Rules for your spiritual children, monks

For anyone who wants to wear the yoke of monasticism, I prescribe the following rules, which the Lord will speak through my mouth. Every monk must fulfill these, and if anyone destroys one of these commandments... he will be named in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19). 1. First of all, pray unceasingly and always thank God for everything that happens to you. 2. Every day in the morning, getting up from sleep, find out about the condition of the sick who are in the same monastery with you. 3. Fast every day until the ninth hour, excluding Saturday and Sunday. When the ninth hour comes, do not go to any brother’s cell. Before eating, pray; After eating, pray and read continuously. 4. Observe certain hours of prayer and do not let a single hour pass without prayer; otherwise you will give an account for this. 5. Do not force a sick person to take food against his will, and do not take it away from him, so as not to disturb his soul with sadness. 6. If a brother comes to you, then receive him with joy, so that later he will thank both God and you for this. 7. Do not have any friendship with worldly people and do not be vain, like the Pharisee, who did everything out of vanity. 8. Do not receive a woman and do not allow her to enter your home, because wrath follows her. 9 . Do not visit your relatives, do not allow them to come to you, and do not go to them yourself. 10. Don't have anything you don't need, but don't give anyone more than you can give. Give alms to the poor people who are in the same monastery with you. 11. Before you go to church at night, pray in your cell. 12. Do not accept treats from that person who makes a great expense for you. 13. If any temptation occurs in the reasoning of a stranger who has not yet accepted monastic clothing, then do not dress him in it, but let him go from the monastery. 14. If for some need you have to go to the city, then do not go alone. 15. Do not sow the land from which you are going to pay, and do not enter into community with rich people. 16. Don't go to the place where wine is squeezed out of grapes. 17. Never eat meat. 18. On Wednesdays and Fridays, never break your fast, unless due to a serious illness. 19. Do not complain about the labors of your hands. 20. Do not reproach anyone for his mistakes. 21. If you need to visit a brother, then stay in his cell for a short time. 22. Never talk in church. Beware of this. 23. In meetings that take place in the monastery to discuss something, do not sit down. 24. Never swear even to the truth, much less to anything dubious. 25. Don’t go to a church where a lot of people gather. 26. Do not bury the dead in a church. 27. Do not go to feasts and dinners for which you are expected to give money. 28. Learn every day to live the way the monks who are older than you live. 29. Do not start any business without asking permission from the head of the monastery. 30. If you go to fetch water or are on a journey, then read and meditate constantly. 31. When giving alms, avoid vanity. 32. If you happen to be in a place where a meal is offered in the form of alms, then eat and thank God. 33. Day and night, lament your sins. 34. Neither day nor night do you take off your hood, your cassock, and in general all your clothing. 35. Light your lamp with the oil of your eyes, that is, with the oil of tears. 36. If you have done deeds of piety, do not boast about them. 37. Do not reject anyone who desires to gain knowledge of Jesus Christ. 38. Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, but only to those who can save your soul. 39. Having gone to the harvest, do not hesitate there, but hurry to return to the monastery. 40. Don't dress in clothes that make you proud. 41. Do not speak very loudly, but raise your voice only at certain times of prayer. 42. Before you go to church, pray in your cell. 43. Mortify your soul daily. 44. Do not reproach anyone for his weaknesses. 45. Don't boast about anything and never laugh. 46. Always grieve over your sins as if you always had a dead man in your house. 47. Try as much as you can so that your Father who is in heaven may be glorified (Matthew 5:16). 48. Correct your children and do not forgive them their weaknesses, because you will be guilty of condemning them. 50. Sleep little and in moderation and you will receive an angelic visit. 51. Pray, constantly remember God and imagine that the clothes you wear should be wings for you to fly over the sea of ​​fire. 52. Visit the sick and weak and fill their vessels with water. 54. Try to live in such a way that everyone bless you. 55. Force yourself to work with your hands, then the fear of God will take root in you. 56. If you see that your brother has sinned, but not to death (1 John 5:16), then do not despise or condemn him, otherwise you too will fall into the hands of your enemies. 57. Beware that your mind is not tempted by the recollection of your previous sins and that they do not renew themselves in you. 58. Love humility, and it will protect you from sins. 59. Don’t be stubborn and don’t try to ensure that only your words always have power, otherwise evil will enter you. 60. Do not consider yourself wise, otherwise your soul will become proud, and you will fall into the hands of your enemies. 61. Train your tongue to often say: “Lord, have mercy on me.” Then you will have humility. 62. While in your cell, try to fulfill the following three duties: work with your hands, read psalms and pray. 63. Imagine and say: today I am spending my last day in this world. After this you will not sin before God. 64. Do not be intemperate in food, so that your former sins do not renew in you. 65. Never weaken in your labors, and God will soon give you rest. 66. Just as the ruins of a house located outside the city serve as a place for all uncleanness, so the soul of a monk who does not care about his salvation is a receptacle for passions and impurity. 67. Try to always have your prayers watered with tears: God will have mercy on you and free you from your outer man. 68. Constantly remain in work and poverty, love the wandering state, misfortune and silence - and you will become humble, and humility will atone for all your sins. A person is humble when he considers himself a sinner, when he thinks that he is not doing any good before God, when he loves silence, considers himself to be nothing, does not try to ensure that only his words are respected by others, does not follow his own will, walks with his face drooping to the ground, constantly has death before his eyes, avoids lies, does not utter empty words, is silent in the presence of a person who is higher than him, willingly endures insults and forces himself to be patient in all sorts of things. labors and sorrows. Try, brothers, to do this, so that your life will not be fruitless for you. 69. Be ready to say, “Forgive me,” with every word you hear from others. Humility destroys all the deceits of the enemy. 70. Do not be proud of your deeds, no matter how great they may be. 71. Your face should always be sad, except when the brethren from another monastery come to you. Then you should look cheerful, but in such a way that the fear of God always remains in you. 72. When you are on a journey with the brethren, sometimes move away from them to remain silent for a while. 73. When you go somewhere, do not turn your face first to the right or to the left, but read the psalms and meditate on them; and no matter where you are, pray to God mentally and do not treat the inhabitants of that place proudly and impudently. 74. Be modest in all your actions. 75. Do not quickly extend your hand when someone offers you food. 76. If you are young, then do not stretch out your hand first to food and do not ask others to take food when they do not want it anymore. 77. If you want to go to bed, then first pray to God and then go to bed. May our Lord Jesus Christ help us to fulfill His commandments. The rules were translated from an Arabic manuscript into Latin by the Maronite Abraham of Ehillene and first published by him in Paris in 1646. This translation was made by A.S. Krasnoselsky based on the Latin edition of Galland’s “Library of the Ancient Fathers”. Published by: Christian Reading. 1830. Part 37. pp. 127–136.