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You write to me, dated 10th of this month, asking for certificates about your age. From this you conclude that they want to tonsure you into a mantle. You ask: where to submit your certificate, to the Eminence or to the Abbess? In the latter case, you are afraid that she will not send it. What conclusion can you draw from this? I suppose you are afraid that you will not soon be tonsured into the mantle for which, apparently, you have a desire; but it seems to me that it is not yet reasonable. – Monasticism is an image of repentance and humility, but in you there is a desire more for ambition, which is completely contrary to both God and sound reason. If you receive monasticism through some machinations by the abbess, then the mantle will be heavy for you, and, instead of a light burden, there will be a heavy burden, and no longer a good yoke. You must wait for the will of God, as soon as it announces to the abbess about your tonsure, it will be firmly and permanently; and it is doubtful that they would tonsure you if they had certificates of your age; The prescribed age for women to be tonsured is 40 years old, but you are far from it. You thank me for the book of the life of Elder Paisius, that you use it; use it not only by reading, but also by imitating his life and teaching. What kind of self-denial did he have, and what benefit did he imagine from obedience? - And you shy away from it and want to sit in a cell; and this is very dangerous for young people: Saint Climacus writes about this, and Elder Paisius does not approve of it; and through obedience we gain humility, and we learn our limits and avoid opinions about ourselves. In all this, you must rely on people who have reasoning and know your structure; to perform obedience to the best of your ability, but not to deprive yourself of the common labors of the sisters, although not as much as they can bear; but from this you will have guilt for humility and from other cases that occur in obedience. October 16, 1845. You might be interested in: