospel is indisputably proven by internal experiences. Proven, it convincingly proves the truth of the Gospel. The science of sciences, monasticism, provides - let us express it in the language of the scientists of this world - the most detailed, thorough, deep and lofty knowledge in Experimental Psychology and Theology, that is, active, living knowledge of man and God, as far as this knowledge is accessible to man. One must approach human sciences with fresh abilities, with full receptivity, with unspent spiritual energy, all the more necessary is all this for the successful study of the science of sciences - monasticism. The monk has to fight with nature. The best age to enter this fight is adolescence. He is not yet bound by skills; in it the will has a lot of freedom! Experience shows that the best monks are those who entered monasticism in tender youth. The majority of monks of our time consists of those who entered monasticism in their youth. Very few enter adulthood, and very few enter old age. Those who enter a monastery at a mature or old age very often cannot withstand monastic life and return to the world without even understanding what monasticism means. In those who remained in the monastery, one notices almost only outward reverence and exact fulfillment of external monastic rules, which pleases the laity so much and completely satisfies them: there is no significant monasticism in them, or it occurs very, very rarely, as an exception to the general order. Let's move on to the instruction that the Holy Church gives us. “Child,” says the Wise One with the wisdom bestowed by God, “from your youth choose punishment, and even to your gray hairs you will gain wisdom. As you plow and sow, approach it and wait for its good fruits” (Sir.6:18-19). “Rejoice, young man, in your youth... and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, and not in the sight of your eyes” (Eccl. 11:9). “I have loved this wisdom, and have sought from my youth, and sought to bring myself a bride, and have become a lover of her beauty. Nobility glorifies the life of God, and the Lord loves everyone: for she is the mystery of God’s cunning, and the finder of His works” (Wisdom 8:2-4). These sayings of the Holy Scripture are related by the Holy Fathers to the science of sciences - monastic life; however, it is obvious to everyone that they do not relate to the wisdom taught according to the principles of the world and the ruler of the world. The Sixth Ecumenical Council, having said in the 40th canon that it is very saving to cleave to God through the abandonment of worldly rumors, however, ordered tonsure to be performed with due consideration, and not before “ten years”, when mental abilities have already received sufficient development. From the biographies of the venerable monks, it is clear that most of them entered the monastery at the age of twenty. Old age was recognized by the Holy Fathers as incapable of monastic life. Old age is incapable of this life! She has become stronger in her skills, in her way of thinking, but her abilities have been dulled! A youthful feat is unusual for her! The Monk Anthony the Great initially refused to accept sixty-year-old Paul the Simple into monasticism, telling him that he was incapable of monastic life precisely because of his old age. On the contrary, many Fathers entered the monastery in childhood, and achieved high spiritual success due to the integrity of will, integrity, direct desire for good, and receptivity, so characteristic of childhood 485. Layman. Firmness of will, willpower, resolutely directed towards its goal, are necessary for spiritual success. These are the ones that need to be seen in good time and identified in those who wish to accept monasticism. Monk. Fair point! When receiving admission to a monastery, caution has been observed since ancient times, and now it is even more observed: the especially varied formalities for admission of persons not from the clergy class make the admission process very lengthy and often very difficult. But firmness of will or true will are sometimes revealed only after a very considerable time; very often they appear different during the first experiences, and different later. Some, upon entering a monastery, at first display reverence and self-sacrifice, but then weaken. On the contrary, others at first show frivolity, but then begin to adopt a more and more monastic life, and finally become strict and zealous monks 486 . Saint Isaac of Syria says: “How often does it happen that a person is indecent, constantly wounded and overthrown due to insufficient experienced knowledge in monastic life, is constantly in mental relaxation, but after this he suddenly steals a banner from the hands of the army of the sons of giants, his name is exalted, and it is praised much more than the name of ascetics known for their victories; he receives the crown and precious gifts in abundance before all his friends. For this reason, let no one allow himself to despair; just don’t neglect prayer, and don’t be too lazy to ask the Lord for intercession” 487. Often the greatest sinners have turned into the greatest righteous. The monastery is a place of repentance. It is impossible to refuse repentance to someone who desires and seeks repentance, even if he cannot control himself like one who is raging, when repentance is given by God, and his refuge, his haven - the “monastery” - are not taken away by God. Saint John Climacus, who lived in the 6th century after the Nativity of Christ, calculating the motivations for entering the silent life, points much more to the desire to avoid sin and remove one’s weakness from temptations that it cannot resist, rather than to the desire for Christian perfection, a desire that has guided few 488 . Nowadays, when temptations and falls have multiplied in the world, when human strength has been exhausted by the power of temptations that have spread and overwhelmed the world, when the feeling of consciousness of sinfulness and the desire to be freed from it has not yet faded in all people, the majority of those who enter the monastery enter to remove the sinful burden from themselves, to help their weakness, to curb themselves. Saint John Climacus already called the monastery a hospital 489, especially now monasteries have acquired this character. Is it really possible to refuse help to humanity, to humanity suffering from moral ailments? If we are diligently concerned about creating havens for bodily mutilation, decrepitude, and sickness, then why shouldn’t there be havens for sickness, mutilation, and mental relaxation? Those who judge monasteries on the basis of their erroneous views demand that flourishing health reign in these hospitals, so that there is not a trace of illness. Look for successful healing here! then your demand will be fairer. I had to see the implementation of this thought through experience. In the Kaluga diocese, near the city of Kozelsk, there is the Optina Pustyn hostel. There, in 1829, Hieroschemamonk Leonid, known for his knowledge of active monastic life, arrived to live; Subsequently, his closest disciple, Hieroschemamonk Macarius, joined him. Both elders were nourished by reading the Fathers' writings about monastic life, they themselves were guided by these writings, and they guided others who turned to them for edifying advice. They borrowed this type of residence and behavior from their mentors; it began with the first monks, reached by succession to our time, and constitutes a precious inheritance and property of monks worthy of their name and appointment. The Brotherhood of Optina Pustyn immediately began to multiply to a significant size and improve morally. The elders explained to the zealous brethren the correct and convenient way of asceticism; they supported and encouraged those who were wavering; the weak were strengthened; those who fell into sins and sinful habits led to repentance and were healed. Secular people of all classes began to flock to the humble huts of the schemamonks in large numbers, revealing to them the suffering of their souls, seeking healing, consolation, strengthening, and healing. Thousands owe them their pious direction and peace of heart. They looked with compassion on suffering humanity; they made the meaning of sin easier for him, explaining the meaning of the Redeemer, and from the meaning of the Redeemer, explaining the need for a Christian to abandon a sinful life; were lenient towards human weakness, and together they strongly healed this weakness! Such is the spirit of the Orthodox Church; such were its “saints” of all times. To the Monk Sisoy the Great, a monk of the 4th century, a certain brother confessed his continuous falls. The monk encouraged him, advised him to heal every fall with repentance, and to remain in feat 490. Is the advice sound? What should one do here, according to the newest theorists? probably in some other way. I visited Optina Pustyn for the first time in 1828, and for the last time in 1856. Then it was in its most flourishing state; her brotherhood extended to 200 people. Hieroschemamonk Leonid was remembered among the blessedly reposed; the seventy-year-old hieroschemamonk Macarius was engaged in the spiritual leadership of the brotherhood and the edification of the numerous visitors to the monastery. Despite the spiritual success and large number of the brotherhood, few, very few of them showed the ability to become doctors, leaders of others, which requires both an innate ability and a spirit developed by true monastic feat. This is the general property of hospitals: there are few doctors there, there are many patients. Currently, the number of doctors is constantly decreasing, and the number of patients is constantly increasing. Again, the reason for this is peace. Look who he separates into monasteries? These are not chosen Christians, as was the case at the beginning of Christianity and monasticism; these are not members belonging to the educated classes of the world. At present, monasteries are filled almost exclusively by members of the lower classes—and with what members? the most incapable of serving in the class that dismisses them to the monastery. Very many of the lower classes come with skills to the vices inherent in the class, especially to that weakness that Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles, recognized as national. Those infected with this weakness go to the monastery with the intention of abstaining from it, albeit by force; but skill takes its toll, and at times shows power over those enslaved to it carelessly and recklessly. Many people of excellent qualities and very pious people are subject to this weakness: they mourn their failures bitterly and try to make up for them with repentance. Crying in the secret of the cell and repentance in the secret of the heart are not visible to people, just as falls are visible. The educated class is seduced into these falls, mainly seduced into monasteries; it has its own weaknesses, which it easily excuses, and would excuse them if it found them in the monastery; but, entering the monastery fence with its customs and its own gaze, encountering the weakness of the common people there, it is seduced by it, not calculating that it has entered the dwelling of the common people. It sees monks as beings completely separate from the laity; the first, all, without exception, must be examples of perfection; for the latter, everything is allowed and allowed. Commoners look at their class weakness differently. At the beginning of this century, in a certain monastery remote from the world, there lived an old man who was engaged in the edification of his neighbors. After him there remained a written instruction for those obsessed with drunken passion. The elder was from a simple life, and, with complete compassion for the suffering brethren, he says that it is impossible for someone who has lost power over himself to be healed, even to abstain from passion, in the midst of temptations: for this reason, he offers the sick accommodation in his monastery, as completely removed from temptations. The advice is both very kind and very sound. Deserts remote from worldly settlements can serve as true refuges and clinics for those suffering from mental illnesses, and together they can hide objects of temptation from those who suffer from feeble-minded temptation. Layman. However, it follows directly from what you have said that the current situation of monasteries, at least many, does not correspond to their purpose, and that corrective measures are both useful and necessary. Monk. Yes! In our time, when secular education is rapidly developing, when civil life has separated from the life of the Church, when many teachings hostile to the Church are invading us from the West, when religion and morality are noticeably weakening in all classes, bringing monasteries into proper order is necessary for two reasons: firstly, to preserve monasticism itself, which is essential and useful to the Church, and secondly, to protect the people from temptation. The people, being tempted rightly and wrongly, themselves become weaker and weaker in faith. But what is needed here is not a superficial knowledge of monasticism, but an exact one—a thorough, experienced knowledge of the decrees on monasticism of the Holy Church and the Holy Fathers is needed, a heartfelt consciousness of the importance and holiness of these decrees is needed. Measures to correct monasticism, taken according to a superficial concept of it, from the stinking treasuries of carnal wisdom, have always been extremely harmful to it. By resorting to such measures, indiscriminately and recklessly trampling upon the most holy decrees inspired and taught by the Holy Spirit, the proud and darkened world can finally destroy monasticism, and in it Christianity. Layman. Indicate, as an example, the decrees on monasticism of any Holy Father, according to which it would be possible to formulate an idea of ​​​​the corrective measures that our monasteries need, and which could be applied to them with significant benefit. Monk. I suggest you pay attention to the “Tradition” or “Rule of the Venerable Nile of Sora,” our compatriot who lived in the 15th century, perhaps the last holy Writer about monastic life. This essay, despite its brevity, is most satisfactorily complete; This essay is deep and spiritual. It was published in 1852 by order of St. Synod in thousands of copies, and sent to monasteries. The Monk Neil entered into monasticism and remained in it for the purpose of studying and developing in himself, according to the tradition of the ancient holy Fathers, spiritual monastic feat. In order to become more familiar with the tradition of the Fathers, he traveled to the East, spent considerable time in Mount Athos, talking with the disciples of Saints Gregory of Sinaite and Palamas, and was also in contact with monks who lived in the vicinity of Constantinople. Returning to Russia, he settled in a deep forest, on the Sora River, and became the founder of the “skete residence” in our fatherland. The mentioned “Charter”, or “Tradition”, was written by him for his monastery. The work of the Monk Nile is precious for us especially because it is most applicable to modern monasticism, which, due to the impoverishment of Spiritual mentors, cannot undergo the unconditional obedience that the ancient monks underwent. The Monk Neil, instead of unconditional obedience to the Spirit-bearing mentor, offers the Holy Scripture and the writings of the Holy Fathers for guidance to the monk of modern times, with the advice of successful brethren, with careful and prudent verification of this advice by Scripture. Having studied the true monastic feat, the Monk Neil cast his humble voice against the deviations from the direct monastic direction into which Russian monasticism of that time had fallen, due to its simplicity and ignorance. No attention was paid to this voice. The hobby became a custom, and, having become common, acquired irresistible force: it served as the reason for the shock of the monasteries in the 18th century. The hobby consisted of the desire to acquire property on a large scale. Layman. What especially useful can be learned from the work of the Monk Neil for modern monasticism? Monk. First of all, his example is unusually edifying. He studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers about monastic life, studying not only the letter, but also “his own experiences.” Not content with this, he wanted to see the residence of the holy monks of Athos and Byzantium, and to supplement his knowledge and activities from their instructions and way of life. Having achieved special spiritual success, he did not recognize himself as having achieved it, and did not seek to be a mentor to his neighbors. They asked him not to refuse an edifying word; after convincing requests, obeying the wishes of the brethren, he accepted the title of mentor and abbot, as an obedience entrusted to him. “From this behavior of the Monk Nile, it is clear that in order to establish, maintain, and correct monasteries, it is necessary that they should be headed by worthy men who have studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, who have educated themselves according to them, who have acquired active, living knowledge, who have attracted Divine grace into themselves. We must pray to God that such individuals be sent: because the holy monastic rules can be carried out properly only by such men who essentially, from their experiences, understand them. The Monk Cassian narrates that in the Egyptian monasteries, the first in the world, abbotship was granted only to such monks who themselves were in obedience and who had experimentally studied the traditions of the Fathers 491. The first place between the rules laid down by St. Neilus should be given to the above-mentioned guidance he offers from the Holy Scriptures and the Scriptures of the Fathers. Saint John Climacus defines a monk this way: “A monk is one who adheres solely to God’s statutes and God’s Word at all times, in all places, in all matters” 492 . The Monk Neil was guided by this rule and taught it to his disciples. “We have decided, says the saint of God, if such is already the will of God, to receive those who come to us, so that they observe the traditions of the Holy Fathers, and keep the commandments of God, and do not make excuses, do not make excuses for sins, saying: now it is impossible to live according to the Scriptures and follow the Holy Fathers. No! although we are weak, we must, to the best of our ability, become like and follow those ever-memorable and blessed Fathers, even if we cannot achieve an equal degree with them” 493. Anyone who thoroughly knows Russian monasticism in its present state will testify with full conviction that those only monasteries in which holy reading is developed flourish in moral and spiritual terms, that those only monks worthily bear the name of monks who are educated and nourished by holy reading. The Monk Nilus never gave instructions or advice directly from himself, but offered questioners either the teaching of Scripture or the teaching of the Fathers 494. When, the Reverend says in one of his letters, he did not find in his memory a sanctified opinion on any subject, he left the answer or execution until he found instruction in Scripture. This method is obvious from the writings of the Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus, St. Gregory of Sinaite, Saint Xanthopoulos and other Fathers, especially the later ones. It was held by the hieroschemamonks I mentioned of Optina Pustyn, Leonid and Macarius. Their memory was richly decorated with the thoughts of saints. They never gave advice from themselves: they always presented the advice of either the Scriptures or the Fathers. This gave the councils their strength: those who would like to object to the word of man listened with reverence to the Word of God, and found it just to submit their reasoning to it. This mode of action contains the advice of the teacher in the greatest humility, as is clear from the Tradition of St. Nile: the teacher teaches not his own, but God’s. The teacher becomes a witness, an organ of the holy Truth, and the question arises in his conscience: is he fulfilling his responsible service with due pleasure to God? “Divine Scripture and the words of the Holy Fathers, writes the Monk Nile in his Tradition: countless, like the sand of the sea; exploring them without laziness, we inform those who come to us and need guidance. More correctly, it is not we who report - we are unworthy of that - but the blessed holy Fathers from the Divine Scriptures.” All the holy ascetic writers of the last centuries of Christianity argue that, given the general impoverishment of God-inspired mentors, the study of the Holy Scriptures, mainly the New Testament, and the writings of the Fathers, their careful and steady guidance in the way of life and in the instruction of others, is the only path to spiritual success, given by God to later monasticism. The Monk Nilus announces that he refuses to cohabitate with himself to those brethren who do not want to live according to this rule 495 - it is so important, so essential! The second moral rule proposed by the Monk Neil is that the brethren should daily confess to the “elder” 496 - an “elder” in monasteries is a monk who has succeeded in spiritual life, who is entrusted with the edification of the brethren - their sins, and the most petty, even thoughts, and sinful sensations, so that they offer him their perplexities for consideration. This work is filled with extraordinary spiritual benefits: not a single feat mortifies passions with such convenience and strength as this one. Passions recede from those who confess them without mercy. Bodily lust fades away from confession more than from fasting and vigil. Monks, who in their novice years have acquired the habit of daily confession, try in their mature years to resort to this healing as often as possible, having learned from experience what freedom it brings to the soul. Through this feat, they study in detail and clearly the fall of humanity within themselves. By healing themselves by confessing their sins, they acquire the knowledge and art of helping others in their spiritual troubles. The above-mentioned hieroschemamonks of Optina Pustyn had under their leadership many disciples, who every day, after the evening rule, opened their consciences to them. These students differed from those who lived on their own in a sharp way. The thought of the upcoming confession was, as it were, a constant guard of their behavior, gradually accustomed them to vigilance over themselves, and the confession itself made them concentrated in themselves, constantly immersed in Scripture, systematic, so to speak, monks. Daily confession, or daily revelation and verification of conscience, is the most ancient monastic tradition and practice. It was universal in previous monasticism, which can be seen with all clarity from the works of the Venerables Cassian, John Climacus, Barsanuphius the Great, Abba Isaiah, Abba Dorotheus, in a word, from all the writings of the Fathers on monasticism. It was, in all likelihood, established by the Apostles themselves (James 5:16). Monks raised according to the two moral rules set out here can be likened to people who benefit from sight and life, and monks deprived of this education can be compared to blind people and dead people. These two rules, when introduced into any monastery, can significantly change for the better the moral and spiritual direction of the brotherhood - this is proven by experience - without changing anything externally in the monastery. To implement the second rule, you need a monk who has succeeded in spiritual life and was brought up according to this rule. Here experiential knowledge is an absolute necessity. The Monk Cassian the Roman says: “It is useful to reveal your thoughts to your fathers, but not just any father, but to spiritual elders who have reasoning, elders not according to their physical age and gray hair. Many, carried away by the outward appearance of old age, and having expressed their thoughts, instead of healing, received harm from the inexperience of those who heard” 497. Layman. I see that you have pointed out the most basic principles of the moral improvement of monasteries. Do not refuse to mention other rules and traditions of the Holy Fathers, which could help to give monasteries the position that is characteristic of them. Monk. A person's education depends on external impressions; it is done by them. It cannot be otherwise: we are created this way. The Holy Fathers, having penetrated into this mystery with pure minds, furnished the monk, in their holy tradition, with such impressions that, with their combined forces and action, lead him to his goal, and eliminated from him all impressions that distracted him from the goal, even if their appearance was plausible. To explain this, let us again turn to the precious book of St. Nile of Sora. The monk says that the church of God in the monastery should be built very simply. He refers in this to the Monk Pachomius the Great, who did not want the church in his community to have grace in architectural terms. The Great said that he removes the grace of architecture from the monastic monastery for the purpose that the minds of the monks would not creep because of human praise of the church building, and would not become the prey of the devil, whose deceit is manifold. The Monk Nile adds to this: “If the Great Saint spoke and acted like this, all the more should we beware: because we are weak and passionate, greedy in mind 498 . The Monk Nilus bequeaths about the cells and other monastic buildings that they should be the simplest, inexpensive, without decorations 499. The great saint of God, John the Prophet, a recluse who remained silent in the Gaz hostel, before his death gave the most edifying instructions to the newly appointed abbot of the hostel, his spiritual son. By the way, he commanded the abbot to build cells, not giving them unnecessary convenience, but according to the demands of need, and then with some oppression, as if meaning resettlement: because the buildings of this century, in relation to eternity, are nothing more than tents 500. The Monk Nil lays down the law, on the basis of the teaching and behavior of the ancient Holy Fathers, that the church sacristy and utensils in the monastery should be as simple, inexpensive, and few in number as possible. In the same way, he commands that all monastic property be simple, not in excess, satisfying only the need, so that it does not arouse vanity in the monks, does not attract the partiality and special care of the monks, whose spiritual strength should be directed entirely to God 501. The Monk Nil forbade the female sex from entering his monastery. In ancient times it was prohibited, and in Mount Athos it is still prohibited for women to enter all male monasteries. A decree that is essential for those who want to defeat the property of nature! they need complete elimination from the influence of this property on themselves; remaining under his influence, they cannot help but hesitate. Given the present decline in morality, the benefit and necessity of this measure becomes obvious 502. In Russia, it is essential to eliminate wine from monasteries. This was understood by prudent and pious abbots, of whom one can point out the recently deceased righteous husband, Theophan, who was the abbot and renovator of the Kirillo-Novoezersk monastery. He tried with special zeal to eliminate wine drinking in the monastery entrusted to him, but in vain. And all the efforts of anyone will remain in vain if the decrees of the Holy Fathers regarding monasteries are not restored in their entirety. The Monk Nil, having seen monastic life in its cradle - in the East - and returning to Russia, chose the deep desert for residence. He was pleased with the chosen place. He expresses the reason for his contentment in one of his letters. “By the grace of God,” he says, “I have found a place pleasing to my mind, which is of little use to the worldly.” Let us use here the syllogism of the Monk Nilus: “if for such a holy man the place of residence he chose was pleasant for the reason that worldly people visited him little, then for us, weak in will and reason, receptive to all sins, all the more should we choose for our residence solitary places, remote from worldly villages, which do not attract hosts of lay people, and with them hosts of temptations.” The Monk Nilus wanted the monks of his monastery to be supported by the labor of their hands, and if there was a need for alms from the laity, they would ask for it in moderation. These are the initial rules given by the Holy Fathers to monasticism, recognized by the Holy Church. The other rules, down to the details, are of the same nature and the same purpose. Layman. Many monasteries have more or less deviated from the rules you have outlined. The deviations must be corrected someday. Education and the spirit of our time require, as you know, that correction should not be delayed. There is talk about this in society. It would be desirable, among the voices cast by ignorance, to cast a voice from true knowledge. Do not refuse to say what, in your opinion, could help bring the monasteries to their proper position. Monk. The answer to this question is very difficult, despite the fact that I have almost done it. I now remembered the words of the Savior about the field in which good seed was sown, but after the germination of this seed, tares appeared in abundance. Not people, - the Angels made an offer to the Lord of the field to weed out the tares. The Lord said to them: “Nor, when the tares are taken away, will you take away the wheat along with them. Leave both to grow until the harvest” (Matthew 13:29–30). This is hardly the best measure in relation to monasteries. In any case, special attention should be paid to it. Care must be taken when renovating outdated buildings. Prudent doctors refuse to heal old ailments that are innate to the physique, precisely because touching these ailments is touching life. Monasticism and monasteries were established by the Holy Spirit through His chosen vessels, the Venerable Fathers: the restoration of monasteries to their former spiritual beauty, if this restoration is part of God’s predestination, can only follow through the action of the special grace of God, through the same worthy instruments. That's all I can say in general about the correction and improvement of monasteries. However, from what I have said, a clear consequence follows that the correction and improvement of monasteries cannot in any way be the work of secular people: secular people will act thoroughly and piously if they leave this matter to those to whom it has been granted by the providence of God, and from whom it will be exacted at the judgment of God. I recognize it as my sacred duty to tell you the wise advice that I heard from experienced, respectable elders. They said to both laymen and monks who were sincerely seeking salvation: “in our time, in which temptations have multiplied so much, we must especially pay attention to ourselves, not paying attention to the lives and affairs of our neighbors, and not judging those who are tempted: because the pernicious effect of temptation conveniently passes from those who are carried away by temptation to those who condemn them.” The mentioned elders advised the laity to be guided in life by the Gospel and those Holy Fathers who wrote instructions for Christians in general, as Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk did. They advised the monks to also be guided by the Gospel and the Holy Fathers, who composed works specifically for monks. A monk in any monastery, guided by the Scriptures of the Fathers, will have the opportunity to acquire salvation: he who lives according to his own will and according to his own reason will lose it, even if he lives in the deepest desert. “Woe to the world because of temptation,” the Lord foretold; “For the increase of iniquity, the love of many will fail.” The coming of temptations is part of God’s incomprehensible predestination: “for there is a need to come by temptation” (Matthew 18:7, 24:12), the Lord said. Man, after his redemption, is given freedom to choose good and evil, just as it was given to him after creation. Man, both after creation and after redemption, chose for the most part evil. In the midst of paradise, evil appeared clothed in the guise of good, for the convenience of deception: it appears in the depths of the Holy Church, covered and decorated, in an alluring variety of temptations, calling them innocent entertainments and amusement, calling the development of carnal life and the humiliation of the Holy Spirit the prosperity and development of humanity. “Men” will be “corrupt in mind” because of their favor with unrighteousness, “unskilled in the faith, having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:8, 5). For those who have received this power and arbitrarily rejected it, it is difficult to return it (Heb. 10:26), due to the loss of the best will, which certainly follows the deliberate neglect of the gift of God. The “image of piety” can somehow be blinded by human tricks; but the restoration of the “power of godliness” belongs to Him who clothes men with “power from on high” (Luke 24:49). An aged, worn-out tree is often covered and decorated with a thick cover of green leaves, and also expresses strength and health with its voluminous trunk; but his insides have already decayed: the first storm will break him. A word to monk Nicholas. Philokalia, part 1. Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus. Book 1. Philokalia, part 3. Alphabetical Patericon and Memorable Tales of Abba Ischirion. Venerable Mark the Ascetic. Word 4. Venerable Abba Dorotheos. Lesson 1. Cassiani Collatio XVIII, cap. V. Lib. 11. De Nocturnis orationibus caput. V. Hisoire du Christianisme, par Fleury, livre 2, chap. 6. Vies des peres des deserts d'Orient. Cheti-Minei, March 1st day. The suffering of the holy martyr Gordius. Chet'i-Minei, January 3rd day. Ladder. Word 2, ch. 9. Chetii-Minei. Life of St. Anthony the Great, January 17th. Breviary. Following the minor schema. Chet'i-Minei, January 19th. Reverend Cassian. A Word on Reasoning, Philokalia, part 4. Cheti-Minei, March 23 days. Chet'i-Minei, January 8th. Chet'i-Minei, December 24 days. Chet'i-Minei, June 25th. Chet'i-Minei, June 19th. According to the explanation of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria. Ladder, word 4, ch. 43. Venerable Macarius of Egypt, conversation 7, chapter 5. Saint Isaac of Syria, words 43 and 48. When depicting the relationship between paper, water and oil, technical expressions of physics are used here. Breviary, Sequence of the wedding. Blagovestnik. Matt. XIX, 12. Venerable Macarius the Great, Homily 1, ch. 13. Venerable Cassian the Roman, Book IV, ch. V. Venerable Barsanuphius the Great, Answer 255. Blagovestnik. Matt. VII, 8. Histoire du Christianisme, Fleury, livre 26, chap. 5. Such were Savva the Sanctified (December 5), Simeon Divnogorets (May 24), and many others. This happened with the Monk Silouan. Cheti-Minea, life of St. Pachomius the Great, May 15th. Ladder, Homily 27, ch. 29. Ladder, Word 1, ch. 18 and 19. Ladder, Word 1, ch. 4. Philokalia, part 4. About the Holy Fathers like those in the Skete, and about reasoning. You might be interested in: