Venerable Nil of Sorsky and the charter of his monastic life

In the 15th and 16th centuries, many people in Russia were interested in the question of which type of life is better for salvation - in marriage or in monasticism? Many circumstances favored the latter decision. Then, just before the end of the 15th century, they thought and believed that the end of the world would soon, very soon come. This mournful expectation dominated all the phenomena of Russian life at that time 1 . That is why, by the way, never so many new monasteries were founded as in the 15th and 16th centuries 2 . The sovereigns themselves, according to the remark of a domestic historian, a few minutes before their death, hurried to cut their hair in order to appear in angelic form before the judgment of God 3 . But as many properties were concentrated in the possession of monasteries, a weakening of monastic exploits naturally began to be revealed in them. On the one hand, large property should have called monks to purely secular activities; on the other hand, they led the monastic authorities into disputes, litigation and frequent clashes with secular authorities, and sometimes with society. Complaints about the decline of monastic life increased markedly from the late 15th century into the 16th century. Many entered monasteries not out of desire for asceticism, but fleeing from violence or poverty and for the sake of bodily peace “to live in coolness,” as the fathers of the Stoglavy Cathedral said; others took monastic vows at a very young age. Boyars, widowed priests and deacons sometimes took monastic vows against their will; The first, even in monasticism, did not abandon their boyar habits and looked at simple monks with neglect and arrogance; rich monks reproached the poor who had no estates. Metropolitan Daniel, in his letter to the Volokolamsk monastery, took up arms especially against those monks who were proud of their nobility, saying that they came from a royal family, a princely rank, from great and noble boyars, that they were brought up differently than others, and therefore cannot fulfill all the rules of the monastery charter 4. The need for reform of monasticism became clear, and the idea of ​​such a reform was shared by many of the clergy of the 15th and 16th centuries. Even Metropolitan Cyprian († 1406) considered it inconsistent with the spirit of monasticism to manage large estates for monasteries 5 . Metropolitan Photius († 1431) decided to correct the monastic disorders 6; but he aroused a murmur against himself. Finally, two reformers emerged from among the monasteries themselves: St. Joseph of Volokolamsk and St. Nil of Sorsky. The significance of the person of St. Nil Sorsky in the history of Russian monasticism has not yet been examined and revealed with sufficient completeness. The most noteworthy remarks on this subject boil down to the following points: “Nile looked at the monastery as a society of people who had renounced the world; This society in his eyes was the more perfect the less it had clashes with the world. He had in mind only a hermit who wanted to retire from the world, from all its relationships, in the swamps and forests of Belozersk.” - “The world, society for the monk, in the sense of St. Nile, should not have existed, and he constantly and solely had to worry about the salvation of his soul” 7. In the life of St. Nile and in the gradual formation of his moral and religious character, two main influences can be distinguished: the influence of living ideas and examples of pious asceticism, partly Russian, especially eastern and mainly Athonite, and literary influence: paternal writings and sacred biblical books. To be convinced of the indisputability and breadth of the latter, one has only to open the works of Nile, especially his “tradition to the disciples,” where, under extracts from the paternal writings, one can hardly discern the author’s own thought. The monk set the essential goal of the monastic title, which one must strive for with an unyielding will, in complete renunciation of the world and all worldly anxieties and worries: “this is the first degree of monastic age.” But around him, in the midst of Russian society, alarming events were taking place that called him to living activity, drawing him away from the contemplative life into the realm of practical issues. So Gennady, Archbishop of Novgorod, turned to him with bewilderment about the heresy of the Judaizers; John 3 invited him to a council on the issue of church property. The same thing happened with his ideas, which he developed in the silence of hermitic solitude, giving them an outcome only in the practical asceticism of monks. The time came when they embraced not just the small circle of the elders and ascetics of Belozersk, but penetrated into different layers of Russian society; Here they found representatives with stronger energy and, most importantly, with more practical inclinations and entered into a struggle with inappropriate social mores and state institutions. Ave. Neil was born in the second quarter of the 15th century; He was a Great Russian by origin and bore the surname Maykov. His place of birth remains unknown; although there is one piece of evidence that is not entirely firm, according to which Nile’s birthplace was Moscow, and he himself came from a boyar family 8 . In one of his messages, however, he calls himself a peasant: “for myself, I dare not do anything, since I am an ignoramus and a peasant” 9 . St. Nil was tonsured into monasticism at the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and here he began his pious deeds. He was a great faster, removed himself from all worldly acquaintances and tried to imitate the ancient saints in everything. fathers and desert dwellers (Episode 3 p. 179). “From my youth,” he says, “I strived for asceticism, working with suffering for my God” (Episicle 4, v. 194). He cultivated in himself the firm conviction that this passing world, with its vicissitudes and errors, laughs bitterly at those who love it, appearing sweet in the beginning, bitter in the end: “for this reason it is shown to those who have a good mind, lest it be loved by them.” 10 His own long-term reflection and experience force him to seek more solid support in life. Such support is unshakable faith in the Providence of God, which protects man on all paths and directs all circumstances of life to good goals. It gives that calm life, that complete peace of mind, which is not embarrassed by any evils and misfortunes that befall us 11.; Moreover, it turns sorrows into the joy of the soul, which sees in them a sign of God’s love, sees the gift of God, making the unfortunate (according to worldly concepts) a participant in the passions of Christ, likening him to the saints and distinguishing the favorite of God from a person devoted to the world. And in this way God’s favorites differ from others, and these therefore live in sorrows; those who love the world are the ones who rejoice in food and rest... And for this reason, it is appropriate for us to walk this path (the path of temptations and sorrows) with joy. Before sorrow, like a strange (alien) person prays to God; never enter into the temptation of love for his sake..., then like someone who has a debtor to God: like a sincere friend is imputed from God 12. With such a conviction, there is nothing to be afraid of, neither people, nor animals and the desert: “what are the formidable phenomena of physical nature - fearful images of fantasy,” “this is the infantile custom of unmanly souls! You say within yourself: the Imam of God, who guards me: without his will, no one can harm me in any way.” 13 and your peace of mind and your courage will remain unshakable. The whole dignity of a person lies in his moral exploits, in free will: it does not lie in an honorable position in the world, nor in the nobility of the family, nor in connections and high rank, nor in wealth and splendor, nor in physical prowess and not even in physical labor, but solely and exclusively in virtue 14. Striving towards it with unshakable determination, a person can always hope that the goal he envisions, with his efforts and with the assistance of God’s grace, will certainly be achieved 15. Whether temporary falls are embarrassing, one should not give in to despair and weaken in feat, believing that there is no sin so grave that could defeat the mercy of God, calling the sinner to repentance 16. However, pardon is possible, on the other hand, only under the condition of repentance and humility. He who is proud of his arrogance becomes an opponent of God, enmity against Him: and besides God, who can have mercy and cleanse him (p. 144)? That is why the fathers, wanting to warn against conceit, said: “If you see a young man ascending to heaven, grab him by the nose, rapture him to earth.” 17 After living for some time in the Belozersky monastery, St. Nil went to St. places to the east, was in the vicinity of Constantinople, on Mount Athos and in the monasteries of Constantinople. Another monk, Innocent, nicknamed Okhlebinin, who came from a boyar family, went with him. St. Nil himself testifies about his journey: “and everywhere it is found in the holy writings, which is praised, even with one or two silences, just as the self-viders were in St. Mount Athos and in the countries of Constantinople, and in many other places the essence of such a stay” (p. 197). The desire for Athos asceticism existed among us before; Many Russian travelers visited Mount Athos at different times 18 . In the same way, along with the dominant direction towards community life, anchorite life was preserved and developed in Rus' 19. Hermitism was especially strong in the area in which, of all Russian regions, the sense of freedom and consciousness of the individual was more developed - namely in the north, in the lands of Novgorod. The northern zone of Russia in the 15th and 16th centuries was filled with hermitages where hermits settled 20 . Ave. Neil received his first living lessons in asceticism, which cemented in him the desire for an anchorite life, from the Spasokamenny Monastery (on Lake Kubenskoye). His first mentor on this path was the strict and enlightened elder Paisiy Yaroslavov, first a monk of the Spasokamenny and then the Belozersky monastery 21 . News has been preserved that the first abbot of the Spasokamenny Monastery, sent at the request of the brethren by Grand Duke Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy, was the Greek Dionysius, who arrived from Athos. He introduced the Rule of Mount Athos in his new monastery, built not so much on the principles of community life as on cell or monastery life 22 . In subsequent times, the legends about Athos were maintained by the monks of this monastery through lively relations with the Greek lands. So his abbot Cassian, on behalf of Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich and Metropolitan Jonah, twice went to Constantinople due to some circumstances, with questions “about church correction” 23. The instructions of Paisius sank deeply into the soul of St. Nile, so that even in the Kirillov monastery itself he tried to live in the likeness of a hermit. “You yourself, he later wrote to Innocent, when the Esmas lived in large numbers in the monastery, as if I were moving away from the entanglements of the world, and creating, to the best of my ability, according to the divine scriptures” 24. While living on Athos, St. Nil first studied the external forms of monasticism, especially the life of the monastery, which existed there along with the Cenobite institutions and was in great development in the east. But mainly he was admonished by the oral and written instructions of the great hermit fathers, trying to understand the meaning and spirit of the so-called “smart doing.” The direction of theological thought in Greece at that time was predominantly contemplative. A century before this, the Greek Church was agitated by a great schism, known under the name of hesychast disputes, as well as under the name of disputes about the Tabor light. Varlaam, a native of Calabria, a papist and monk of the Basilian Order, arrived in Greece in order to more accurately study the philosophy of Aristotle and become familiar with the monasticism there. Having met with the Athonite ascetics, he found a lot of things in their ascetic teaching that, in his opinion, were strange. Thus, among other things, they believed that through long and intense contemplation and continuous inner prayer one can achieve such a serene state of spirit that is free from any kind of excitement; that in the deep recesses of the soul there is hidden heavenly light, which can, under certain conditions, be contemplated with bodily eyes. To this end, at certain times of the day, they entered into complete solitude and, remaining motionless, with their heads bowed down, awaited a blessed visitation, during the overshadowing of which they felt rays of divine light emanating from the soul, and felt inexpressible joys in their hearts 25 . When asked how they thought about this light, the ascetics answered that, by its nature, this is the same light that shone on Tabor of the Lord Jesus - and which his disciples saw. Varlaam saw signs of the Messalian, Euchite and Omphalopsychic heresies in the opinions of the Greek monks 26 . The famous Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, who was himself a monk of Mount Athos and was subsequently canonized by the church, spoke out against him. He called the accusations of heresy brought by Varlaam against the ascetics as slander and fabrication. At the Council of Constantinople in 1341, Varlaam was condemned. But with its removal to the west, the schism did not end, but only moved from practical to theoretical soil, arousing dogmatic debates about the nature of divine light and about the relationship of the properties, powers and actions of God to the divine Being. It is worthy of note that in the debates that took place on this matter, public and private, both disputing sides defended their views, citing, among other things, the teachings of various philosophers as proof, and those who defended the opinions of Varlaam, like their predecessor, were more inclined to Aristotelian philosophy, and their opponent to Platonic. Akindin and many others later joined Varlaam’s opinions 27 . Finally, after 1349, the Patriarchal throne of Constantinople was occupied by the monk of Mount Athos, Callistus, and at a council held in 1351, the teaching of Akindinus and his followers was finally condemned. Thus, the Athonite monasticism, after much turmoil in the Church, solemnly justified its Orthodoxy, the consequence of which was that its influence spread to many areas of church life. In support and defense of the so-called “smart work,” or unceasing inner prayer, several new ascetic creations appeared, and, among other things, the creations of St. Gregory of Sinaite, to whom St. Nil Sorsky very often refers, and in one place makes the following review about him: “Behold, this blessed one, the father of all spirit-bearing people, the volume of Scripture and following others, commands diligent care for prayer, keeping everyone’s thoughts in it, not just the evil, but also the imaginary good” 28. Ave. Nile arrived on Athos at a time when the glory acquired by the Athonite monks in the struggle for Orthodoxy gained them many imitators in internal asceticism. There he completed and completed his religious education. He re-read many of the works of St. ascetics: Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Macarius the Great, Ephraim the Syrian (4th century), Nile of Sinai, Hesychius of Jerusalem (5th century), John Climacus, Barsanuphius the Great (6th century), Isaac the Syrian, Maximus the Confessor, Abba Dorotheus (7th century), Philotheus the Sinaite (9th century), Simeon the New Theologian, Nikita Stifat (11th century), Peter of Damascus (12th century), Gregory of Sinai (14th century) and many others. At the same time, St. Neil diligently studied the books of St. Scriptures. On Athos, the idea matured for him to introduce “smart work” into the life of Russian monasticism, which, due to the low degree of internal development, at that time in some of its members believed all the hope of salvation only in carefully fulfilling the external conditions of the monastic charter. Upon returning from his trip, Ave. Nil settled 15 versts from the Belozersky Monastery, on the Sorka River, from which he received his name. The area around the new monastery was deserted and gloomy, the soil was flat and swampy, and there was forest all around 29 . The ascetic chose this place precisely because, according to him, it was “of little use to the worldly child.” Soon the brethren began to flock to him, wanting to live with him. The life of the hermits worked out as follows. On the hill, which was built by the monks themselves, they built a church, but they did not decorate it, in accordance with the instructions of St. Nile, that “we should not have silver or gold vessels, even sacred ones, as well as other unnecessary decoration: let only what is needed be brought to the church.” St. Chrysostom said “that no one was ever condemned for not decorating the church”; Let what is donated for this item be better distributed to the poor. Around the church, the monks settled at such a distance from it as you could throw a stone with your hand (to throw a stone), and settled in cells one, two and three at a time. According to Neil, these monastic dwellings should be of little value and ugly; inside them, no pomp or excessive decoration was allowed at all, in accordance with the instructions of Basil the Great, who said that “the monks should have everything that is simplest and conveniently acquired everywhere.” Each monk certainly had to earn food through his labor: handicrafts, cultivation of the land, flour milling and similar crafts that seemed possible according to the local conditions of the region; Do not do anything, says the Apostle, and do not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). He should not only engage in such work as may disturb the silence. Ave. Neil himself set an example of physical hard work: he dug a well and a pond with his own hands, and for the physical exercise of the brethren and for general needs he built a small mill on the Sorka River 30. But since, despite all this, the country in which the hermits settled was poor and deserted, and one could not help but think that someday the personal labor of the monks would not be able to satisfy the urgent needs of food, the monk made a concession, allowing him to accept alms from Christ-lovers. However, he strictly limited the cases and limits of offerings: alms can be accepted only in necessary cases and, moreover, small, and by no means excessive; One must especially beware of “alien appropriation.” “Acquisitions acquired through violence and the hands of others,” he says, should not be accepted by us, but let us reject them like some deadly poison.” Particularly noteworthy are the instructions of St. Nile about the obligation and meaning of alms in relation to monastics. “He who has no more than is needed (he teaches) is not obliged to give alms. Therefore, a true monk is not subject to the duty of giving alms; for with a frank face he can say: “Behold, we have left everything behind and died in your wake” (Matthew 19:27). For monks there is another kind of alms, not material, but spiritual: “to help a brother with a word in time of need and to console his sorrow with spiritual reasoning. This is heartfelt charity! And it is as much higher than the body as the soul is more important and superior to the body.” In other monasteries, certain rules regarding fasting were observed, and the quality of food and quantity of dishes were precisely determined by the monastic charter. In the Nile Desert there were no deliberate regulations regarding food and drink. One and the same person could eat different foods, depending on the state and strength of health and occupation. “Let the healthy and young tire the body with fasting, thirst and labor as much as possible; but let the old and infirm have little rest for themselves.” Prudent and prudent people eat every food, no matter how tasty and sweet it may be, said Gregory the Theologian: they do not have the ability to choose one thing and reject another; and through this they give thanks to God for everything and protect their soul from arrogance. Ave. Nile teaches, in accordance with the instructions of Basil the Great, that one should not neglect any kind of food at all, based on the idea that it is not appropriate to fight against the body with food, which serves to preserve it (pp. 118, 119). The unknown compiler of the preface to the “tradition,” probably one of his disciples, defends these thoughts even more forcefully, holding the absolutely correct view that fasting and exhaustion of the flesh are nothing more than a means leading to a virtuous life, and not virtue itself. Moreover, he cites the wonderful words of St. Cassian, who said that “immeasurable fasting or permission, even if both are from the devil, both immeasurable and unreasonable abstinence brings more harm than eating to the point of satiety” (p. 40). Since the main concern of a monk should be directed towards remaining in complete silence, in unflagging attention to the states of his soul and in unceasing contemplation of God, frequent mutual conversations between brethren and walking around cells are strictly prohibited. With particular strength and sharpness, Nile rebels against the custom of the time, according to which in other monasteries they did not consider it shameful to indulge in strife and dissent, grumbling and condemnation, humiliation and reproach (p. 185), and they cared about always meeting their friends in their cells. Renunciation of the world, of all worries and concerns about it, is the first stage of monasticism and a necessary condition for success in spiritual life. Therefore, between the world and the monastic cell there should be, as much as possible, complete disunity. The brethren leave the monastery only when required by obedience and needs, with the permission of the abbot. Finally, women are not allowed to enter the monastery, it is not allowed to keep youths for servants, or any female animals for work or for other needs 31 . The monks met together for worship only twice a week, on Sunday and Wednesday; and if a holiday occurred during the week, the service was moved from Wednesday to the holiday. Moreover, having gathered the day before, they remained all night in the church, and the next day after the meal they again dispersed to their cells 32. The abbot of the monastery did not at all enjoy the extensive power that was assigned to him over the mind and conscience of the monastic brethren in other monasteries. In his cell, in his inner life, the monk of the Nile Hermitage was not bound by indispensable rules or constant external supervision. He himself could choose the mentor he wanted (p. 71), and live with him as brother with brother, i.e. equal to equal, according to the scripture: “we help brother with brother, like a strong city.” Ave. Nile even allows for the possibility of being a monk completely without a mentor, under the guidance only of a saint. Scriptures. “If the teacher is not charmless, he commanded St. the fathers learned from the divine scriptures, having heard the words of the Lord saying: try the Scriptures and in them you will find eternal life” 33. Thus, the amateur study of the divine scriptures and the assimilation of previously former experiences of spiritual life can be, according to Neil, a sufficient means leading to spiritual perfection without the help of a living leader. Developing this thought even further, he finds that most of the vices and errors come precisely from ignorance and misunderstanding of the Scriptures, from negligence and laziness, from not experiencing this 34.; that, therefore, salvation from the licentiousness of morals and beliefs lies in the diligent study of the word of God and in the active application of it to one’s life. “This is found in many who do the most corrupt things, and pretend to practice virtue. This happens, out of our ignorance, St. The Scriptures, since we do not strive to test this with the fear of God and with humility, we neglect this.” “You have experienced the true knowledge from reading, hold on to these,” he writes in another place 35. It should be noted, however, that St. Nil Sorsky limits the freedom of study of St. Scriptures by church tradition. Only that understanding of the word of God can be considered correct, which is consistent with the interpretations of the fathers and the traditions of the apostles (ep. 3, 180). On the other hand, his trust in the power and saving power of the fatherly traditions is always based on their agreement with the word of God, with the clear commandments of the Lord: “first of all, the commandments of the Lord... then the life and instructions of St. fathers; I’m thinking about all this and I advise you to do the same,” he wrote to Innocent, “his beloved” disciple 36. Further, he means testing the divine scriptures (by which he means not only the books of the Bible, but also the works of the Fathers) not in the sense of only logical analysis, but testing them with his own life experience. In the same way, teaching virtue to others can be accomplished more successfully through direct experience and living examples than through words and admonition alone. All the saints did this, first doing good themselves, and then teaching others (pp. 52 and 202). Ave. Nile strictly adhered to the said rule, so in this sense, his monastery charter, as they rightly note, was brought from Athos not as a finished creation, enclosed in writing; but according to a certain plan (Episicle 3, 180) it was gradually developed by himself, on the basis of the divine scriptures and his own experiences of spiritual life. Neal did not do what many legislators do: write rules and enforce them; but he first found in the writings of the fathers rules about monastic life and smart work; he applied these rules in his monastery to the life of himself and those with him; and already, after a long trial in the field of life and activity, he elevated them to the form of skete law. But it should be noted that, on the other hand, he was free from that exclusivity and intolerance in order to issue his rules under the form of an unchangeable law and mandatory for everyone. “And all these things that are written, if they are for the good pleasure of God and the benefit of souls, we do this: whatever the best, let something better happen, which is pleasing to God and useful to souls... I ask for forgiveness. If anyone understands the greatest and most useful things about these things, let them do so, but we rejoice in this” (pp. 63, 200). Neil Sorsky puts the principle of a self-developing free personality instead of unconditional submission to conventional forms of life and constant and widespread guardianship. His monasticism was a spiritual community that renounced everything earthly; She looked for models for her life in one Scripture. The entire obedience of the monk consisted in ordering his life strictly according to Scripture (Episicle 2, 175; 3, 185). But since “the Scriptures are many, but not all are divine,” their study should have included a certain amount of criticism (Episicle 2, 175). Nile did not tolerate freedom, misunderstood and manifested in unbridled morals, much less free-thinking and an indifferent or malicious attitude towards the scriptures. His rule of life was: “bind yourself to the laws of the divine scriptures, and follow those true, divine scriptures. There are many Scriptures; but not all is divine.” But on the other hand, it is obvious that in order to stand at the point of understanding that he himself held, and to unswervingly follow such an understanding, a person who has devoted himself to monastic studies must have a certain degree of spiritual maturity, experience, in a word - a time of preliminary asceticism; for in climbing the ladder of spiritual perfection the same prudent gradualness is required as in any other exercise. Neil devotes a special part of his work to this subject, showing that monastic deeds must be done in due time and in due measure, or as Basil the Great says: “precede everything that a monk does with prudence, because without prudence, a good deed often turns into harm if the measure and time are not observed.” The Holy Fathers divide monastic life into three external types. The first and most ordinary is a hostel, in which a large number of monks live in the same place and under the same conditions. Another type, completely opposite to the hostel, is a solitary hermitage, in which one person from the monastery stays, with the blessing of his abbot. The latter, according to Neil, “requires angelic strength” and prolonged preparation and self-examination, without which it would only serve to the detriment of the monk: the silence of such breeds arrogance. The hermit must initially learn obedience, patience and humility in common life, “to the end having digested all his untruths in the assembly of those living in common.” The third type of monasticism is “skete life,” which occupies a middle place between the first two. About the motives and purpose of this last institution, which he transferred to Russian soil from Greece, Neil says: “It is not because we want to observe great rules that we choose a dwelling of silence: for it is known that communication with many people strengthens us more for this feat; but to avoid confusion and useless rumors, and other things displeasing to God, and to abide in His commandments, acquiring what you need for yourself through the labor of your hands.” The middle path is the “non-falling” path (i.e., the path on which it is easier for a monk not to fall) - why St. the fathers called it the royal path, and they learned from it great success in saving souls. Then St. Nile explains the advantages of the monastery life as follows: “Woe, he says, for one when he falls into despondency, or sleep, or laziness, or despair; no, who would raise him up and encourage him at that hour. Therefore, the Lord said: where there are two or three congregations in my name, I am in the midst of them (Matthew 12:20); and again: blasi two more than one (Eccl. 4:9). If a spiritual elder appears, having one or two disciples, and if someone is still silent near him, then, meeting at a decent time, they are enlightened by spiritual conversations.” Cenobitic monasteries led to perfection more through mechanical skill. Ave. Neil, leaving the external mechanism, looked into the inner world of man, rightly thinking here to find mainly the means to true piety and a virtuous life. About the motivation to choose this internal feat, preferably over external actions of pleasing God, he says the following: “The Lord said: from the heart come evil thoughts and they defile a person (Matthew 15:18), and commanded to cleanse the inner heart (Matthew 23:26) and to bow to the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:24). And the Apostle said: I would rather speak five words with my mind than ten thousand words with my tongue (1 Cor. 15:19). And many St. the fathers, in different conversations, but in the same sense, taught heartfelt activity and mental observation. And Blessed Philotheus of Sinaite even commands to pray for monks who adhere only to bodily work, but in their simplicity do not know mental warfare (accompanied sometimes by overcoming, sometimes by fall) and therefore do not worry about the mind, and commands to teach them so that they not only protect themselves from obvious evil deeds, but also cleanse their mind, which is the eye of the soul.” About the necessity of this feat, this is what Blessed Hesychius of Jerusalem says: “just as it is impossible to live without food and drink, so without guarding the mind it is impossible for the soul to achieve any degree of spirituality, even if someone restrains himself from sins through fear of torment. What is required of a true executor of God’s commandments is not only that he fulfill them through external actions, but that he also preserves his mind and heart from violating what is commanded” 38 . Now let us follow the blessed father into the inner world of our soul, in which the invisible process of so-called mental doing takes place - the influence of mental acts of one on another, and the result of this influence is a change in the entire mental mood, expressed under the image of victory or defeat, when, that is, the soul remains firmly in its moral duty, or weakens, evades it. “Mental work, in which the charter provides the main essence of monastic asceticism, is generally contemplative thought of God, internal prayer performed with the mind and heart, not passing into external expressions through the word, combined with the contemplation of the Divine and the driving away of all thoughts, whether good or evil, that can dispel and confuse this pious mood; to put it briefly, this is a constant remembrance of the omnipresence of God, as David said: I will foresee the Lord before me, as if he is at my right hand, so that I will not move” (Ps. 15:8). “Whoever does this is always in prayer,” Neal explains elsewhere (fn. 4). Thus, one can distinguish three separate acts 39.in the process of mental doing: 1) the fight against thoughts in order to cut off all access to the mind and heart and achieve a peaceful and dispassionate state of mind: “silence is the postponement of thoughts until time”; 2) the very performance of prayer, which requires all possible attention and self-deepening: “whenever the mind calms down from thoughts, listen to the heart and prayer in your soul or mind,” and 3) contemplation of the Divine and a mysterious inner union with Him: “there is silence - seek in the heart of the Lord... within myself I see the Creator of the world, and I talk and love... and behold the Lord... by nature is unapproachable, but to me We see there is everything, and my nature is mixed with being.” These different mental states are designated by different names in Nile's work. The most general essence: mental activity, spiritual or mental prayer, sobriety of the mind, heartfelt silence. Then closer expressions: “keep the mind in the heart in prayer”, “keep the mind in the heart and perform prayer”, “keep the mind in the heart, eliminating all thoughts”, “keep the mind closed in the heart”; “the action of prayer keeps the mind to itself” (focuses it). The heart is called the keeper of thoughts, the mind is the helmsman of feelings. Nil Sorsky introduces the monk into the inner world of his soul through a theory borrowed mainly, almost literally, from Philotheus the Sinaite (a writer of the 9th century) 40 . According to the fathers, the soul goes through five degrees in meaningful warfare: adposition, combination, addition, captivity and passion. “Preposition” is a simple thought that comes to a person’s mind, an image of some object that appears to the mind and feelings accidentally and independently of our will. This is a sinless thought and does not deserve either praise or condemnation, because it does not depend on us. “Combination” is the response of our mind to the appearance of a pretext in the soul, voluntary retention of it in consciousness, conversation with the appeared thought, but without any inclination towards it. This is the state of St. Fathers no longer always consider him sinless. “Addition” they call the favorable acceptance from the soul of a thought that has come into it, or an object that has appeared to it, and then consent in one’s mind to act as the thought inspires. The sanity of this state depends on the degree of spiritual age in which the ascetic is located. “Captivity” is a state of mind when not only the mind, but also the heart, against its will, rushes towards the thought that has found it and through this loses its reverent mood. Finally, “passion” is the name for an inclination that, remaining in the soul for a long time, turns into a habit. A person comes to this state of his own free will. According to the fathers, passion is subject to torment not because one was attacked by it, but because of unrepentance 41 . Thus, our domestic psychologist of the 15th century, following St. fathers, decomposes the acts of mental life into the most primary states, which can hardly be grasped with the most careful observation of oneself, and shows how a thought from a sinless one passes into actions that are more and more guilty. The monastic feat must consist in the struggle against all kinds of evil thoughts nesting in the soul, and with unequal strength, according to the significance of the numbered genera, drawing it onto the path of vice. Then Nile divides all the elements that make up the internal struggle into certain categories of sins, otherwise passionate thoughts, numbering eight: 1) the thought of gluttony, 2) fornication, 3) love of money, 4) anger, 5) sadness, 6) despondency, 7) vanity and 8) pride. From them many others are born. The monk must carefully monitor each of the indicated thoughts, if it creeps into the soul, and destroy it in himself. How to fight them and destroy passionate thoughts in the soul? The best way to do this is to stop thoughts at the very beginning (in the prelogue); for, the fathers said, whoever resists the first thought, that is, the preposition, with one blow blocks the path to all further development of it. And during prayer it is recommended not to listen to even the best, apparently, thoughts; because it is known from experience that when such things are admitted into the heart, the evil ones follow, and the entrance of the first opens the door for the second. In addition, some kind of handicraft with prayer or service is very useful for novice monks, i.e. obedience classes; then singing and frequent replacement of one spiritual exercise with another: bodily worship in prayer, reading aloud, learning by heart from scripture 42. Considering each of the eight named passionate thoughts separately, Neil gives specific instructions on how to combat them, adapted to individual cases and circumstances of life, and breathing with great power of persuasiveness and high practical significance. It is impossible not to see that these instructions were based on deep psychological observations. He views passion not only in its main and fundamental vice, but also in its ramifications; draws attention to the very mental and physiological basis of passion; follows its subtlest curves in the soul, showing the most intimate connection not only between individual, apparently far from one another, vices, but also visible dispassion and vice. In relation to all that has been said, he gives private advice imbued with deep psychological truth. It must also be said that Nile’s views on various particular virtues and vices are distinguished by extraordinary clarity and directness, as we have already seen in part when presenting his thoughts on the meaning of fasting. Here are other examples. Explaining the harmful influence of the thought of a prodigal and the great difficulty of fighting it, Neil says: “The feat is great for us in this struggle and it is very fierce: for the struggle embraces both soul and body. For this reason, not a single sin is called by the fathers by the same name as this sin: they call it “fall”; for the one who has fallen into it becomes impudent and is strongly drawn to despair."... To drive it away, it is necessary not only to occupy the soul with prayer, but also to tire the body with labor. Then Nile tries to influence the common conscience in people. "Let us also remember, he says, shame and disgrace before people; for by the representation of shame and disgrace we can reflect the cold and vile intention. In fact, let us imagine that we are caught by someone in a foul act: wouldn’t we then rather wish to die than to find ourselves in such shame”? The fight against the passion of love of money is not so difficult at the beginning: “the disease of love of money, says Neil, originates outside of our nature, and comes from lack of faith and unbelief. that God cares for him.” But if this illness becomes stronger than all others: that is why the Apostle calls it not only the root of all evil, but also “idolatry” (1 Tim. 6:10). One must beware of addiction not only to gold, silver, property, but also to any thing beyond the necessary needs: clothing, shoes, vessels, etc. What we have, let it be of little value, not embellished, and easily acquired. - To the one who fulfills the commandment of not remembering malice (inspires Neil, warning against anger), the Lord promised such a reward that exceeds all other promises - he promised not only the kingdom of heaven, not consolation and joy, but sonship: you will be, He said, sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:45). And He Himself was the first to set an example of fulfilling this commandment; for not only was he not angry with the Jews, having suffered evil from them, but he also prayed for them to His Father, saying: “Father, forgive them this sin” (Luke 23:24). He talks about the thought of sadness as follows: a monk, he says, has only one sorrow characteristic and useful - for his sins, dissolved by repentance and hope in God, in the firm confidence that there is no sin that overcomes God’s love for mankind, and that He forgives all sins to those who repent and pray. As for the misfortunes that come upon us from people and from the enemy of our salvation, we must firmly remember that everything that happens to us does not happen without the providence of God, and, moreover, for the benefit and salvation of our souls. And if what is sent does not seem useful to us at the present time, then the consequences prove this quite clearly. “Therefore we must believe with all our souls that the eye of the Lord sees everything, that without His will nothing can happen to us, and that He sends temptations upon us out of His goodness, so that, having endured temptations, we may receive a crown from Him.” – Dejection is distinguished from sadness, firstly as a prolonged mental state, and secondly, it occurs without a direct and obvious cause, while grief is a direct consequence of experienced troubles and misfortunes. The monk describes the state of the soul in the thought of despondency with particular detail and vividness, and, moreover, for the most part in his own words, without resorting, as usual, to borrowing from his father’s works. Despondency attacks those who live in silence with the greatest force. “This spirit is fierce - the spirit of despondency,” says Neil, and the fight against it is a difficult feat for a monk. “When cruel waves of despondency arise on the soul, a person loses hope of getting rid of them, and then the enemy whispers to him that if his sufferings are great at the present time, then later they will increase even more bitterly, that he is left by God without care, that what happened to him does not happen to anyone but him, that everything that happens in the world in general does not happen from the providence of God. Many other evil thoughts, which cannot be described, then invade the soul and do not retreat either during or after the reading and service.” For consolation and encouragement, Neil points to examples of holy saints who were also subject to the spirit of despondency, strengthens us with faith in God’s providence, which does not allow temptation beyond our strength, and especially directs attention to the good consequences of temptation and the hidden intentions of God, revealed in them for our benefit; Finally, he commands firm and unflagging prayer. “God, as a man-loving Father, not only us sinners, but also His saints, who have been well-pleasing from time immemorial, as His children, strikes with a spiritual rod out of love, so that we may be more successful in virtues... If people know what burden to impose on a donkey, what a camel... then does not the mind of the Lord God even more know what temptation to bring upon each soul in order to make it fit and capable for the kingdom of heaven and to merit not only future glory, but also here consolation from the Holy Spirit... The enemy cannot do anything to us without God's permission; he saddens our spirit not as much as he would like, but as much as God allows him.” In conclusion, he gives practical advice: “sometimes, he says, there is an extreme need to enter into communication and conversation with some experienced and edifying person; a well-timed and well-intentioned visit to such a person and a conversation with him in moderation can not only drive out the despondency nesting in it from the soul, but also bring some rest, give strength and zeal for further achievement in piety.” Pride comes in two forms: “monastic”, when for the sake of a reverent life a proud thought enters a person’s soul that he has worked hard and suffered a lot of evil because of virtue, and “worldly” pride, born of external advantages. Neil's thoughts on worldly pride are very remarkable for the depth and clarity of his view of the meaning of the monastic title and the dividing line that distinguishes it from the position of a layman; Moreover, they reflect many features of modernity and the direction of the spirit of the times in the field of monastic life. “That is the pride of the worldly,” he says, when someone is vainglorious about the title and advantages of a monastery, or the large number of a brotherhood. And about those, I don’t know what to say, who, “according to the now established custom,” are proud of the many villages and monastic estates, or fame in the world and acquaintances... Others boast of the fame in the world of their parents, or the celebrity of relatives, or the fact that they themselves, before entering monasticism, were in honor and among the dignitaries. This is extreme madness... and whoever thinks to see his glory in this, this glory is a shame. And among the monks, he continues, there are also those who stand above others as nothing, having nothing of their own, i.e. a good voice capable of singing, or a language suitable for sonorous reading and pronunciation. What praise and honor from God to man is that which is not our property, acquired through labor, but an accessory to our nature.” – “A man is proud, although he himself is a sinner; but he does not know that the sinner is worse than the demons themselves, as their slave and novice, and their fellow man, who must go down to them into the darkness of the abyss. Truly, he who is in the power of demons is more bitter and unfortunate than they themselves,” he exclaims 43. The importance of a means of curbing the soul’s attraction to vice is also the constant remembrance of death and judgment. “Remember your last and never sin” (Sir. 7:39). “Let’s imagine a dying person: how the soul grieves, tears up, being separated from the body! She is looking for help - and there is no one to help her; she lifts her eyes to the angels and prays to them, but to no avail; stretches out her hands to people, and there is no help for her from anyone, not from anyone, except from God and good deeds.” Our life is nothing more than the path that a traveler traverses, leaving his homeland; it is something even worse than the path. “The traveler goes in whichever direction he wants to go, and in whichever direction he does not want, he does not go; when he is in a hotel, he knows when he came there and when he has to leave...., and if he wanted, he could slow down or speed up his departure. And we, whether we want it or not, must urgently depart from this world, and we do not know when we will depart, and it is not in our will to stay here for a while, even if we wanted to... What will we do then, if we had not previously thought about this hour, did not take care of it and will find ourselves unprepared?... If (one of the fathers said about the second coming of the Savior to earth) it was possible to die then, the whole world would die of fear. Therefore, even if our hearts turn away from the memory and thoughts of future torment, let us force it to do so... Truly, all is vanity in this life, the trees will not remain with us after death..., all the canopy is the weakest and all the sleepy dreams are the most charming,” as the hymn writer says. Closely related to the remembrance of death and the final judgment is the gift of tears, as a consequence of this remembrance. But tears themselves are a gift from God, a gift from among the great gifts that the fathers command to ask from God 44 . “Crying delivers us from eternal fire and other future torments; If we find it, we will enter spiritual purity and be worthy of all spiritual blessings.” Simeon the new Theologian calls all virtues a warrior, and tenderness and crying - a king and a military leader.” Crying is a seemingly normal state. St. Simeon said that when our soul is in the right mood, it cannot be without tears. This especially needs to be said about the state during prayer. “When the spiritual power of prayer acts in us, with the help of divine grace, penetrating us with warmth, warming the heart and cheering the soul, inexpressibly inflaming us with love for God and humanity, enlightening the mind and pouring a feeling of joy within us: then tears flow out by themselves, without any effort on our part. Then, as Climacus says, the sick soul, like a baby, both cries and smiles brightly at the same time. Oh, may the Lord grant us, exclaims Neil, to find these tears! for for us beginners, weak and inexperienced, besides this, there is no other consolation” 45. There is no need to cry a lot, because tears are judged not by their abundance, but by the feeling with which they are accompanied and from which they stem. “I saw,” says Neil, a few drops of tears, but those that, like blood, flow with a painful feeling; and saw abundant tears, like a source, flowing freely. I saw both, and I judge both by the suffering feeling of the heart, and not by the number of tears of the one crying. I believe that God’s judgment is the same.” Therefore, when, for some reason, for example. due to physical illness (for when we are exhausted, it is of no use to exhaust our nature), the source of tears in us becomes scarce, then tears are completely replaced by heartfelt contrition, according to the word of the Psalmist: sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Ps. 50:19). For this, St. Nile points out different means for acquiring tears: through contemplating the mysteries of the economy and the love of the Lord for mankind, through reading stories about the lives and exploits of saints and teachings, through repeating one, done in private, the Jesus Prayer. Some are moved by certain prayers composed by saints; another is touched by the canons and troparia; finally, many are excited to cry, remembering their sins, or imagining death and judgment, or inflamed with the desire for future blessings and other various images. And whoever is excited by some object to cry, he should reflect on this in order to support the crying, as much as necessary. These are all tears of “grace”; and there are also “natural” tears, when the soul is moved, to the point of shedding tears, by seeing or hearing about pleasant or sorrowful objects. You need to take advantage of such occasions and turn natural tears into spiritual tears, turning your mind to praising God, to confessing His perfections, or thinking about death, judgment, torment, etc. The advantage of blessed tears over natural ones is that they have greater power and effectiveness in destroying sins and passions than those tears that are aroused with difficulty and various artificial measures 46 . The second stage of internal asceticism, the threshold to which is the struggle with thoughts, is the so-called “mental” or heartfelt “prayer”, performed in such a state and at such a time when nothing extraneous dissipates or shakes the reverent disposition of the one praying, when the mind remains deaf and mute to all kinds of requests that appear in the soul, when the heart is freed from every thought, even if it seems good: “for it is known from experience, St. Nile says that when good thoughts are allowed, evil ones follow, and the entrance of the first opens the door for the second” 47 . About those who have achieved prosperity in St. Gregory of Sinai says that what they need is not the speaking of psalms, that is, not external actions and the expression of prayer in words, but silence combined with continuous prayer in the heart and contemplation. “God is peace, alien to all confusion and anxiety” (p. 90); and therefore, when in prayer the mind retreats from the remembrance of God and becomes distracted, turning to objects that are not so important, then it “commits adultery” (p. 92); for the one who prays during prayer is united with God, and there is no need for him to tear his mind away from Him. From here it is clear that the theoretical basis of heartfelt or mental prayer, which places it above prayer performed by external actions, is that silent prayer represents, as it were, a state of godlikeness and co-presence with God, achieved through contemplation of Him. And since “God is peace, alien to all confusion and anxiety,” then if someone, due to a lack of diligence, allows himself to weaken his mind in prayer, being distracted by incongruous thoughts and external movements, he spontaneously dissolves the union and unity with God, he commits spiritual fornication: “the mind of such commits adultery.” This brings us closer to the third moment of internal asceticism - to a state of blessed frenzy or ecstasy. But first, let us present the thoughts of the charter about the meaning of external prayer, also about the time of prayer and the external position of the ascetic performing “smart” prayer. Only the strong and those who have greatly succeeded in spiritual work are able, says Neil, to restrain the mind and drive away thoughts in prayer. He depicts the extraordinary difficulty of this feat with the following features: “painful languor takes possession of the soul from long tension; from the cry and crying of the heart comes a weakening of thought. The Lord Jesus said: the kingdom of God is in need, and the needy women delight it (Matthew 11:12). By the words “need” and “need” He means extreme diligence and painful labor, such as happens in this feat, when the body also ache from the intense and frequent invocation of the Lord Jesus.” Therefore, beginners are offered other ways to drive away thoughts from themselves and concentrate the mind for prayer: handicrafts with prayer or service (i.e., general obedience or activities out of obedience). Likewise, those who do not engage in mental prayer should spend a lot of time singing, studying scripture by heart, and often replacing one spiritual exercise with another. In the same way, for those who have achieved perfection, when they are exhausted in the feat, some external ways are indicated to maintain spiritual vigor, such as: singing, reading aloud, bodily worship in prayer and handicrafts. “However, the fathers said, one should sing in moderation, but be most occupied with (mental) prayer 48 . There are many different exercises and works of virtue, but all of them are only particular in relation to sobriety of the mind. Heartfelt prayer is the source of all good; and just as the gardens are watered with water, so it will water the soul.” Sobriety of mind and guarding of the heart from thoughts must be observed at all times; but the most favorable time for silent prayer is night. “And in the night, therefore, it is especially appropriate to be diligent about this work, asking the Fathers. Therefore, as the Climacus says, at night spend most of your time praying, and least of all singing.” The external position of the person praying is described in this way: “bowing his head and neck, bowing down”; Gregory of Sinai writes: “let your gray hair be in patience”; Simeon the New Theologian says: “I see the light in the middle of the cell, sitting on a bed; I see within myself the Creator of the world.” If we add that for the time being it is commanded not to “get up” for prayer and singing, then it is clear that for prayer sitting (on a bed) was preferred to standing. As an external means for concentrating the mind in prayer, it is also recommended to hold back the breath, “so as not to breathe often.” The crown of all achievement and the perfect reward, for which all labors are lifted and all the burdens of “smart work” are overcome, is co-presence with God and a mysterious union with Him through prayer and contemplation, which occurs in a state of spiritual frenzy. This is the third and final moment of internal asceticism. Its difference from the state during prayer is indicated by the similarity that prayer is sowing, and the state of ecstasy is reaping. “The prayer is named Isaac the Syrian seed, but this (state of frenzy) is taken with the handle, where the reaper marvels with ineffable vision, how from the thin and bare grains, even sowing, the ripened grain before him suddenly froze.” The fathers call this state prayer because it is achieved through prayer and during prayer is bestowed upon the saints. No one knows the exact name of this ineffable gift. St. Nile describes this state of spiritual ecstasy in the words of Isaac the Syrian, Simeon the New Theologian, and St. Macarius of Egypt. St. Isaac narrates this: “When this indescribable joy comes for the ascetics, he cuts off prayer from his lips. Then the lips, and the tongue, and the heart - the keeper of thoughts, and the mind - the organizer of feelings, and thought - the fast-flying and shameless bird, become silent. Thought then has neither prayer, nor movement, nor autocracy; controlled by another force, and not controlled by itself; she becomes captivated at this hour and dwells in incomprehensible objects, where she herself does not know. Then a person is in a frenzy, and all desires are taken away from him, and, according to the word of the Apostle, whether in the body or apart from the body, it is not known (2 Cor. 12:2). Then he forgets himself and everyone who is here, and then no longer has an attraction to anything... Joy suddenly kindles in him, and his tongue falls silent from unusual sweetness...; the whole body is nourished by some kind of heavenly joy, which the carnal language cannot express. And this is until (for a time and time) until everything earthly is remembered as ashes and dung... And when such sweetness takes possession of a person, raging throughout his whole body; then at this hour he thinks that the kingdom of heaven is nothing other than this (state). He who has found this joy will not only not look at the passions, but also at his very life.” The state is St. Isaac calls the state of terror (ecstasy) and prayerful contemplation (vision of prayer). Simeon the New Theologian writes about the same thing: “terrible, truly terrible (this) and beyond words. I see a light that is not in the world, I see it in the middle of a cell, sitting on a bed; within myself I see the Creator of the world, and I talk, and love, and listen, sweetly feeding on the one vision of God and, uniting with Him, I surpass the heavens. I know this for certain and truly, where then is the body - I don’t know. The Lord loves me, and accepts me in Himself and hides me in His arms. He who lives in heaven is also in my heart; here and there I see. And so the Lord reveals me to be equal to the angels and makes me even better than them: for even with them he is invisible in essence, unapproachable by nature; By force, everything is seen, and is essentially united with my nature. He who has experienced this will not only not want to leave the cell, but will want to be hidden in a ditch dug underground, so that there alone, outside of this world, he can contemplate his immortal Lord and Creator. If God had not set a limit on how long in this life one could remain in this state, then even if it lasted all one’s life, a person would not want to leave it. But (he adds) God does not allow one to remain in it for a long time, so that a person does not forget his care for his brethren... Therefore, the Lord weakens the power of grace and does not allow (the ascetic) to ascend all its twelve steps, leaving him on the eleventh.”… Macarius of Egypt, regarding those who have been granted visions of grace, says in prayer that they “will no longer be affixed to the red or sweet things of this world, nor will they fear the sorrowful and malicious; but they dare to say with the Apostle: “Nothing will separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:32). It is impossible not to bow with your mind before this height of mental prayerful contemplation, before which all logical distinctions remain futile... Let us picture in our imagination the following position of an ascetic: in the dead of night, when all living things are silent after the day's fatigue, having retired to his cell, alone or with his disciple, a monk sits on his bed. His head hung down, his gaze turned inward. Nothing from the outside world dissipates his concentrated attention; he broke ties with this world, except for his wretched cell and its extremely meager decoration. He raises his thoughts to God and tries to think only about the works of God. But vain thoughts invade the soul, disturbing its quiet peace. What to do with them? You need to drive them away from yourself, you need to complain to God about them, call on Him for help in the fight against them. And he struggles for a long time, with difficulty, tirelessly, keeping God in his thoughts, always trying to talk with Him alone. His mind languishes under the weight of tension, his heart aches from struggle and extraordinary feat; but without leaving the battlefield, he forces himself with new and new strength to tear out evil thoughts from his soul and to cling even more tightly and closely in thought to God. And in time, the grace of God listens to his feat: the mind calms down from incongruous thoughts, the heart listens to God alone. Some time passes while he prays with quiet tenderness, in serene calm, and then a wonderful moment comes: the soul no longer feels bodily bonds; the angelic strength of contemplation is imparted to the mind; heavenly light illuminates the entire being of the ascetic; an inexplicable sweetness, raging, spreads through him... He feels the approach of God; finally he sees Him with his mental eyes and, in the midst of this contemplation, forgetting the whole world and everything in the world, being co-present with God, unites with Him in a mysterious union and tastes heavenly bliss. We are unlikely to sin against historical truth by saying that the Russian monk is 15 and 16 years old. such a height of contemplation was inaccessible, since among the masses, we are not talking about examples of outstanding asceticism, such as, for example. considered, monasticism was still held to a more external, formal discipline of piety. St. Nil himself, at first, as we have seen, studied for a long time in the east, under the guidance of the ascetic elders there. Contemplation in the East was not new: it was legitimized by pagan philosophers, especially the Neoplatonic school, which spread very widely in the first centuries of the Christian era, and then passed into Christian gnosis. Without a doubt, etc. Nile was aware of the deep difference in the position of the Russian monk and the Eastern ascetic when he repeatedly repeated about the great difficulty of “smart doing.” And now, having cited the fatherly legends about what kind of grace those who actually undergo this inner feat are honored with, he mainly draws the reader’s attention to the moral lesson that he can learn for himself from these legends. “We,” he says, “are indecent, guilty of many sins and filled with many passions; Therefore, they would not even deserve to hear about such objects. But, trusting in the grace of God, I dared to speak a few words about them from the sacred writings of the spirit-bearing fathers, so that we may know, although not fully, how wretched we are and how foolish we are, clinging and becoming addicted to this world, accumulating corruptible things and, for their sake, delving into worries and vanities, to the detriment of our souls.” At the conclusion of his Charter, he teaches that one must carefully preserve oneself after prayer, tears, and good deeds in general, so as not to lose one’s gains through negligence 49 . “When the Lord God, by His grace, makes us worthy to find tears and cry, or when he helps us to perform pure prayer, then let us in every possible way be guarded from the spirit of anger and from other evil attacks. For our enemy, at this particular time, either tries to disturb us with internal thoughts and passionate movements, or contrives to bring warfare and rebellion on us from the outside in order to tarnish our feat and make it vicious. Therefore, when you do and labor, do not leave unguarded what you have acquired through labor and doing.” Returning to the assessment of the ideal of monasticism outlined by St. Nil, we notice in it, in addition to the positive, also a negative side, according to which for its time it was, as it were, a protest against the mechanism of asceticism that prevailed in cenobitic monasteries. Previously, former and modern customs and monastery regulations are described by Nile’s contemporary, Venerable Joseph of Volokolamsk in his “The Legend of the Saints Who Exist in the Rust of the Earth” 50. It should be noted that the “Tale” was written in view of reproaches to Russian monasticism for its deviation from ancient piety, and therefore it mainly exposes only the commendable aspects of monastic life. But if we exclude from it what shades Joseph’s personal sympathies, then we are faced with a series of strict and decisive measures aimed at one goal: to maintain in all its rigor the external organization of monastic communities, according to which any outstanding manifestation of an individual will, any isolation of personality was considered a violation of the rules and a sin. The life of monks, according to Joseph’s charter, is regulated down to the smallest detail; the abbot’s control over it penetrates inside the cell, and every task, no matter how unimportant it may be, is certainly done with the blessing of the abbot or at least the oldest monk. “Let us strive, brethren (says Joseph at the end of the 5th chapter), with all our hearts, like the stench and sting of death, to avoid self-indulgence and disobedience... and even to the point of death, let us strive and place our souls on the one line of the commandments of God and in everything, keeping the measure and rule both in walking, and in words and deeds." 51. Finally, all concern for physical needs is protected prudently by rule. In general, material security, although without the right of personal property, external piety and unconditional obedience are the main features of Joseph’s ideal of monasticism, and only under this does he express the demand for virtue from the monk 52. Ave. Joseph was an eclectic in his own way - the same as Nil Sorsky, and the statutes of both come together in the common sign of an eclectic system. But despite this external similarity, they differ markedly in spirit and ideas. Namely: Joseph begins the correction of life with external behavior, on the assumption that with strict external decorum, inner life can improve by itself; Nile does the opposite, according to the word of the Lord, who taught “to cleanse the inside of the vessel first, so that the outside also will be clean” 53 . To the credit of Russian society of that time, Nile’s personality was surrounded with great respect. The news that he introduced a new institution of monastic life on Russian soil, different from the dormitory, spread throughout various regions and attracted quite a number of brethren to him; she penetrated into the monastery of Joseph of Volokolamsk, and two monks came from there: Dionysius of Zvenigorod and Nil Polev - from the princes of Smolensk 54.; among the disciples and followers of the Nile we meet another prince - the monk, Vassian Patrikeev (Slant). The Rule of the Nile, in turn, circulated in many lists and found zealous readers. Messages were written to him from various people with various perplexed questions. Not least important was St. Nil in the fight against the heresy of the Judaizers personally, and especially with those ideas and views that he was the bearer and herald, as well as in resolving other pressing issues of the then church life that worried Russian society. In 1489, Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod asked in a letter to Joasaph, Archbishop. Rostov, consult with the elders Paisius and Nil, how they think about the expected end of the world, which was to take place at the end of the 7th thousand years, which was to follow in 1492 (Belozersky monasteries were located in the Rostov diocese). “Yes, so that you would send along Paisei, and along the Nile,” wrote Gennady, and you would advise them about this: three years will pass, the 7th thousand 55 will end... and so on. Neil's opinions in response to this message have not been preserved. – Then in 1490, both elders, Paisius and Nil, were invited to the (2nd) council on the case of the Judaizers 56. At this council, heretics were cursed, deposed and condemned to imprisonment; but in the present case, the council dealt with the heretics more leniently than the first council, which took place at Metro Gerontius in 1488, and the third, which took place in 1504, the monuments do not mention the presence of St. Nile. At the last council (1504), heretics were tried on the basis of “city laws”: some of them were burned in a cage in Moscow itself, others in Novgorod; some had their tongues cut, others were sent to monasteries 57 . In 1503, a council was held in Moscow, at which they discussed many issues related to church correction: about the non-collection of bribes for appointment to sacred degrees, about widowed priests and deacons, about monastic real estate. Present here, by the way, was Elder Paisiy Yaroslavov, who was V. to. Vasily from St. font, and his disciple Elder Nil 58. About this cathedral, in a letter from an unknown person about the dislikes between the elders of the Joseph and Kirill monasteries, the following is told: “When there was a cathedral under the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of All Russia and under Metropolitan Simon about widow priests and deacons, in the summer of 7012 (1503) ... and then there was Elder Paiseya Yaroslavov ... and his disciple Elder Nil, according to the decision of Maykov (this Nile was in the holy mountain, and the great prince held them in honor in greatness). And when the council on widow priests and deacons was held, Elder Nil began to say that there would be no villages near the monasteries, but that the monks would live in the deserts, and would feed on handicrafts: and with him the hermits of Belozersk. And hegumen Joseph heard this, and began to speak contrary to them, bringing St. to witness. Rev. Theodosius, the general life of the chief, and St. Athanasius of Athos Ave., and St. Ave. Father Anthony and Theodosius of the Pechersk miracle workers, and many other monasteries, hedgehog villages. The same verb: if there are no villages near the monasteries, how can an honest and noble man take haircut? And if there are no honest elders, how can we appoint a metropolitanate, or an archbishop, or a bishop, and to all honest authorities? And if there are no honest elders and nobles, there will be a wavering of faith” 59. In addition to this legend, in the life of the unknown biographer Joseph, the following details are reported: “To a certain father, who gave silence and solitary life to those passing and loving, and the fatherly teaching about the non-acquisition of the monk who was good, having ached for the acquisition of villages by the monastery... And for the sake of the prayer of the autocrat, who had boldness towards him for the sake of strong living and the virtue of the multitude, and extremely acceptable and respected by the autocrats. And for this reason I have collected a collection, and it is not a little of the good reasoning that the fathers, who are unable to breathe, will lose their thoughts, even if Joseph is not with them, for this reason they forced him to take him to the city of Moscow. Having asked about these things, by the common will of the monastery the village has been owing a debt from time immemorial. After all the debates and research, “to obey the ancient God-loving father of the judgment, and the justification of the church is motionless to observe the council, having chosen justification, as if those who truly want to be saved are not harmed - the acquisitions of the church, like those in monasteries 60. From both of these legends we can draw the conclusion that the initiative to take away property from monasteries and hierarchs belonged to Elder Nil Maykov, together with Paisius and the Belozersk hermits. The monuments speak in great detail about the arguments Joseph presents in favor of the opinion supported by the majority of the fathers of the council; but Neil's replies and objections remained unrecorded. However, from the works of the latter one can see that the main motive for defending his view that it was inappropriate for monasteries to own villages was that monks, taking a vow of non-covetousness and renouncing the world, should think entirely only about the salvation of their souls; and meanwhile, worries about their estates again draw them into the world, force them to communicate with worldly people, conduct litigation and disputes with them, and generally burden the monks with unusual and vain worldly concerns 61 . Thus, this motive is purely moral: Nile has in mind the only great moral harm caused to monasteries by the possession of patrimonies. Finally, against the argument that monasteries have, among other things, their purpose to receive strangers, feed the poor, help the sick, etc., and having lost their estates, they will no longer be able to achieve these goals, Ave. Nile could oppose that “a true monk is not subject to the duty of doing (material) alms”; for with an open face he can say: “We have all left behind You and become dead” (Matthew 19:27). Monastic alms should not be material, but spiritual: “to help a brother in time of need, and to console his sorrow with spiritual reasoning,” and the non-acquisition of such is higher than alms 62. At the council, however, as we have seen, the opinion of Joseph and his supporters triumphed. The secular government, having encountered a strong and unanimous protest against the secularization of church property from the members of the council, armed, thanks to Joseph, with extensive canonical and historical argumentation, did not find it necessary to insist otherwise and approved the definition of the council. – As for the issue of widowed priests and deacons, raised at the same council, then, judging by the course of action of Nilov’s follower, Prince monk Vassian Kosago 63, Ave. Nil held the same opinion towards him that the widowed priest of the city of Rostov, Georgy Skripitsa 64, so energetically declared in his famous message to the fathers of the cathedral. Rev. Neil died in 1508 on the 7th day of May, leaving a will to his brethren to cast his body in the desert to be devoured by wild beasts, or at least to dig a ditch and bury it without any honor. The Church subsequently canonized him as a saint. Relics of St. Nila still rests in the monastery he founded. Nile’s creation “a disciple’s legend about living in a monastery” is found in many manuscripts 65. It has the following external composition: at the beginning there is a rather long introduction, setting out the rules of external monastic life 66; then a preface, which sets out the motives for which internal feat is preferable to external actions of pleasing God. Then follow eleven words, in which the very essence of internal skete asceticism is clarified, namely: word 1: about the difference in mental struggle; Its five degrees are: adposition, combination, addition, captivity and passion. Word 2: three degrees of mental activity: struggle with thoughts, dispassion and serene prayer, contemplation and union with God. Word 3: about how to strengthen yourself in inner feats. Word 4: content (essence) of all monastic activity. Word 5: eight passionate thoughts; fight with each of them. Word 6: general means of combating all these thoughts. Word 7: about the meaning of remembering death and judgment. Word 8: about the gift of tears. Word 9: about preserving after good deeds. Word 10: about death (renunciation) for the world. Word 11: about observing gradualism in monastic exercises and about the external forms of monasticism. Word 11 is followed by the conclusion of the “Tradition”. The well-known testament of the blessed one is added to the end. Nile regarding his burial. That's all that belongs to Neil himself. At the end of his work there is also a short note about his exploits, the day of his death, the writing of the charter - a note, according to the general opinion, made by his student Innocent. Moreover, during the Synodal publications and during the publication of the Optina Hermitage, the charter was preceded by a “superword” for the book of the bl. father Nil of Sorsky, compiled according to some by an unknown person, and according to others 67. by the same monk Innocent, and behind him is a “fastening”, also unknown to whom it belongs. Here is the complete external composition of the charter, as it is still printed. In the publications of the Holy Synod there is a brief historical information about St. Nile of Sorsky. “Supreslovie” and “attachment”, which did not belong to the pen of the writer of the “tradition,” have the meaning that they express the views of Nile’s contemporaries and closest disciples on the work of the founder of the skete life in Russia. The “Superword,” significantly imbued with the properties of a polemical work, differs markedly from the Rules, which generally breathe the spirit of love and forgiveness. It represents a large reasoned discussion about the origin of the Rule and about the various external types of monastic life. The author reveals his face and the story of his life in the following words: “remembering this, as when we were always alive in the desert, and on a cane, which was either thick or thin for work, and also on a cut that was blunt and did not cut the cattails, and also on a flint, when we accelerated to cathedral singing, and did not emit fiery sparks, it was bitter I get angry” (p. 31). Discussing the external types of monasticism, the compiler of the “supraword” actually means to reveal from the inside the great advantages of monastic life, or, as he calls it from the words of the bl. Nile, “the royal unfallen path” (p. 33). To this end, he resolves some objections and bewilderments regarding monasticism and very carefully points out its direct benefits for salvation, calling it the “non-fallen” path, on which i.e. It is difficult for a monk to fall. This also probably explains many of his energetic and even harsh objections, directed primarily against solitary living in the desert and especially against the arbitrariness and self-will of monastics; against them the compiler of the superscript even armed himself with irony (v. 27). Showing the extreme difficulties of solitary hermitage, which “requires angelic strength, but crushes the unskilled” (v. 32, 29), he adds: “a solitary person will not be saved from stumbling as if he had another monk with him. Hearing the man sitting in silence, like a hawk in a cage, boiling in himself with grief and rage, and jumping up at someone who saddened him, we therefore came to our senses and did not sit down, piously advising, “Let them not be demons from men” (v. 33). And about the self-governors he writes: “the elders decided: if you see a young man ascending to heaven, eat by the nose, send him to the ground,” (v. 24) and: “the fathers decided that it is good for youth to fall; but vanity and opinion and wickedness, and the like, are a whirlpool and boastful things” (v. 25). “Attachment” discusses subjects discussed in the charter itself, namely the conditions for eating, and also partly about the advantages of monastic life. Here we come across several thoughts about the meaning of fasting and in general about the exhaustion of the flesh, which is nothing more than a means leading to virtue, and not virtue itself (irrespective of the internal prayers of the ascetic). “Not fasting, below other works, the virtue of being imputed (holy fathers), but one thing, which by nature ascribe to Christ... Not without servility and unreason... jealous of fasting and the works of the saints not with good reason and proposal, imputing this, as virtue passes away. The devil sits down, like a dog in a catch, plunges into their belly the seed of a joyful opinion, from which the inner Pharisee, having become pregnant, will be educated "... (vv. 42-43). And in another place: St. Cassian says: like immeasurable fasting, or permission, even if both are from the devil, both immeasurable and unreasonable abstinence brings more harm than before satiety eating” (v. 40). Regarding the imitation of the ancient great ascetics, he says: “If you have not already possessed those divine powers (and even the saints have been granted feat by the Lord), the saints do not desire to inherit the labors of sharp and unusual mortifications, but just examine them and be amazed, and humble yourself” (v. 47, demolished 43). The “fastening” is followed by a prayerful beginning to the Rules, which explains the motivation and purpose of writing the “tradition about the monastery residence” - also belonging to another compiler 68. In addition to the “tradition,” St. Neil wrote several messages. The following have reached us: 1) The message of the great elder Nile to his brother, who asked him about his thoughts. 2) The same Elder Nile’s message to others about benefits. 3) Message... to my brother, asking him to write to him for the benefit of his soul (monk Innocent). In the manuscript Mosk. Spirit. Academy, No. 175, we also find: 4) Message from the Deities. scriptures in a father to a grieving brother. 5) In the same manuscript and in others, the messages are followed by the will of St. Nile. In the Tsarskogo manuscript, No. 274, in addition to the first three messages, it is written 6) by the same Elder Nile about monks circling for money; This is a short note about false monks of the 15th century. In addition to these writings indicated by His Eminence Philaret in “Ozbora Spirit. liter.,” in Rumyants. In the museum there are also the creations of the Nile: about the hedgehog it is appropriate to try for yourself; 8) the story of St. Nile about the victory over evil thoughts; 9) how to overcome vanity; 10) about humility, its beginning: “there is no good, if everyone wants to be a person”... and 11) with the inscription: “Nile of Sora about the remembrance of death” 69. All these messages contain the same thing as in the Charter of St. Nila, that is, the inner ascetic life, its dangers and means of salvation. In addition, messages 3 and 4 contain part of the story of his life. In addition to the writings, St. Nile taught his students and associates with oral instructions (see last 3rd). Charter pp. 147–148. 90. 100 Last 3 s. 183. In the "Collection" Soph. bib. No. 1519 is the “church charter of the Nile Hermitage”, i.e. the charter on which days and in what order to conduct divine services (l. 19–121). The writer says: “Behold, we, like our father, the reverend elder Nile of Sorsky, have skill in the desert, and so we will tell.” The charter consists of the following parts: “the rule on the all-night vigil in the monastery.” This is the general part: on what days of the week and how to perform the all-night vigil; “a holiday about the reign of the rulers”; charter if they happen on Sunday; about the giving of the rulers' holiday. – All-night vigil, according to the charter, is celebrated no more than twice a week: on Sunday and Wednesday. If a holiday occurs during the week, then the vigil on Wednesday is abandoned and transferred to the holiday. If there is no church nearby, then the brethren gather in a common cell and after Vespers have a meal, and then, having rested, begin the all-night vigil, which continues until the morning. After reading, whoever has the need asks for an explanation of what was read; others confess (publicly) their sins and receive instruction. – “Betrayal by the charter, like that of a foreign monk”; the charter on how to conduct worship on all permanent holidays is arranged in order of months (from September). Under May 7th there is a note: “after Vespers, a panafide was sung for the head elder Nile of the Sorsk Hermitage. Matins and mass in due time. After the Little Pentecost at the tomb (l. 51–52) ... Who dares to destroy and does not remember Elder Nile with laziness and negligence ".... (not agreed). - Sunday services, in order of the weeks of the year, starting with the week of the tax collector and the Pharisee; this also includes the services of Lenten, Holy Week, Easter and the days of Pentecost, ending with the week of all On the week of cheese, it is said, among other things: “we honor the tradition of Elder Nile and read ... (we say) “It is worthy” and forgiveness (l. 64) and some more general rules about the days on which common holidays occur. In the same Collection (l. 184) there are the troparion, kontakion and ikos of St. Nile. The troparion and kontakion are the same as those placed in a separate printed service (Moscow 1860), but the ikos is different. This is followed by a preliminary introduction to the charter, written separately (fol. 189); after the introduction: “the testament of our father Nile regarding the death and burial” (fol. 205); then a note about the day of his death and “the testament of the monk Innocent, a disciple of Elder Nile” about monastic life, about the church, about cells and about self-initiators. For more details, see Shevyrev in “History of Russian Literature.” M. 1860, part 4, p. 109. Right Social security 1860. October, pp. 190–221. Karamz. East. State Ross. ed. Einerd. vol. 8, p. 104. "Russian Sermon on the 15th and 16th tables." Priest I. Nikolaevsky. St. Petersburg 1868 p. 172, etc. Demolished. Charter of Nile Ave. p. 147. 148. 185. 199.98. His same Ambassador. 3 pp. 178–179; 181–182 and so on. Last John 4 in Kirilov Monastery. in East Ross. Hierarchies part 4, pp. 420–479 and Act. East. vol. 1 No. 204. Here we will once note that, referring to the charter of St. Nile, we count the pages according to its synodal edition, which has the following title: “Pr. our father Nil of Sorsky, a disciple’s legend about his residence in the monastery.” St. Petersburg 1852. The pages in the messages of St. Nile are counted according to the edition of Elagin, in which they are all placed in the Slavic language. This publication is entitled: “Prov. Nil Sorsky is the founder of the monastery life in Russia.” St. Petersburg 1864 Act. East. 1, No. 253 pp. 479–480. Ibid. 1, No. 26. Additional. to A.I. 1, No. 180. Demolished East. rus. Church of the Right Reverend Macarius vol. 4, p. 225. East. Russia Soloviev vol. 5, p. 277 – Pr. Joseph Volokolamsky, Op. Bulgakov. St. Petersburg 1865 p. 211. Shevyreva East. R. Slovesn. Part 4. 177. Last p. 162; demolished the charter p. 99. 156–157. 185. Charter page 168 Seq. 4 pp. 191 and 192. Charter p. 99. 100. Last. 3 p. 183. This principle, the principle of living force hidden in a person’s own energy, in a steady pursuit of a certain goal, with confidence in achieving it, is what Nile carries out with particular persistence in many places in his creations: “don’t be cowardly, force yourself,” he repeats repeatedly. This was undoubtedly caused by other false teachings of the then heretics about the invalidity of grace in redeemed humanity, and partly also by the licentiousness of monastic morals and the weakening of strict asceticism. "Out of laziness and love of peace we say that this is exactly like the ancient saints (i.e., feats of mental deeds), but we do not need this essence, nor is it possible (indication of false monks). But there is no such thing! - They don’t want to hear anything, even if there is grace in the present time (indication of the heretics who lived in Judaism). The true ones - a worker, he concludes, both of the ancients, and now and forever, the words of the Lord are pure..., and His commandments are bright..., and they delight more than honey and honey, and they keep me, and they will always keep me, they will receive many rewards.” "Research. about the main thing directions in science Rus. Stories", art. Ikonnikova to Kyiv. Univers. Izv. 1869. No. 2 pp. 25–26. East. R. Church. Reverend Macarius vol. 4 p. 226. Rights. Social security 1860 pp. 196–221. Rus. Prop. at 15 and 16 table. p.170. Add. to Creation St. from. part 10. page 505. Tale of Paisiya Yaroslav. in Rights Social security 1861 part 1, page 202 et seq. East. Ross. Hierar. Ambrose, part 4, page 338 Tale of Paisius Yarosl. page 210 The lively and close relationship between Paisius and Nil remained throughout their lives; in the monuments of that time their names are constantly found nearby. From him, probably, Neil initially inherited that closeness to the Grand Duke, which modern writers also testify to. See “relations between the monks Kirillo-Belozer”. and Joseph-Volokol. monasteries" in Prib. to Creation.St. from. Part 10 pp. 502–528; also Soph. temporary Part 2, page 237. Mosheim. Histoire ecclesiastique T. 3 p. 330–331. Edit 1776. Later historians who mentioned this dispute carried this analogy even further, seeing signs of such asceticism in the views of Neoplatonic philosophy, in heretical gnosis, and even among Eastern pagan hermits (see Mosheim. T 3. note 241). But despite the outward similarity in the teachings of virtue and morality, there is a fundamental internal difference in the basic principles of pagan philosophy and heresies, in the Christian sense. Thus, according to St. Nile, as well as in the evidence he cites from the patristic writings, nature and the body are by no means an evil principle in themselves, as in Eastern religions and among the Gnostics; therefore, he does not at all require the “mortification” of the flesh in order to give triumph over it to the spirit. – You can read more about the hesychast disputes from the Byzantine historians Nikephoros Gregoras and John Kantakouzenos in ''Corpus scriptorum historiae Byzantinaé'', Bonn ed. Niebuhr 1828–1855 Mosheim. r. 332 T. 3. demolished by Innocent. “The outline of the church. ist. M. 1842, part 2, pp. 304–305. Trip to Kir-Beloz. mon. Shevyreva M. 1850 h 2 pages. 91–92. Let's go. in Kir-Beloz. monastery 2. 32. All these instructions on the external passage of the monastic rank are set out in the preliminary introduction to the charter. Church charter of the Nile Hermitage hand-drawn. collection Novg. Soph. Bible No. 1519. Here is also the troparion, kontakion and ikos of Nilu Ave.: the troparion and kontakion are the same as those placed in a separate printed service (M. 1860), but the ikos is different. Page 71 Demolished. Last 2, 175 and 176; 3, 180 and 181. Epistle 2, 174; 3, 179 and 183. A very characteristic story, which can serve as an indication of how these instructions of Nile were understood by his closest disciples, is found in the preface to the work of Innocent and borrowed from Cassian the Roman. “The elders gathered at Elder Anthony the Great’s in the Thebaid countries and talked all night about what the first virtue is. Some said: fasting and vigil, others - monasticism, others - alms. Most of the night passed. Anthony did not agree with the elders and finally said: “whoever sins against the right path does not have the gift of reasoning.” Reasoning is the eye and counselor of the soul, according to the Gospel word... Without reasoning, an inner house cannot be created, nor spiritual wealth can be collected. “Reasoning is the parent and guardian of all virtues,” so to teach, having chosen the path, to remain on it. – The elders agreed with the opinion of Anthony the Great. Shevyreva East. Rus. Words Part 4, 183. Demolished. Est. Nila page 191 and Fastening pages 46 and 48. Word 2. Christ. Read No. 1–2 1877 The discussion of incentives forms the subject of the “Preface” to the statute. Gregory of Sinai speaks about those who are in prosperity and have reached enlightenment: these do not require the verbiage of psalms, but “silence and endless prayer and vision” (p. 91). Philokalia parts 2, 34 and 35. Word 8. This word breathes with a special depth of feeling and the strength and vividness of the image of mental states. It is clear that the monk himself felt and experienced much of what is described here. The last words show that St. Nil limited the degrees of spiritual state indicated above according to the fatherly legends for his disciples to the second of them - the state of perfect prayer, which does not reach ecstasy, that is, to direct contemplation of the Divine and an incomprehensible union with it. About the means for acquiring tears, Nile borrows mainly from the works of Simeon the New Theologian, about whom he says: “whoever wants to get used to (doing this) in his very book, let him delve into it and do it like that.” In accordance with these thoughts, according to the order of service commanded to the brethren by Nil Sorsky, all-night vigils on the eve of major holidays are performed with singing, and on the eve of simple days with just reading. Shevyr. East. Rus. Words part 4, page 187. Joseph's Rule. Collection Soph. Novgor. Bible No. 1460: Khrushchev. pp. 75–80: Bulgak. pp. 197–208. Bulgakov. Ave. Joseph Volokolam. St. Petersburg. 1865, pp. 202–203. Letter from an unknown person about dislikes between the elders of the Kirillov and Joseph monasteries. Arr. to TV St. Ot. 10, pp. 506–508 Rel. Kirill. and Joseph. monastery Arrive at Creation. St. Ot. 10, 512. In the Charter and messages of St. Nile, there are also allusions to the Judaizers (pp. 55, 99, 100; Epistle 3, p. 183), with denunciation and refutation of their teaching, especially about the invalidity of grace and the optionality of St. legends. The same thing can be seen in the confession of faith preceding the Rule, where Neil, as if in rebuff to heretics, with particular clarity sets out his faith in the dogma of redemption, in the veneration of the Mother of God and the saints, in the teaching and tradition of the church, etc., and adds: “I and those who are with me curse the false teachers of heretical teaching and tradition; and let the heretics be strangers to us.” Page 53–54. Soph. Time 2, 237; Novg. 4 years old. T.4, 158. East. Rus. Ts. Makar. vol. 6, 99, 135. East. Rus. Ts. Makar. 6, 118–133. Arr. to Creation St. Ot. 10, 504–505. Est. Nila, pp. 98, 147, 185, 199; Epistle 2, 174. Read Moscow East. General 1848, dept. 4, pp. 45–54. East. Rus. Words Shevyr. Part 4, 182. In Novg. Soph. In the library, the charter of the Nile is found in the “Collections”: a) No. 1444 (without preliminary introduction; at the end there are three messages of St. Nile of Sorsky, l. 167–250); b) No. 1460 (similar to the first one, l. 341–445); c) No. 1489 (also, l. 294–385) and d) a separate book - No. 1156 (begins with a preface, towards the end there is a note about the day of Nile’s death, l. 88); e) No. 1157 (has no preliminary entry, will or codicil); f) No. 1158 (complete charter with a preliminary introduction and conclusion; towards the end it has three messages, and on the last pages: “about the repose of our venerable father Nile” and “Testament of the monk Innocent, disciple of Nile the wonderworker”; g) No. 1159 (in everything similar to the previous one). In addition, in the same library and then in Belozerskaya there are many more copies of Nilov’s charter. This introduction undoubtedly belongs to Nile, as can be seen from the will of the monk Innocent, in which, referring to the writings of his elder, he lists all the subjects included in the introduction to the charter: “about how to stay in our desert, and about prayer and singing, and how to eat, and when it is appropriate to go out for the sake of needs for the sake of a blessed time, and about handicrafts, and about other things, this is all covered in the writings of my lord and teacher, Elder Nil... And the words about the creation and decoration of the church are written in the preface of Elder Nil. (Collection No. 1519; demolished. East. Russian. Hierarch. part 4, p. 302). But the fact that it is not found in most of the lists of the “Tradition” and that Nile himself, in abbreviating the content of his creations (pp. 111–112), does not indicate the content of the introduction, suggests that it was not written simultaneously with the charter, but either earlier or later. We are inclined to think that the “introduction” was originally written for Innocent and his monastery, perhaps at his request, especially since in some copies it is immediately followed by the Testament of Innocent. Shevyr. East. Rus. Words 4, 196. G. Shevyrev also attributes “fastening” to Innocent, Ibid. c. 183. About editions of the Charter of St. Nil Sorsky review. in the book "Ave. Neil Sor." St. Petersburg. 1864 40–41, 43–44, 45, and 46. Omitted here - Mosk. ed. 1820 Ed. Elagina, pp. 21–23. The messages have a close connection with the charter. The first message “about thoughts” is a short and condensed outline of the teaching on this subject, revealed in detail by Neil in the Charter (pp. 164–165). The 2nd Epistle “about benefit” presents an almost literal similarity to the Charter in its discussion of the thoughts of prodigal and blasphemous thoughts (pp. 120–127, 138–139, removed last 8, pp. 200–202, with the Charter pp. 141–142). And his word “about victory over evil thoughts” is an abbreviation of the word “about struggle and victory over 8 passionate thoughts” (Constitution, pp. 113–120). In terms of their presentation, the last messages, 7–11, differ very significantly from the 1st four. The presentation in them is concise and dry, while in the first it is lively and convincing, especially from the many living examples of St. saints and from the arguments of one’s own reason (for example, last 4, pp. 186–189, etc.). 8th last similar to a pastoral exhortation or sermon, which is delivered before a congregation of listeners. 9th, beginning with the words: “Nile Rev. speech,” apparently was an oral instruction written down afterward by those who heard it. The 10th is a short note or reflection that is entered in the diary. In general, one must think that these creations appeared later than the first.