Авва Арсений

1. Abba Arseny the Great was brought to monastic life by the wonderful destinies of God. He was the mentor of Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius the Great, Byzantine emperor, and was called their father. Due to his importance, due to his personal merits, due to his learning, Arseny enjoyed special honor among the courtiers. According to the status of the world, he belonged to the senators, and together he belonged to the church clergy, having the rank of deacon. From his sayings that have reached us and the events from his life, extraordinary frankness and frankness are visible in his character. He acted in accordance with his goal, his decisive good intentions, not allowing himself any considerations that could distract him from such action. One day he found it necessary to punish Arkady for some youthful hobby, and to punish him so strongly that the pet would not allow himself this hobby again. Anger seized Arkady. He planned to kill Arseny. The prince's intention was revealed to Arseny. Arseny took off his courtier's clothes at night, put on the rags of a beggar, left the palace, and boarded a ship departing from Constantinople for Alexandria. In its vicinity there was a wild desert, The monastery, in which thousands of monks spent the most exalted residence: Arseny went there. He was numbered among the numerous ranks of holy ascetics, and soon, under the leadership of the Monk John Kolov, he achieved special spiritual success 167. 2. In the character of Arseny the Great, biography writers have noted another special feature. When he was at the imperial court, none of the courtiers surrounded themselves with such splendor as Arseny, and in the Skete no one observed monastic poverty so strictly, no one wore such rubbish attire as Arseny; He replaced the abundance of fragrant ointments with stinking water, in which palm branches were soaked for his needlework, and which, constantly unchanged, but only added, was in his cell 168. And at court, Arseny, shining in appearance with luxury, lived as an ascetic, constantly thought about monastic life, strove for it with all the desire of his heart. A similar trait was seen in the character of Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. This saint, a strict ascetic, was completely non-covetous, non-covetous to the point of complete poverty; but during the service he furnished himself with extraordinary order and extraordinary splendor. What is this phenomenon? Is it a manifestation of vanity and vanity according to the custom and spirit of the world? No! it was a manifestation of disinterested and high sympathy for the graceful. For this reason, splendor stood next to non-covetousness, brilliance covered up strict asceticism, and the Monk Arseny easily abandoned the shadows and images of the elegant, to which his heart was not partial, and rushed entirely to the essentially elegant. The one, truly graceful – God. 3. Having learned about Arkady’s plan and while still at the royal court, Arseny prayed to God like this: “Lord! teach me how I can be saved?” - and a voice came to him: “Arseny! run from men and you will be saved" 169. 4. In the Skete, Arseny again prayed to God, saying: “Lord! teach me how I can be saved?” And he heard a voice saying to him: “Arseny! run away from people, be silent, remain silent: these are the roots of sinlessness” 170. Thus, God, the knower of the heart, called His chosen vessel to the hermit life, knowing his ability for it. 5. Arriving at the Skete, Saint Arseny explained his intention to take monasticism to the presbyters. They took him to the elder, filled with the Holy Spirit, John Kolov. The elder wanted to put Arseny to the test. When they sat down to eat the bread, the elder did not invite Arseny, but left him standing. He stood with his eyes fixed on the ground and thinking that he was standing in the presence of God before His Angels. When they began to eat food, the elder took a cracker and threw it to Arseny. Arseny, seeing this, discussed the elder’s action as follows: “The elder, like the Angel of God, knew that I was like a dog, even worse than a dog, and therefore he served me bread as they serve a dog: I will eat the bread as dogs eat it.” After this reflection, Arseny stood on his hands and feet, in this position he approached the cracker, took it with his lips, took it to the corner and consumed it there. The elder, seeing his great humility, said to the elders: “He will become a skilled monk.” After a short time, John gave him a cell near him and taught him to strive for his salvation 171. 6. Abba Arseny once asked one of the Egyptian elders about his thoughts. A certain brother saw this and asked him: “Abba Arseny! Why do you, being so knowledgeable in the learning of Greece and Rome, ask about your thoughts this, alien to all learning? Arseny answered: “I know the sciences of Greece and Rome, but I have not yet learned the alphabet that is taught by these, who know nothing of the learning of the world.” The knowledge that the Egyptian imparted was brought to him by fulfilling the Gospel commandments. This knowledge is acquired in the soul itself, in it it has experimental, indisputable proof; they seem astonishing news for a scientist of the elements of the world, who received all his knowledge from the outside, deprived of the correct self-view, which is revealed exclusively in the light of the teachings of Christ. Blessed is Abba Arseny, who duly honored the Wisdom that descended to people from above, and humiliated before her the wisdom that arose from the fall of man. Many, very many, preferred the second to the first, ruined themselves and their followers, removing the light of Christ from themselves, remaining with their own light. 7. Once Abba Evagrius said to Abba Arseny: “Why do we, with all our learning and our development, have nothing, but these rude Egyptians have such sublime spiritual work?” Abba Arseny answered: “We do not draw anything for spiritual life from the teachings of the world, but they acquired their spiritual life through exploits” 172. Christian prosperity is achieved by fulfilling the Gospel commandments in self-sacrifice: it is obvious that earthly learning, which has its origin in the fall of humanity, cannot take any part in the renewal of humanity by the Redeemer. It becomes a great obstacle in this matter if it is not resolutely subordinated to the Wisdom of God, if we introduce our corrupting principles, our spirit of pride and enmity against God, into the work of saving people, into the work of God. 8. The brother asked Abba Arseny to give him instructions. The elder said: “Strive with all your might, so that by your inner work according to God, everything external will be conquered.” 173 Inner activity is the same mental activity. It consists of: attentive oral and mental prayer, crying of the heart, remembrance of death, self-reproach, consciousness and confession of one’s sinfulness, and similar acts performed by the ascetic within the soul, within himself. 9. Abba Arseny said: “If we seek God, He will appear to us, and if we keep Him within ourselves, He will abide with us” 174. The saying comes from the most sublime monastic feat! it signifies that by true deed one must attract the grace of God into oneself, and having received it, retain it in oneself by true deed. Those who gave themselves up to laziness and carelessness after receiving grace lost it. 10. A certain monk said to Abba Arseny: “Thoughts bother me, saying: you cannot endure either fasting or deeds; at least visit the sick, because this is a matter of love.” The elder, realizing that his thoughts were filled with demons, said to him: “Go, eat, drink, don’t do anything, just don’t leave the cell silence.” The elder said this, knowing that cell silence will lead the monk to proper living if the monk remains patiently in silence 175. 11. They told about a certain brother who came to the Skete with the goal of seeing Abba Arseny, the following: this brother came to the skete church and earnestly asked the clergy to give him the opportunity to see the elder. They told him: “Stay here for a while and you will see him.” The brother answered: “I will not eat any food before I see him.” Then the clergy sent one of the monastery brethren to accompany the strange brother to the elder’s cell, which was located at a very long distance from the monastery church. Having reached the cell and knocking on the door, they entered the cell; Having greeted the elder, they sat down and sat for a long time, remaining in silence. Finally the skete brother said: “I’m leaving, pray for me.” The strange brother did not dare to start a conversation with the elder and said to the monastery: “And I am going with you.” They both went out together, and the strange brother of the monastery asked: “Take me to Abba Moses, who entered monasticism from the robbers.” When they came to the Abba, he received them very warmly, gave them wise and holy instruction, and sent them away, expressing great love. Then the monastery brother said to the wanderer: “Behold! I took you to a stranger and to an Egyptian: which of the two did you like more?” He answered: “However, the Egyptian came to my heart more.” - Some of the Fathers, hearing this, prayed to God, saying: “Lord! Reveal to me the secret of the matter: one runs away from everyone for the sake of Your name, and the other receives everyone for the sake of Your name.” And so! in a vision he saw two great ships on vast waters. In one ship he saw Abba Arseny, silently sailing, and the Spirit of God with him, and in the other, Abba Moses, sailing in the company of Angels, who fed him with honey flowing from the honeycomb. Such was God’s testimony about the truly silent monk. 12. Abba Mark said to Abba Arseny: “For what reason are you avoiding company and conversation with us?” Arseny answered: “God knows that I love you, but I cannot be together with God and with people. In heaven, thousands and thousands of thousands have one will, but men have diverse wills: and therefore I cannot, leaving God, be with men.” When a monk has mastered his work and has made it an essential necessity, then he does not have the opportunity to move on to another work, even if this other work has its own spiritual dignity. Abandoning an acquired practice is like abandoning life. 13. One day some Fathers came from Alexandria to Abba Arseny to meet with him. One of them was the uncle of the elder Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria, nicknamed the non-possessor. Abba Arseny was ill at the time and refused to meet, fearing that others would begin to come and bother him; at that time he was in the rocky Troy Mountain. The fathers returned, saddened. This was followed by a barbarian raid; the elder left the mountain and moved to live in Lower Egypt. Hearing this, the fathers came again to meet with him. The elder received them cordially. My brother was with my fathers. This brother said to Abba Arseny: “Do you know, Abba, that we came to visit you at Troy Mountain?” The elder answered him: “After I did not accept you, you ate bread and drank water, but I - believe me, my son - did not taste either bread or water, did not even sit down, but remained in prayer for you until it was revealed to me that you had returned to yourself safely. I did this because you worked hard for me. However, forgive me.” The visitors left him comforted 176. In order to heal the carnal judgment about the action of a spiritual husband, about an action that, in appearance, could seem to be a sharp violation of God’s commandment about love for one’s neighbor, Saint Arseny told the secret of his behavior regarding the visitors who were not accepted by him and the Divine revelation that he had about them, from which the power of his prayer was clear and the fulfillment of the commandment, of which only Spirit-Bearers are capable. 14. The brother came to the hut of Abba Arseny - this happened in the Skete - and through the door hole he saw the old man as if he was on fire. The brother was worthy of the vision. He knocked on the door; the elder came out and, noticing the change in his brother’s face, asked him how long he had been here and whether he had seen anything? The brother said he didn't see anything. The elder, after talking with him, released him 177. 15. Abba Arseny told about a certain skit, great in asceticism and glorious in faith, but who sinned in it out of ignorance, the following: The skip said that in holy communion we accept not the body of Christ, but the image of the body of Christ in the form of bread. Two elders heard about this. Knowing that the speaker was great in residence, they realized that he was saying this not out of malice, but out of ignorance and simplicity. They came to him and said: “Father! We heard about a certain brother who expressed an opinion that disagreed with the teachings of the right faith, namely, that in holy communion we do not receive the body of Christ, but the image of the body of Christ in the form of bread.” The elder answered: “I said it.” They began to convince him: “Don’t think so, father, but confess according to the tradition of the holy, catholic, apostolic Church. We believe that the bread is the very body of Christ, and in the cup is the very blood of Christ - not images at all. Although it is incomprehensible how bread can be a body, but since the Lord said about bread: this is My body, we believe that bread is the true body of Christ.” The elder said to this: “If I am not confirmed by experience itself, then I will remain in doubt.” They suggested to him: “We will pray to God throughout the next week, so that He will explain the sacrament to us, and we believe that God will reveal it.” The elder gladly accepted the offer; he prayed to God like this: “Lord! You know that I do not believe because of malicious stubbornness. Lord Jesus Christ! Reveal this secret to me, so that I will not be in error due to unbelief.” Likewise, the elders, having come to their huts, prayed to God throughout the week about this secret, and said: “Lord Jesus Christ! reveal this secret to the elder, so that he does not remain in unbelief and ruin his work.” And God listened to them. After a week, they came to church, all three sat down on one mat, and their eyes were opened. When bread was offered at the holy meal, then they, these three elders alone, saw a baby instead of bread. When the hieromonk stretched out his hand to break bread at the holy meal, an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven with a knife in his hand and killed the baby; poured the blood from it into the cup. When the hieromonk broke the bread, the Angel cut the baby into small pieces. When they began to receive the holy mysteries, the unbelieving elder was served bloody meat. Seeing this, the elder was frightened and cried out: “Lord! I believe that bread is Your body!” - and immediately the meat on his hand turned out to be bread, according to the custom of the sacrament. He took communion, praising God. The elders told him: “God knows that men cannot eat raw meat, and therefore He covered His body with the form of bread, and His blood with the form of wine.” The two elders thanked God, who did not allow the feat of the third elder to become in vain 178. 16. When the time came for Abba Arseny to die, then the brethren who were with him saw that he was crying. The brothers said to him: “Father! Are you really afraid?” He answered: “I’m afraid! The fear I feel at this hour has been with me since the time I became a monk.” 17. They said about Abba Arseny that he constantly had a handkerchief on his lap while he sat at needlework, due to the tears falling from his eyes. 18. Archbishop Theophilus of blessed memory, before he died, said: “Blessed, Abba Arseny! you always had this hour before your eyes” 179. Chetya Menaion, life of St. Arseny the Great, May 8th day. Memorable Tales, chapters 4, 18 and 20. Alphabetical Patericon and Memorable Tales. Alphabetical Patericon, Prologue, April 3rd day. – Dmitry Aleksandrovich Shepelev, whose body rests in the Church of St. Sergius in the Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg, conveyed the following about himself to the rector of this hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius 1st: he was brought up in the Corps of Pages. Once during Great Lent, when the pages were fasting and already beginning the holy mysteries, the young man Shepelev expressed to a comrade walking next to him his decisive disbelief that the body and blood of Christ would be in the chalice. When the secrets were taught to him, he felt that there was meat in his mouth. Horror seized the young man: he stood beside himself, not feeling the strength to swallow the particle. The priest noticed the change that had taken place in him and ordered him to enter the altar. There, holding a particle in his mouth and confessing his sin, Shepelev came to his senses and used the holy mysteries taught to him. Patrolog. pag. 861, cap. 5. 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