What the recluse nuns are silent about. Obedience - the main monastic vow Vow of obedience
What does such monastic obedience lead to? It promotes the achievement of the highest moral perfection; makes it easier to understand the will of God; a monk must act in accordance with it at all times and in all places; anticipates mistakes that could cause him to choose something harmful for himself; in a word, it frees him from the dangers of his own arbitrariness and entrusts him to the control of God. “When I was in Cenobia, St. Abba Dorotheos, I opened up to Elder Abba John in everything and never decided to do anything without advice. It happened that a thought inspired me: “Wouldn’t the elder tell you the same thing? Why should you bother him?” But I answered the thought: “Cursed are you, and your judgment, and your mind, and your wisdom, and your knowledge; because you know, you know from demons. “So I went and asked the elder, and it happened that the elder actually sometimes gave me the same advice that I had imagined before. Then my thought said to me: “That’s what, I told you the same thing: aren’t you bothering the old man in vain!” I answered the thought: “Now this is good, now it comes from the Holy Spirit; and your advice was bad, because it came from demons and from a passionate state.” Thus, without asking for advice, I never allowed my thoughts to be obeyed. And believe me, brothers, that I was in great peace, in great sadness, so that I began to worry about this, for I heard that Through many sorrows we must enter into the Kingdom of God; (), but I didn’t notice any sorrow in myself. Therefore, I was afraid and perplexed, not knowing the reason for this calmness, until the elder finally explained it to me, saying: “Do not grieve, for everyone who gives himself to his fathers in obedience enjoys this calmness and carelessness. This is how obedience to superiors and elders frees truly obedient monks from the dangers of their own arbitrariness.
e) The importance and inviolability of the vow of obedience.
On the ladder of monastic vows, the vow of obedience is the highest and therefore the most difficult step. One great elder, being in an angelic vision, saw four degrees in heaven, signifying the perfection of ascetics. In the first degree stood, depressed by illnesses, but blessing the name of the Lord; on the other, a selfless stranger, and always helpful; on the third there is a silent desert dweller; finally, the fourth and highest degree was occupied by obedient to his mentor, and for God’s sake devoted to him with all his heart. This man, for his obedience, wears a shield and a scarlet robe as a sign that he was obedient even to death, and shone with glory above all others. Why is this one, apparently lesser in deeds, exalted more than others, thought the old man awarded the heavenly vision! “For this reason, a mysterious voice suddenly answered him that the stranger was practicing the virtue so dear to his heart, of his own free will; Likewise, the hermit, removed from the light according to his own good judgment, lives freely; As for those depressed by illnesses, he would gladly exchange them for health. But this one, having committed himself to the most difficult task of obedience, abandoning all his desires, depends on God and his mentor; That’s why he received great glory over others.” “So, children,” continues the same old man, “obedience is a good deed for the Lord. Obedience, you are the salvation of all the faithful, you are the mother of all virtues, you open the heavens and raise people from earth to heaven, you feed all the Saints, they are perfected through you, you dwell with the Angels!” “Blessed is he who has learned true and unfeigned obedience; for such a person is a true follower of our good Teacher, Who was obedient even to death (). Blessed indeed is he who has learned obedience: for being an imitator of Jesus Christ, he is also made a joint heir with Him.” Through this virtue (obedience) a monk can improve in a way that he cannot through any other. “Like a traveler,” says St. Abba Dorotheus, having found the rod and leaning on it, with its help quickly completes the journey, and so it happens with those walking along the path of cutting off their will. For whoever cuts off his own will, through this acquires impartiality, and from impartiality passes with the help of God into complete dispassion. You can cut off ten desires in a short time, while others complete the entire journey in a short time. He sees something, and the thought tells him: pay attention to this, and he answers the thought: “I don’t pay any attention, and cuts off his desire and does not pay attention.” He finds those engaged in idle talk, and his thought says to him: “Say such and such a word,” but he cuts off his desire and does not speak. Thus, cutting off everything, he acquires the habit of cutting off, and after the small, he begins to cut off the great without difficulty; and thus finally begins to have no will at all, and no matter what happens to him, he is calm, as if everything went according to his desire. And even though he does not want to fulfill his will, it is always fulfilled for him: because he who has nothing of his own, for him everything that happens is his own. And thus he becomes, as I said, impartial, and from impartiality he comes to dispassion. Do you see what success the cutting off of one’s own will brings little by little?” “The smelter, throwing gold into the furnace, makes it purest; so the monk, having devoted himself to the feats of obedience, having gone through the fire of all the sorrows of life according to God, and in this sorrow and much patience, having learned obedience, having refined morals, learns humility and becomes bright and worthy of heavenly treasures, endless life and a blessed fate, from which sorrow is removed and sighing, but joy and continuous joy are established.” The feat of obedience was great, so that some Holy Fathers equated it with martyrdom. “Whoever cuts off his own will and does the will of the abbot, says St. Theodore the Studite, this is imputed to him before God, that he seemed to have shed his blood for Christ.” “Without shedding blood,” says another teacher of the Church, one cannot abandon one’s own will, that is, cutting off one’s will requires work even to the point of death.” In one Egyptian Monastery there was a very angry and stern elder. Having learned about this, one young brother made a vow before God to obey the angry old man and endure any insult from him for his sins. The patient brother lived with the old man for six years and suffered new annoyances every day. Then she dreams of her husband carrying a larger scroll. Behold, the one who appeared to the novice says, look: the Master has crossed out half of your debt; strive for the other half too! The brother revealed this vision to one elder and continued his obedience with the same patience. If the day passed as usual in enduring insults from a stern old man; then the novice answered the question of that good old man who knew the secret of his life: how was your day? Did we manage to cross out anything from the scroll? He answered: Yes, father, we haven’t worked much today. But when the day passed peacefully, without annoyances or beatings, the novice cried and said: today was an evil day; We didn't buy anything! So another six years passed, and the patient brother died. After this, the good old man saw the deceased among the martyrs, and heard that he was there praying to God for the obstinate old man. Lord, this is what the new martyr said: just as You had mercy on me for the sake of the old man, so have mercy on him, according to Your Goodness, for the sake of me, Your servant! Forty days after the death of the novice, his elder also died and was taken to a place of eternal rest. In addition, how important the feat of obedience is, this is evident from the fact that He shows special favor to those who are distinguished by this virtue; it is sometimes that He rewards its ascetics with the gift of miracles. Thus, one elder once ordered John (Kolov) to stick a dry tree and water it every day until it bears fruit. The novice, despite the remoteness of the water, fulfilled the commandment for three years. So what? the power of obedience revived the dead tree; it flourished and bore fruit. Then the elder called the brethren and showed them the fruit of the dry tree, saying: take and taste, this is the fruit of obedience! Another time the elder said to the same novice: in such and such a place I saw the droppings of a hyena; go and bring him to me. “Well, father,” asked John, “if the hyena itself comes upon me?” “If he finds it, then tie the beast and bring it here.” John, going in the evening, actually saw the hyena itself, and, without thinking anything, immediately chased the beast, and said: wait, my father told me to tie you up. The hyena was caught, tied up and brought to the old man; but the elder, wanting to humble the obedient monk, and fearing that he would become proud of his very obedience, took a stick and beat John, saying: what a fool you are, bringing a dog here! untied the hyena and let him go. So great is the power of the virtue of obedience!
So, spiritual ascetic, you promised to remain obedient until death, then do not abandon it. “If anyone,” says St. Basil the Great, once he joined the body of the brotherhood and wants to be recognized as a vessel of good use, he must show his mentor humility and obedience until his death, remembering that the Lord was obedient even to death, death on the cross” (). “No one is more unfortunate,” another teacher of the Church says, “no one is closer to destruction who does not have a guide for himself on the path of God. For what do these words mean: they have no control, they fall like leaves? () A leaf is always green, blooming, pleasant at first, then little by little it fades and finally they despise it and trample on it: so a person, not controlled by anyone, at first always has an inclination towards fasting, vigilance, silence, obedience and any other good, but then this disposition, without a mentor who excites and ignites it in him, little by little decreases in him, cools down and insensibly disappears, and he finally becomes subject to the enemies, who do what they want over him. And the enemy especially rejoices over those who have no control over them. Imagine that brother, says the same teacher of the Church, whom the evil one loved, and about whom he says to Abba Macarius: “I have one brother who, when he looks at me, spins like a whirlwind.” He loves such people, he always rejoices over such people, whom no one controls, who do not reveal their condition to the one who, according to God, can give them a helping hand. For this demon did not approach all the brothers, when the saint, seeing him carrying all kinds of food in pots, did not offer them to everyone; because everyone, seeing his chains, fled and revealed his thoughts, and found help during temptation, so that the evil one could no longer do anything with them, but he found only this one unfortunate man, having control over himself, having no help from anyone ; and therefore he treated him like a toy, and, leaving, thanked him, and cursed others. When in this way he told Abba Macarius the very matter and announced the name of his brother: the saint hurried to this brother, found that this was the very reason for his death, found that he did not want to confess, found that he was not in the habit of revealing his condition, and therefore the enemy circled him as he wanted. When the saint asked: “What is your condition, brother?” He answered: “Through your prayers, good.” When the saint asked him: “Are your thoughts fighting against you?” He answered: “I find myself well.” And until then he did not want to confess anything, until the art of the saint was brought to the point that he told his condition. Having strengthened him with conversation and the word of God, St. Macarius returned; the enemy, as usual, again came to this brother, with the intention of overthrowing him, but was put to shame: for he found him strengthened, he found him no longer such that he could be mocked. So he withdrew from him without doing anything, withdrew in shame. Therefore, when the saint again asked him: “In what condition is this brother, your friend?”, he no longer called him a friend, but an enemy and cursed him, saying, “that he too has become corrupted, that he does not obey me, but became the fiercest of all." This is why the enemy hates affirmative voices! Because he always seeks our destruction. That's why he loves those who have control over themselves! because they cooperate with the devil by making feats for themselves. I know of no other reason for the fall of a monk other than trust in his own heart. Some say: “A man falls from one thing or another”; but I don’t know, he said, any other reason for the fall other than this. Did you see anyone fall? Know that he had control over himself. There is nothing more dangerous than to control yourself; there is nothing more disastrous than this!” “What the devil did to Eve,” says St. Anthony V.; This also applies to those who follow their inclinations, are content with their own opinion and judgment in everything, and do not want to follow the instructions of their fathers, who are more perfect than them and know how to distinguish between good and evil. Those people, my children, who fulfill the desires of their hearts and think that they have achieved perfection because of the blessing of their fathers, are like birds that make their nests on high, but fly to the ground and here are caught in a net by bird catchers. The devil is trying to create in these people the confidence that they are great and glorious in spirit, superior to many other people; therefore they do not want to obey their fathers, so that it can be said of them that they are like bitter, unripe grapes. They are really like him, because the instructions of their fathers are unpleasant for them, and they think of themselves that they know everything. So, my children, understand that you will not succeed, grow and improve in virtue if you do not obey your fathers, who have already achieved perfection. And our fathers themselves obeyed their fathers and followed their instructions, and therefore they grew and became perfect in piety, and became teachers of others.” “Unhappy and worthy of contempt is he who has not accustomed himself to obedience, but always grumbles!” “Whoever in the hermit brotherhood, says the famous Shepherd of our Church, is more willing to act according to his own will, or even to command, than to obey: he has not yet moved away from the pride and ambition of the world. He must carefully look around so as not to get close to the host of Korah, whose end showed that the pure desert land does not want to carry power-hungry and rebellious people.”
Let us conclude our discussion with this brief instruction from one teacher of our Church. “Twice you promised,” he says, “to work for Christ in faith and truth, at Baptism and tonsure. Hear this, beloved, and always remember your vows, and act and live according to them, so that you are not condemned as a liar at this court.”
Abbess Anastasia (Mordmilovich)
Report by Abbess Anastasia (Mordmilovich), abbess of the Kazan convent of the Kaluga diocese at the round table “The virtue of obedience in modern monasteries: practical aspects” (Voskresensky Novodevichy convent St. Petersburg, July 2-3, 2018)
On the shrine of St. Nektarios of Optina the words are imprinted on a scroll: “Man’s life is obedience to God on earth.”
From this thought it is clear that obedience has a universal, essential character for a person, that is, it is the law of a person’s life, which must embody God’s plan for him. Man is born to obey God.
Elder Ephraim of Katunak reasons: “Explore more deeply where obedience comes from. From the Trinitarian Deity. Christ says: “I came down... not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me...” (John 6:38). This is where obedience begins. Therefore, whoever practices obedience becomes an imitator of Christ!”
This is the goal of monastic life - imitation of the Lord - God-likeness. The fulfillment of all monastic vows should contribute to this. But the path of obedience leads most quickly to this goal. “It was a miracle, truly incomprehensible and ineffable, that our humane-loving Lord created, that by one virtue, or, better yet, by one commandment one can immediately ascend to heaven, just as by one disobedience we descended and are descending into hell” (Rev. Gregory of Sinaite).
If we delve into the Holy Scriptures, we will see that the virtue of obedience lies at the basis of everything: “Obedience is an expression of the essence of the Holy Trinity itself, where we see that all the Persons of the Holy Trinity show the desire to fulfill the will of another, not their own, but the will of another,” - says Elder Sophrony (Sakharov).
The Heavenly Hierarchy is subject to the law of obedience: all Heavenly Powers, archangels and angels, live in joyful obedience to God.
How to acquire the virtue of obedience? The Lord says in the Gospel: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word (John 14:23). In order to keep the word of God, that is, to fulfill the commandments, one must enter into obedience to God. But how? If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me, says the Lord (Matthew 16:24). Renunciation is the rule, the canon, the meaning of monastic life. To deny oneself does not first of all mean to deny one’s will, as the main obstacle to following the Lord?
He who loves God cannot help but hate his own will, which separates him from his beloved Lord. It is all the more important to fulfill the will of God for those who decide to “deny themselves” and follow the Lord, who was obedient to the Father even to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8).
Adam fell through disobedience; through obedience to His Heavenly Father, Christ opens the way for us to restore our fallen nature. By obedience a person is healed, that is, his mind, feelings and will become whole.
Therefore, it is so important that the desire to know and fulfill the will of God is kindled in us, monks. When this understanding comes, cutting off your will becomes meaningful and joyful. Then the monk is afraid to create his will. “A true novice hates his own will and loves his spiritual father, and for this he receives the freedom to pray to God with a pure mind, and his soul freely, without thoughts, contemplates God and is at peace in Him. He soon comes into the love of God for the sake of his humility and for the prayers of his spiritual father,” writes Reverend Silouan Athos.
The Holy Fathers place the virtue of obedience so highly that they call it life, and disobedience - death. “Obedience to God’s command usually bestows life and immortality, but disobedience gives death and corruption,” writes St. Neil of Sinai.
How difficult it is for us, modern monks, to enter into the sacrament of obedience; we want to find all sorts of loopholes in order to justify our self-will. But when the understanding comes that it is self-will that separates us from the loving Lord, that this is the same “brass wall” that the holy fathers (Abba Pimen) write about, then the desire to move this wall flares up, to hate our own will, and the path of obedience becomes simple and joyful.
Then crafty questions do not arise: can we know the will of God? What if the abbot, the mentor, is not spiritual enough? But will the Lord act through him? These questions were answered long ago by the holy fathers, who had experienced the path of obedience and tasted its fruits.
Many examples of the holy fathers suggest that if there is a sincere desire to fulfill the will of God and faith that the mentor is guided by the Lord, God, who loves novices, will never allow a mistake to happen.
This is what Abba Dorotheos writes: “True, if someone wants to truly, with all his heart, fulfill the will of God, then God will never leave him, but will instruct him in every possible way according to His will. Truly, if someone directs his heart according to the will of God, then God will enlighten the little child to tell him His will. If someone does not want to sincerely do the will of God, then even though he will go to the prophet, and God will put it on the prophet’s heart to answer him in accordance with his corrupted heart, as the Scripture says: “And if a prophet is deceived and speaks a word, the Lord has deceived that prophet.” ” (Ezek. 14:9). Therefore, we must direct ourselves with all our might to the will of God and not believe our hearts.”
If circumstances, people, and everything that happens on our way is sent by the Lord, if without the will of God a hair does not fall from our heads, then all the more there can be no accident or error when we long to know the will of God and fulfill it. The Lord will certainly answer our desire through a mentor or through circumstances. This experience was beautifully described by Elder Sophrony in his book about Elder Silouan: “He gave absolutely exclusive attention to internal spiritual obedience to the abbot and confessor, considering it a Sacrament of the Church and a gift of grace. Turning to his confessor, he prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him and reveal to him His will and the path to salvation; and, knowing that the first thought that is born in the soul after prayer is an order from above, he caught the first word of the confessor, his first hint and did not continue his conversations. This is the wisdom and mystery of true obedience, the purpose of which is knowledge and fulfillment of the will of God, and not of man.”
A wonderful example is that of Bishop Vasily (Rodzianko), who so wanted to fulfill the monastic vow of obedience that he obeyed every request made to him, seeing in this the Providence of God. Saint Theophan writes: “True obedience is obeyed without seeing any reason and despite one’s reluctance. Such obedience is promised a special grace - the grace of preservation from all harm in the performance of obedience. When obedience is for the sake of the Lord, then the Lord takes into His care the one who obeys and watches over him.”
It seems that all doubts about the “spirituality of mentors” and in matters of obedience stem simply from a reluctance to fulfill the will of God, or, simply, to be in submission, that is, from a lack of faith that the Lord controls everything in our lives, and human will is allowed act towards us in accordance with the will of God, exactly as much as it is useful for our salvation. Of course, also from a lack of humility. Only our cunning, the insincerity of our desires, “deceives that prophet,” that is, it forces God not to directly reveal His will to us.
This is what he writes Reverend Simeon New Theologian: “To surrender everything into the will of your spiritual father, as into the hand of God, is a matter of perfect faith.”
If a monk has trust in God in everything that happens to him, then how can he doubt that the Lord is guiding him through his mentor.
“He who has truly acquired faith in his father according to God, seeing him, imagines seeing Christ Himself, and being with him, or following him, believes undoubtedly to be with Christ and to follow Him... for what is better, or what is more useful, in the present and in the future life , in order to be with Christ? (Reverend Simeon the New Theologian).
But the modern confessor of many monasteries, the disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, confesses the same experience: “When someone comes to become a novice, it is quite obvious that he does not come for the sake of the abbot or the monastery. It is clear that he comes for the love of Christ and the salvation of his soul. But since he will not see Christ in order to create obedience to Him, Christ leaves His representative - the abbot in the monastery, so that the obedience that he wants to show Christ can be shown to the abbot.”
“The living icon of Christ is carried within him by the confessor, to whom the novice is commanded to obey for the sake of the love of Christ alone. Not for the sake of the elder’s personality, for he may be a sinful man, he may also be worthy of hell, like me, but obedience has a completely different meaning: it relates directly to Christ. And since the love of Christ called us to come here for exploits and the salvation of our souls, we must in every possible way acquire this most fundamental virtue - obedience, which is multifaceted, for a good novice, of course, has not only obedience, but is surrounded by a wall of many other virtues and exploits." , writes Elder Ephraim in his work “Pearls of Ascetic Wisdom.”
He who obeys his fathers obeys the Lord, and he who obeys the Lord also obeys his fathers (Reverend Anthony the Great).
For a joyful life of obedience, love for the teacher is necessary. “Obedience is not discipline, obedience is love,” says Elder Sophrony (Sakharov). But it arises when a novice, guided by his spiritual mentor, moves in line with the will of God, thanks to which he approaches God, knows the love of God, and his love for his mentor multiplies. John Climacus puts the following words into the mouth of the abbot who was talking with him: “A soul, attached for the sake of Christ with love and faith to the shepherd, does not retreat from him even to the point of bleeding; especially if through him she received healing of her ulcers, remembering who said: neither angels, nor principalities, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38). If the soul is not attached in this way, is not established, is not attached: then I am surprised if such a person does not remain in this place in vain, being united with the shepherd by feigned and false obedience.”
True obedience makes the path to God easy and joyful. “If you carefully follow the books of the Holy Fathers, you will see that many of them achieved holiness as if with ease: their souls were sanctified without performing excessive labor, without extraordinary self-sacrifice, without performing extreme ascetic deeds. And why? They chose obedience,” writes Elder Ephraim of Katunak.
But at the same time, many holy fathers, who have learned from experience the difficulty of cutting off one’s will, compare the fulfillment of the vow of obedience with martyrdom. The Monk Theodore the Studite writes: “... Consider how small and how few labors it has been given to us to acquire the Kingdom of Heaven. We do not shed blood like martyrs; they do not cut off our members, they do not break our bones; but if we add to our light and not many labors the renunciation of our will, with the desire to please God and serve our brothers with love, then through this we become like the long-suffering martyrs, and even the Lord Himself, who endured crucifixion and death for us. Be grateful and work hard! Martyr’s crowns await you!” (word 20).
Rev. Simeon the New Theologian: “A good acquisition for you is cutting off your will: it will show you as a martyr in conscience.”
It is necessary to say something about the canonical requirement of remaining in obedience to the newly tonsured. “No one should be honored with the monastic image without the presence of a person who must accept him into obedience, and have authority over him and take care of his spiritual salvation. Let this be a God-loving man, the head of the monastery, and capable of saving the soul newly brought to Christ" (Two Council of 867)
According to the monastic rules of St. Basil the Great, a monk must show obedience to God, the abbot and each other; monastic vows require obedience not only to the abbot, but also to “all the brethren in Christ,” and this again reveals the universal nature of obedience as a fundamental virtue.
The Monk Theodore the Studite contains a teaching on obedience as the rule of monastic communal life: “A monk is one who, putting aside all disobedience and captivating every thought into the obedience of Christ, lives according to the general law of brotherhood and always has self-reproach.”
Self-will and disobedience also manifest themselves not only in relation to the abbot, but also rise to God: In the 113th rule of the Breviary, under the name of St. Basil the Great, it is indicated: “For the Great Basil says: if a certain monk with any speech opposes his abbot, or an elder, or to his spiritual father, turns out to be an opponent of God. For it is better to sin before God than to sin against one of these.”
It must also be said about the irreversibility of monastic vows. Vows are made to God and no one can cancel them. But it is self-will that is the main reason for their violation. If a monk lives in obedience, then no matter what thoughts the enemy brings to him about breaking his vows, their revelation destroys all his machinations. An obedient monk, keeping the grace of obedience covering him, will not do anything without the blessing of his elder. Only when this connection is broken, and disobedience breaks it, then the enemy can harm the monk as he wants. The elder, the mentor, is like a wall protecting the novice, if the novice comes out “from behind the wall,” that is, out of obedience, “the devil arranges his fall as he wishes” (Abba Dorotheos).
The fulfillment of the monastic vow of obedience places the one who fulfills it to an unattainable spiritual height: “Rarely does anyone know the secret of obedience,” writes the Monk Silouan of Athos. - The obedient is great before God. He is an imitator of Christ, who gave us in Himself the image of obedience. The Lord loves an obedient soul and gives it His peace, and then everything is fine, and it feels love for everyone.”
The Holy Fathers unanimously confess that without obedience it is impossible to obtain salvation. Saint John of Damascus writes: “The Word becomes obedient to the Father... healing our disobedience and becoming for us a model of obedience, without which it is impossible to receive salvation.”
The modern holy elder Paisius the Svyatogorets says the same thing: “No one has been healed himself, and no one will be saved without obedience. Obedience and natural simplicity lead to holiness in a short way.”
Fulfilling the vow of obedience protects the monk from all the machinations of the enemy, protects, supports, consoles and pleases throughout the entire journey along the narrow monastic path.
From everything said by the holy fathers, it is clearly clear that fulfilling the vow of obedience is the shortest path that makes our nature whole and leads to deification, likeness to God. “He who has acquired obedience is an imitator of Christ...” (Reverend Theodore the Studite).
Obedience is the basis of monasticism.
All actions and duties of a student (novice) in relation to the elder (spiritual father) with the cutting off of his will and his thinking are called in one word - obedience.
For their disobedience, Adam and Eve (and with them all humanity) suffered God’s curse and death, and for unquestioning obedience people gain God’s blessing and eternal bliss.
Obedience is a great virtue, it is the basis (foundation) for all other virtues.
Neither the state, nor the monastery, nor any public institution can exist without subordinating the will of the younger to the will of the elder. In state institutions, such subordination is usually based on coercion, on certain laws and rules, while in monasteries it is based on obedience.
Monastic obedience is not discipline, but is a free religious act, when a novice, seeing his spiritual weakness and inability to independently know the will of God, voluntarily gives himself into “slavery” to his spiritual father, in order through him to receive knowledge of the will of God and become free from passions and vices .
The Lord Jesus Christ showed us a majestic image of obedience. He said about Himself: “I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 6:38). And again: “The Father who sent Me, gave Me commandment, what I should say and what I should say” (John 12:49).
For the sake of obedience to God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Ever-Virgin Mary, took upon Himself the sin of disobedience of Adam and Eve and the sins of all mankind, and brought Himself into atoning sacrifice justice of God, and thereby returned to humanity the lost bliss of heaven.
Christ lived with His imaginary father and with His Mother, too, in unquestioning obedience, and “became the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9). Before suffering on the cross, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in prayer, He said: “Not as I will, Father, but as You will; not My will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42), therefore God the Father exalted and exalted Him for obedience and named Him High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:10).
Since then, holy obedience has become the basis of all monastic life.
Obedience is a complete renunciation of one’s “I” (one’s self): from one’s thoughts, one’s desires, one’s actions - complete distrust of oneself, even in everything good, until the end of one’s life. This applies not only to novices, who are called novices, but also to holy monks, and to all monastics without exception.
He who is obedient, like a dead man, does not contradict and does not reason either in good or in supposedly bad ways, because the spiritual father is responsible for everything, therefore he is always calm and cheerful. He only grieves when he sees that he is fulfilling his will, for he knows from experience that self-indulgence destroys the good structure of the soul: tranquility, peace and joy are lost, and conscience is darkened.
An obedient person begins every deed with the blessing of the elder, in order to give the deed a sacred character, because every deed only becomes truly eternal when it is done in the name of God, and then all life takes on a sacred character.
Everything is important in a person's life. There are no “every little things” that we could begin without God’s blessing. However, one should not be embarrassed by the absence of a spiritual father. The Lord sees everything, knows everything... He also fulfills good intentions.
In the absence of the elder, the novice must mentally ask for his blessing for every deed and, by his faith, invisibly (as well as visible) will receive what he asks for. He must firmly believe that the prayers of the spirits are
Any spiritually harmful and destructive deed will be destroyed by itself, and if the Lord allows him to suffer sorrows, illnesses and even a fall, then this is not because the elder is far away, but because he needs to bear this for his spiritual growth, for his humility.
The secret of spiritual life is in the power of faith and love and in patient obedience. To the extent that someone embraces these virtues, to that extent he grows spiritually.
If a novice in simplicity of heart is attached for the sake of Christ with pure love and unflattering faith to his spiritual father, then he will not depart from him even to death. He will not be embarrassed by the distance, the rarity of the interview, or the complete alienation from him outwardly. He deeply and firmly believes in the life-giving power of the elder’s grace-filled prayer and in this he finds a life-giving source from which he draws strength and strength for further exploits.
The elder will lead such novices to perfection and offer them to Christ as immaculate sacrifices, for “neither Angels, nor Principalities, nor any other creature can separate (them) from the love of God” (Rom. 8:38-39), and no satanic force will harm them for the prayers of the elder.
If a novice is united with his spiritual father by feigned and false obedience, if he does not have such a strong and life-giving faith in his prayers, then he is wasting his time, because all deceit is a sin. “Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).
Sign true faith is to obey without a doubt the commands of the father, even when they are contrary to our desires and expectations, and even if they seem contrary to our salvation. If the spiritual father says: “I will pray for you, and you believe that the Holy Spirit Himself will resolve all your questions,” then you must believe that the Lord will put on everyone’s heart what needs to be done to save the soul.
The words of the elder to the novice must be a law, obligatory for execution. The novice must obey his spiritual father in everything as Jesus Christ Himself, for
The Lord said to all spiritual leaders, in the person of the holy apostles: “Listen to you, He listens to Me, and brush aside you, Me is swept aside; Discard Me, the One who Sent Me will be rejected” (Luke 10:16).
If a novice sometimes obeys the elder, and sometimes does it his own way, then this is equivalent to as if he right hand laid bricks to build a house, and threw them away with his left hand. Such novices remain dwarfs, they do not grow spiritually, for the Holy Scripture says: “One (the elder) created, and the other (the disciple) destroyed, what more would be accomplished than labor” (Sir. 34, 23). In order to succeed in spiritual life, the novice must perform all obedience unconditionally and conscientiously, willingly and without any philosophizing.
Both external and internal obedience are required of the novice. With his body he must do the work that the elder blessed him to do, and with his mind he must cut off his understandings and intrusive thoughts, and must force himself to unceasing prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
For a novice, it is necessary to recognize one’s weakness, self-reproach, self-abasement, as well as gratefully endure sorrows and illnesses. He should never justify himself in anything or place the blame on others, but he should joyfully accept all reproach and humiliation, both from the elder and from any person. If he rejects reproof from himself, fair or even undeserved, then he thereby rejects his own salvation, and if he accepts reproof from everyone, then he quickly grows spiritually and ascends the ladder of virtues.
If a spiritual father reproaches, the novice must patiently listen to him to the end, and then repent and ask for forgiveness. Under no circumstances should he interrupt the elder or contradict him. With gratitude he must endure accusations from his father, without making excuses, if they fall only on one novice, and if the accusations concern other persons, then he must speak in their defense.
If, with frequent reproof from the elder, the novice, instead of grief and irritation, grows in faith and love for his mentor, then this is a sure sign that the Holy Spirit has entered into the soul of the novice. However, at the moment of conviction, he should not rejoice that the Lord helps him courageously endure reproaches and dishonor from the elder, but should be contrite in heart, because he has rebelled against himself the soul of his spiritual father.
John Climacus writes: “It is better to sin before God than before our (spiritual) father, because if we have angered God, then our mentor can reconcile Him with us, and when we have confused our mentor, then we no longer have anyone who would intercede for us.”
The elder bears a very great responsibility before God for the salvation of his spiritual children. The stern words of the Lord apply to him: “I will require their souls at your hand.” The novice must constantly remind himself of these words in order to arouse fear for the death of his father due to his negligence and laziness. He must clearly imagine: if I die (and there are many of them), my father will die too. And then he must think about what he is especially sinning about and how to correct himself.
The elder’s reproofs are very helpful in this pious work; you just need to listen to them. By demonic trickery, it sometimes happens that a novice conceals himself. He thinks: “Father rebukes me not because I have done something wrong, but simply tests... checks how I grow spiritually. To show myself in good order, I will not pay attention, I will be silent and... smile! Others will see how calmly I bear reproof, and they will do so. I will be a candle burning on a candlestick, and not burning under a bushel!”
Such a novice does not allow the thought that he is truly guilty before God, therefore he does not repent, does not turn in prayer to God so that the Lord will enlighten his mind and open the eyes of his heart in order to recognize his sins, and remains unhealed. Sins are layered on top of each other and burden the conscience with a heavy burden. If such a state has become a habit, then the novice’s conscience becomes dulled and he does not even feel remorse. There are cases when even excommunication does not correct those who are entrenched in a high opinion of themselves. They only have to take one step to the point of beauty. Deliver, Lord!
The spiritual father wants to save all his children, so sometimes he has to act strictly, remembering the words of the Apostle: “Insist in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort...”, but save!
A pious and zealous novice listens to every word of the elder and tries to bring these words to life, to apply them in practice, but a careless novice, when he hears something difficult to accomplish or a reproof that applies to everyone, thinks: “This does not apply to me, this is for others.” concerns,” and is not corrected.
For a good novice, eternal life becomes a reality even here on earth, for he clearly senses within himself the presence of the Spirit of God, who is in his soul.
gives deep peace, joy and an undeniable feeling of transition from death to life. He zealously and lovingly fulfills any obedience, because he knows that from obedience comes humility, from humility comes reasoning, and from reasoning comes consideration and insight. He reaches out to grace - to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, regardless of any difficulties. We must take an example from such novices and emulate them by everyone who has not yet achieved this.
What is the difference between a priest and a monk, and who is a schema nun? A friend of mine’s son decided to devote his life to Christ and entered a monastery. The woman was very worried about the separation from her only son, and I decided to find out more about monastic ordination. The schema monk is the last and highest stage of initiation and renunciation of the world, but at first the neophyte simply lives at the monastery and is a novice. Why do Orthodox Christians become monks, what prompts them to renounce the world? I will tell you about this in the article.
History of monasticism
In the old days, schema-monks were called hermits or hermits, since they first lived in the desert. In the 5th century, hermitage gave way to seclusion, and monks began to live in monasteries. But over time, seclusion ceased to be a prerequisite for schema training. It was possible to distinguish a schemanik by his clothes, which is why the name “schema” referred specifically to clothing. Subsequently, vows were added to clothing and an ascetic lifestyle.
Nowadays, the Great Skhemnik can be distinguished by a special pointed cap called a kukol.
The first monks appeared in Syria and Egypt in the 4th and 3rd centuries AD. The goal of monasticism was to gain salvation through life in Christ. The first Christians literally understood the commandments of Christ and the instructions of the apostles, therefore they completely renounced worldly vanity. According to the first Christians, the world is filled with evil, and the source of evil is the mortal body. It is the body that succumbs to numerous temptations that can be overcome by fasting and prayer.
The monk took vows:
- non-covetousness (poverty);
- chastity (celibacy);
- obedience (renunciation of one's own will).
Vow of non-covetousness involves the complete renunciation of any property. The monk does not even own a writing pen, he has nothing. This is a voluntary renunciation of all the things of the world because they become unnecessary. This is the loss of all interest in earthly things due to their uselessness. The monk uses things only when absolutely necessary.
Celibacy does not simply imply a refusal to live together with a spouse, but a denial of gender in general. That is, for a person, only the soul matters, and it has no gender.
Vow of obedience means that a person no longer has own desires. There remains only one desire - to constantly be with the Lord. In monastic life, the vow is realized in unquestioning obedience to the abbot of the monastery. However, unquestioning obedience does not imply resigned obedience against one's own will, but joyful service.
The first monks went into caves or deserted places to live away from worldly temptations. Over time, they began to form monastic communities - monasteries. They accepted new members of the community and put them through trials to test their commitment to life in Christ. The tests required complete obedience and renunciation of one's own will.
Monasticism in Rus'
In Rus', monks were called monks. This is a Russian name derived from the word “other”. Monks and nuns were also called monks and chernitsa (because of the black color of their clothes). Why did people in Rus' voluntarily become monks and renounce the world? Because he was losing his attractiveness and meaning for them. The first monks were hermits and hermits; they voluntarily left people for their “paradise.” For them, the cave was a paradise filled with grace and special meaning.
If a person feels within himself a special closeness to God, he decides to go to a monastery to serve. Monasticism has three stages of initiation:
- Rasophor (monk);
- small schema;
- great schema.
When tonsured as a monk, they do not take a monastic vow; this is the degree of novice in a monastery. The monk is preparing to be tonsured as a schema monk, he is studying God's word and mastering the basics of monasticism. The novice receives the right to wear a cassock, which symbolizes repentance and crying, as well as renunciation of worldly vanity. Literally from Greek the word “cassock” is translated as “decrepit, shabby.” However, the ryassophore may not receive a new name.
One of the first famous monks in Rus' was Anthony of Pechersk, who founded the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.
The minor schema involves receiving a new spiritual name, the monk takes a vow of poverty (non-covetousness), virginity and obedience. Maloskhimnik can be distinguished from a ryassophore by the presence of a special sleeveless cape (mantle), which is worn over the cassock. From the moment of tonsure into the minor schema, the monk takes a vow of severe asceticism.
The monk schema-monk has new patron saints, many more of them than a simple believer or ryassophore.
The Great Schema is the highest level of monastic initiation, which not every monk can achieve. The Great Schema presupposes complete alienation from worldly life for the sake of unity with Christ. The Great Schema is called the Great Angelic Image. The monk pronounces the same vows, but is obliged to fulfill them in a more severe form. Also, during the Great Schema, a new spiritual name is given.
Venerable Nile the Myrrh-Streaming on monasticism:
Why is the schema called an angelic image? Because those who take tonsure acquire the likeness of angels, since they completely renounce the world (as if dying for it). They chose to become like angels, to completely lose contact with the human world for the sake of communicating with God.
The grace of the schema is called by the holy fathers the second baptism.
Why does the schemamonk receive a new name? Because he dies for the earthly world and is born for a new one - the heavenly one. The monk hears a new name for the first time during tonsure, he gives it spiritual guide. Having received a new name, the monk recognizes himself as a completely different person.
Service of schema-monks
How does the obedience of schema-monks differ from the obedience of ryassophores? They have only one obedience left - clergy and the administration of the liturgy. In a word, Great Skhemniki do nothing except prayer service. Ryasophorus performs various jobs in the monastery along with trudniks (workers living in the monastery). He undergoes a kind of test - a test of endurance.
After the test has been successfully completed, initiations begin. First, a person is tonsured as a monk, then as a schema monk. These initiations differ from each other in the number of vows given and the characteristics of ascetic behavior. The schema-monks completely abandon all earthly affairs and concerns in order to devote themselves to prayer. Prayer in Christianity is the highest virtue, as it allows you to unite in spirit with the Lord.
The schemamonk and schemanun try in everything in their lives to become like the image of the God-man - Jesus Christ. This is the most important and significant thing in their life. Everything else pales in comparison to the light of the Lord and his grace.
However, the period of novitiate can last for many years, and a person can die as a novice. Why is this happening? Because monasticism is not a person’s choice, but a calling. If the abbot of the monastery does not see a person’s vocation, the tonsure will never take place. A person may be completely confident in his election, but after a few years he may doubt it. Therefore, responsibility for tonsure falls on the abbot of the monastery, who must determine the truth of the intentions and choice of the path of the novice.
February 23, at the morning service, Hegumen Valaam Monastery Bishop Pankraty of Trinity, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, performed monastic tonsure on five inhabitants of the monastery. It is very symbolic that the tonsure was performed precisely on the day of Defender of the Fatherland Day, because monks are truly warriors of Christ, guardians of the earthly and heavenly fatherland.
24.02.2018 Through the labors of the monastery brethren 4 790
The first week of Great Lent in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery is marked by an important event: monastic tonsure. The word “monk” in Russia has come to mean the first, preparatory stage of monasticism for those who have already prepared to renounce the world (and sometimes receive a new name), but have not yet made the main monastic vows. And the word “monk” refers to the next level, tonsure into the minor schema with the taking of monastic vows. In the recently adopted “Regulations on monasteries and monastics” states: “Before tonsure as a monk, a novice may be subjected to the process of putting on a cassock, which includes cutting his hair. This rank is called “ tonsure into the ryassophore ”. Here it should be clarified that the Valaam Monastery has its own tradition.Novice, over time, may become “Rassophoran”, with the right to wear a cassock and kamilavka. And the first tonsure is performed as a monk, who puts on a hood along with his cassock. IN Ancient Rus'
monks (chernets) were called the word “monk”, which is more familiar to Slavic hearing. The word “monk” is a Slavic translation from Greek (“monk” from “in” - one, “monk” from “mono” - one). But language does not tolerate inaccuracy: there could not be two words calling the same thing. So over time, the meanings of the words diverged. The word “monk” in Russia has come to mean the first, preparatory stage of monasticism for those who have already prepared to renounce the world (and sometimes receive a new name), but have not yet made the main monastic vows. And the word “monk” refers to the next level, tonsure into the minor schema with the taking of monastic vows.
To be tonsured into monasticism presupposes that the candidate has successfully passed the novice test. Although the outcome of the end of the “probationary period” may be different. The “Regulations” provide recommendations for those who have passed the test to be tonsured either into monasticism or immediately into monasticism (the lesser schema). For those who have not passed the test, it is proposed to either extend the period for another year, two, five or ten, God knows best, or leave the monastery. The two-time local council of the Church of Constantinople (861) defines the “standard” of monastic practice:“There are no stories. A three-year period is still considered the minimum period on Valaam for testing the intentions of candidates. For example, five brothers who took monastic vows today passed the novice test from five to ten years.
The abbot, on behalf of the Spiritual Council of the monastery, offers candidates monastic tonsure upon achieving a certain degree of spiritual purity and confidence, firmness in the monastic choice of the path of life. So the usual requirements in the world like a track record or an attractive resume do not matter here. The main thing is the spiritual success of the future monk, the removal of the old man.
It is important to understand that tonsure into monasticism, the small or the Great Schema, does not mean the assignment of a special “honorable” status. The “Regulations on Monasteries and Monastics” specifically states: “Whoever accepts the minor schema should be aware that tonsure does not imply a privileged position in the monastery.” . The same applies to future monks. By making vows, a newly minted monk or monk becomes not a master, but a servant - to God and people. The vow of obedience consists in cutting off one’s own will and following the will of God, which is revealed through voluntary obedience to the Abbot and all the brethren.
The abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Bishop Pankratiy of Trinity, explains: “Read the rite of monastic tonsure: what does the Abbot tell the candidate? That he will now live in peace and prosperity, in spiritual comfort, that everyone will love him and take care of him? No, he's talking about something else. That will endure annoyance, reproach, reproach, sorrow. Monasticism is not the path of a comfortable community, where everyone is happy, everything is arranged. This is the path of voluntary martyrdom. Already at the stage of novitiate a person must understand this. On the other hand, the abbot of the monastery must treat the novice as his spiritual child or brother.”
Monastic tonsure as a sacrament of the CHURCH: Monastic tonsure, whether into the small or great schema, cannot be considered a simple rite. I am deeply convinced that tonsure is one of the Sacraments of the Church. This is exactly what he is called in the very texts of the sequence of tonsure into the Great and Lesser Schema, as well as the Areopagite Corpus and in the works of St. Gregory Palamas...
A special attitude towards monks and monks on the part of the laity can only be that “ monks who carefully fulfill their calling should be moral guidelines for Orthodox Christians and all people, and strive for this" The Monk Isaac the Syrian writes about this in more detail in “Words of the Ascetic”: “A monk in all his appearance and in all his deeds should be an edifying example for everyone who sees him, so that, due to his many virtues, shining like rays, enemies of the truth , looking at him, they even reluctantly admitted that Christians have a firm and unshakable hope of salvation, and from everywhere they flocked to him as to a real refuge, and so that the horn of the Church would be raised against her enemies.”
Following tonsure into monasticism instructs the Abbot to carefully question the candidate whether he voluntarily makes such a decision? Have you thought it through well? Are you ready to take responsibility? IN stauropegic monasteries, whose Hierogumen is His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', all those preparing for monastic and monastic tonsure must also undergo an interview with the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, who on behalf of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church once again checks readiness to make a decision.
So the first monastic vow for a future monk is the first truly responsible decision. From this moment on, the monk promises the Abbot of the monastery to stay here forever, until his death. And this is where the future monk’s likeness to Christ begins. Just as God humbled Himself, taking on the “form of a slave,” so a previously free person becomes a “slave of the monastery.” Moreover, he does this voluntarily. Without coercion or due to circumstances. A serious decision indeed!
In such “voluntary slavery” there is neither gloomy tragedy nor humiliation. A person, from a worldly point of view, does not renounce citizenship, personal freedom, individuality. Only these social and “humanistic” concepts lose their attractiveness for humans. By giving himself to Christ, the monk, instead of his own, personal, acquires the universal: “A monk is one who considers himself to exist with everyone and sees himself in everyone” (Reverend Neilus of Sinai, “A Word on Prayer”). In return for “individuality,” he receives according to the word of the Lord “ perfection".
“If anyone wants to come after Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16, 24–25)
The Abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Bishop Pankratiy, also speaks about the cross: “Any monastery, any monastery, any monastic path is the path of the cross, the path to Golgotha. It doesn’t matter what kind of sorrow there will be. But the Lord does not leave if a person endures for His sake. When you have endured everything, “Rejoice,” says the Lord, “your reward is many in heaven” - this is what is said in the rite of monastic tonsure. But not only in Heaven, here a true monk already knows the grace of God, the inexpressible joy of God’s closeness. Otherwise, the monks would not have begun to live in monasteries and endure many temptations and sorrows for the sake of Christ.”.
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