Авва Евагрий

1. Abba Evagrius was brought to monastic life by the special destinies of God. He was the son of a presbyter, originally from Pontus, belonged to the Iberian (Georgian) tribe, was promoted to reader by Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, ordained a deacon by Gregory of Nyssa, brother of Basil, and accompanied Gregory to the second ecumenical council in Constantinople. There Gregory handed him over, as a very learned man, to Blessed Nektarios, Bishop of Constantinople. The capital began to have a harmful effect on Evagrius, and he, avoiding the destruction of his soul, guided by a vision, retired to Jerusalem; there he put on the monastic image, then went to Egypt, to Mount Nitria, a vast desert inhabited by many monks. After spending two years in it, he moved to another desert called Kellia. For fifteen years he remained in strict asceticism and acquired purity of mind, and was awarded the gifts of reason, wisdom and the reasoning of spirits. He was beaten so much by demons and underwent so many varied experiences in the fight against them that it is not easy to retell it. One day, three demons in priestly robes appeared to him, intending to argue with him about faith: one called himself an Arian, another a Eunomian, the third a follower of Apollinaris. Evagrius, who had the Spirit of wisdom, easily defeated them. Abba died at the age of fifty-four, “having died a little and having fulfilled his years of duty” (Wis. 4:13), according to the saying of Scripture 266. 2. Abba Evagrius said: “Being silent in your cell, seclude your mind within yourself and remember the day of your death. Behold your mortification, behold your fall, accept your cry. Hate the vanity of this world. Be humble in every way. Take care to constantly strive for silence, and you will not fall into relaxation. Remember the prisoners in hell! Think about the situation in which the souls cast down there are now! in what bitter silence they remain there! how they moan terribly! in what fear and torment they are! how desperate! in what sadness! in what endless tears! Then bring to your mind the day of resurrection and the Last Judgment of Christ, which one imagination can terrify. What confusion will come over sinners when they are brought before the face of Christ God, before the Angels, Archangels and other heavenly powers, before the assembly of all men! Bring to mind the types of eternal torment: unquenchable fire, undying worm, darkness of Tartarus, gnashing of teeth and other horrors and various torments. Bring to your memory the blessings prepared for the righteous, their boldness towards God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, before the Angels, Archangels, all the heavenly powers and the entire human race. Bring to your memory the kingdom of heaven, its treasures, joy and peace. May the remembrance of both remain with you: sigh for the fate that awaits sinners, shed tears, clothe yourself entirely in lamentation, fear lest you suffer the same thing; by remembering the blessings prepared for the righteous, rejoice and be encouraged. Strive to obtain eternal bliss and avoid eternal torment. Do not leave these memories, whether you are in your cell or outside it; keep these memories constantly in your mind and so that, at least with the help of them, you avoid bad, harmful thoughts” 267. The Holy Fathers, advising us to remember the objects of the invisible world, forbid depicting them in the mind as a dream: these objects are not at all the same as they are depicted in the imagination of a carnal and passionate person. Allowing yourself to daydream is an open door to the realm of lies - this indispensable condition and the beginning of a person’s destruction; Allowing yourself to daydream is a deviation from the truth and arbitrary self-delusion. But during a special invasion of lustful thoughts, when demons strive to capture us with images of voluptuousness, the imagination of hellish torments and horrors is allowed: eternal darkness, eternal bitter silence and eternal fruitless groans, the fire of Gehenna, in which, like in the sea, sinners drown. Voluptuous images are powerfully blotted out by images of hellish horrors. 3. Abba Evagrius said that one of the Fathers said: “Dry eating and uniformity in the amount of food, with a spiritual disposition of love for everyone, soon lead a monk into the haven of dispassion” 268. 4. Abba Evagrius related the saying of a certain elder: “I reject carnal pleasures in order to cut off the reasons for indignation by anger. I noticed that anger always fights me about pleasure, disturbing my mind and taking away my reasoning” 269. 5. At the beginning of his monastic life, Abba Evagrius came to a certain elder and said to him: “Abba! teach me a soul-saving word.” The elder answered: “If you want to be saved, then do not speak to whomever you come before he asks you.” Evagrius was moved by this saying, bowed to the elder to the ground and said: “Believe me, Abba! I have read many books and have never come across such wise instruction” 270. 6. The floating (entertained and distracted) mind is brought into a state of non-floating by reading, vigil and prayer; the kindling of lust is extinguished by fasting, work and solitude; the indignation of anger is tamed by psalmody, long-suffering and mercy. Every feat must be timely and proportionate. A feat imposed untimely and not commensurate with one’s strength can only be sustained for a short time, and any work performed over a short period of time and then abandoned is more harmful than useful 271 . 7. Abba Evagrius said: “It is great to pray without entertainment; It’s even more difficult to practice psalmody without entertainment” 272. 8. He said: “Constantly keep in mind the death and judgment that awaits you, and you will preserve your soul from sin” 273. 9. Abba Evagrius said: “If you fall into cowardice, pray. Pray with fear and trembling, pray earnestly, cheerfully and soberly. It is appropriate to pray this way, all the more so since our invisible enemies are cunning and incessant in their intrigues: they are especially careful to prevent such prayer” 274. 10. Again he said: “If an ungodly thought approaches your heart: then let your prayer not be about various objects, but draw the tearful sword against the one who attacks you” 275. 11. Abba Evagrius said: “The beginning of salvation is self-reproach” 276. 12. Abba Evagrius said: “The chosen vessel, Elder Macarius of Egypt, asked me: “For what reason do we, when we remember the insults inflicted on us by people, by this remembrance we destroy the strength of the soul; When we remember the insults inflicted on us by demons, then by this remembrance do we protect our souls?” Not knowing what to answer, I asked him for an explanation. “For the reason,” he answered, “that the first is unnatural to the soul, and the second is natural” 277. 13. “In the very heat of noon,” Abba Evagrius told about himself, “I went to the holy father Macarius, and being exhausted by the heat, I asked for water to cool myself with drinking. But he said, “Be content with the tenyu. Many travelers and sailors are as thirsty as you are!” Then, when I confessed to him my thoughts regarding abstinence, he said: “Believe me, son! for twenty whole years I did not eat my fill of bread, water, or sleep. I ate my bread by weight, drank water in measure, and allowed myself to fall asleep a little, leaning against the wall.”278 Alphabetical Patericon and Patrologia pag. 1182, 1183, 1184. Alphabetical Patericon and Patrolog. pag. 860. Patrolog. pag. 866, 915, 934, 941 and 957. Patrologiae Graecae, Tom. XL, pag. 1250. You might be interested in: