Rules of external behavior for neophite monks.
Introduction
The Church Charter says that according to the will of the holy fathers, everything should observe the measure and rule. Mentioning in general about the holy fathers, the Charter cites the remarkable saying of the Monk Ephraim of Sirmium: “Therein there is a great disaster where the legal rules do not guide the residence” 11. On this basis, we offer beloved brothers, novelty novelties, the following rules for their external behavior.
Rules
1. The Holy Fathers call the monastery a medical hospital (2).2 Obviously, there is a moral medicine monastery. We come from peace to a monastery to leave the sinful skills gained in the worldly life, and outside the influence of the temptations at us, which are full of peace, to acquire skills or behavior of truly Christian. For a truly Christian residence on earth, we hope to gain eternal bliss in the sky. So, it must be used all the effort to ensure that the goal with which we enter the monastery is achieved, that our life in the monastery should serve us for salvation, does not serve as a reason for greater condemnation of us at the judgment 3of Christ 3.
2. Those entering the hospital for use are obliged to be guided in the whole instruction of the doctor, not allowing themselves to use food, clothes, movement, medicine at their own discretion; otherwise, instead of benefit, they will bring harm to themselves: so everyone who entered the monastery undertakes to practice not in those exploits and labors that seem to him necessary and useful, but in those which will be indicated to him and assigned to him personally or with the help of others.4
3. In general, all monastic exercises and positions are called obediences. Obediences must be held with all the care, with strict possession of conscience, believing that such an passage of obedience is necessary for our salvation. Monastic classes are therefore called obedience, that they are united with a renunciation of their will and from their understanding. For this reason, in the performance of obedience, conscience is subjected to continuous experience. The consequence of the exercise in obedience is true humility and spiritual reason. Arbitrary labors performed according to their conceitness or whim, especially with the rejection of obedience, no matter how great, not only do not bring any spiritual fruit, but, on the contrary, being the very consequence of self-importance and pride, extremely strengthen these passions in the other, completely alienate it from the Christian graceful way of thinking, that is, from the evangelic communal. The Monk Cassian says: “The greatest concern of the elder, to whom the newcomers are entrusted, is that the newcomer, first, learns to defeat his will, by means of which he, introduced gradually, could rise to the top of the highest perfection. Acknowledging him to this with all care and diligence, the elder intends to always order him what is contrary to his will. The Egyptian great fathers claim, having been studied by many experiments, that the monk, especially the young man, will not be able to curb the desires of lusts themselves, unless he previously learns to kill his will by obedience. They resolutely testify that he who has not learned to conquer his will before will not be able to extinguish either anger, nor sorrow, nor the spirit of rebrisiness, will not entail either true heart humility, nor the constant unity with the brethren, nor even to stay long in the dormitory. They try to teach in the initial these rules as an alphabet guiding to perfection, and they see what the humility of the new ones is, whether it is true, or feigned and dreamy.5
4. Errors into which we flow in the infirmity inherent in all people must confess to the spiritual father, and sometimes, by the property of error, and the abbot, and, without falling into despondency and relaxation, with renewed jealousy to continue obedience. If we do not suddenly understand the earthly sciences and arts, but when studying them are subjected for a long time to various bewilderments and errors, the more characteristic it is to be subjected to errors in the study of science from science and art from arts - monastic residence 66.
5. Prayer is the mother of 7virtues 7. For this reason, the most part of the time is devoted to prayer in the monastery. For the new initial, it is not useful to perform prayers alone, therefore the Church Charter, forbidding unauthorized prayer, bequeaths that all those living in the monastery bring prayers to God together, in the Church of God, except for the sick, kept in the kelia disease, and the elders who ripened for a secluded Kellen prayer 88.
6. Prayer is the mother of virtues, and therefore all brethren are invited to the careful and impermissible fulfillment of the prayers established, and for this to a thorough and unabated walk to церковьthe church of God.
7. Going from the cell to church to appear to the face of God, should keep reverence in a gait, not to run, not to look around, but to have eyes lowered to the ground, not to wave hands, but keep them lowered.
8. Every brother, having come to the Church of God, must fence himself with the sign of the cross and put a bow to the waist before its doors, giving this honor to the dwelling of God, which is the church.
9. At the entrance to the church, each brother is obliged to stand in the middle of it before the royal gates and put three waist bows, and in the Great Lent - three earthly ones; then, bowing on both sides to the coming people, to stand in its place.
10. If the brother is wing, and belongs to the right wing, then he, approaching his wing, must reverely put a bow to the waist before the icon of the Savior, to worship the brethren standing on the wings, turning to the left wings, then to the right, and stand with modesty in his place. But if the brother belongs to the left wing, then, having come to him, he must put a bowling before the icon of the Mother of God, and, bowing to the wings, first to the right, then to the left, to stand in its place.
11. The church is the earthly sky. Those standing in it should stand with reverence, rankly, like holy angels, have eyes lowered to the ground, do not lean on the walls, keep your hands lowered, without folding them together, not to put their feet away, but to stand on both legs is equal.
12. The Church is a judge of God. From it you can leave either justified or condemned, according to the testimony of the Holy Gospel (Lk. 18:14). Therefore, it is necessary to send reading and singing with all sorts of attention and reverence, do not allow yourself idle talk, especially laughter and jokes. Otherwise, we will leave the church condemned, angering the King of Heaven with an unreserved avenue to him.
13. The people present at the service should not look back. It is necessary to keep sight in every way, as a hole into the soul through which the most contagious passions can enter 9it.
14. On the wings, everyone should occupy the place assigned to him. For the absence of someone who follows him becomes in an unoccupied place, and not the younger in self-will, conceit or audacity. From this exclude those cases when the authorities on the wings will find it necessary to arrange the singers according to their voices.
15. The holy altar, as a saint of saints, by no means enter none of the unsanctified, except for the ponomarius and candles according to the 19-th rule of the Laodicea Cathedral and according to the custom adopted in the most comfortable Orthodox monasteries. The very remembrance of relatives is equally heard by God from both the altar and from the church, from the place where you stand. Your prayer will be more pleasant to God from the church when, because of reverence for Him, you are eliminated by the entrance to the altar, when you enter it without proper awe, breaking the rule you have been taught.
16. The brother, whom the need to force or pass through the altar, undertakes to do so with the greatest reverence and fear of God. Enter the altar, put, turning to the Holy Transfusion, three prostrations, and on the resurrection, the Sabbath, on festive and poliele's days - three waistles, then, turning to the icon standing in the mountainous place - one waive bow; then worship the abbot and accept his blessing; if the rector is not in the altar, accept the blessing.
17. Around the Holy Meal should not go unsanctified. If at least necessary happens, then it must be fulfilled with the great fear of God and caution, walking quietly and bypassing the throne of God as possible in the future as possible from him.
18. In the altar do not stand at all without need, but on the performance of it immediately go out. However, whoever entered the altar and at least necessary, or being sent by the masters, must reproach himself, saying: “Alas for me, sinful and bad, in condemning himself to enter into the holy of holies.” The most clergymen, called to service and stand for God in the altar, thereby make themselves worthy of this service, that they are conscious of their unworthiness, try to inservitate themselves with abundant tears of repentance and humility, and the service is done with the greatest reverence, attention and fear of God.
19. The reading psalms and daily following the subsistence, that is, evening, morning and hours, should prepare in advance and look for tropari and condace of the day, so that during reading in the church not to make a stops in prayer by looking for tropariors and kondaks. The reader must stand up, have hands lowered, read and slowly, and pronounce words clearly, clearly. It should be read simply, with reverence, in one tone, without the outpouring of your feelings with overflows and changes in voice. Let us give holy prayers to act their own spiritual dignity on listeners 1010. The desire to teach your feelings to the upcoming is a sign of self-precision and pride.
20. The daily reading begins with the evening. Entering the veil should stand near ending her ninth hour. When he is finished, they both together put a lap bow to the altar, then they worship each other. Entering the crook becomes before the waist, and the graduation goes and becomes in its place.
21. The reader of the Apostle, walking from the wing and to the wing, must keep the book in his left hand, somewhat leaning its top to the chest. Coming out for reading, the reader of the Apostle becomes first before the icon of the Savior or the Mother of God, judging by the one to which he belongs to the wing, considers the waist bow to the waist before the icon, then bows, turning to his wing, and behind him comes out to the middle, before the royal gate. Here he puts a waist a bow to the altar; to the words of the servant of the hieromonk: “Peace to all”, gives a pro-entership and begins to tell the Prokimen. According to the title of the apostle, when the servants of the hieromonk or hieroniacon say, “Wonhamm”, the reader again recompenses the servant of the heeromonk and begins to recite the Apostle. At the end of the reading, the servant's words: "Peace", the reader gives him a probe to the royal gates, goes from the midst of the church, becomes near his clerus as an icon, he counts before it, then, turning to the opposite clier, recompenses him with a prowes, then the same bow to his clerus and stands in his place.
22. Reading the Apostle, it should not be excessively and obscenely shouting, fascinated by vanity; on the contrary, it must read with a natural voice, without a burdensome tension for hearing and conscience, reverently, clearly, majestic, that our praise sacrifice should be favorable to God, so that we do not turn out that we bring one “fruit of the flesh” (Hebrews 13:15), and the fruit of the heart. This should be remembered by singers, because for all wings in general, the passion of vanity is extremely dangerous, for which other vices enter the soul, especially pride, and departs from a person his grace of God.
23. Going to the descent and descent, it is necessary to begin and end the singing together; moreover, the hands do not wave, the eyes should have lowered to the ground, not look around; it must go in order, smoothly, one brother after another, without pushing and in a hurry of each other. Getting up on the gathering, it must be leveled so that one should not stand in front of the other. When returning from going to the wing, the same order as is indicated when entering the wing should be observed. Standing at the gathering, it is necessary to have hands lowered, without folding them together, to put them by no means arbitrarily, but at no time, to put them apart, but all together, so that the brethren at the gathering should be one body, in the words of the Church 11Charter 11. For such a uniform and reverent worship, all brethren must be applied to the headler, who is obliged to observe the timely performance of prostrations and that his own bows are neither hasty nor premature and the brethren had all the opportunity to do so.
24. The following worship works are due to worship: when the servant of the Hieromonk comes out before the royal gate, to bless the reading of the ninth hour, or the midnight, or in the altar intends to bless the recemil, he will before the exclamation: “Blessed is Богour God” counts three waist bows; the same should be done by the brethren, as well as before the beginning. At the beginning of the all-night vigil, three beeps are relied when the head proclaims: “Come to worship.” In general, with all the services on every Trisvyan and on every "cend" three belt bows are put, excluding приидите"call" and Trisvyat at the very beginning of the morning, on which it is customary to only sign three times the cross, since at the beginning of the steepsalmium at the three utterance: "Glory to the highest God", in the middle of the past. The sign is usually one day marked by the sign of the cross before the beginning of the Creed on the Divine Liturgy. When singing, the telras and verse is only relied on one waist bow, when the words of the sterria are inducing to worship. However, neither at the gathering, nor on the wings, do not bow in the riot and arbitrarily, but always following the head. When the kafism is sung, and at the end of them, as well as at the end of the chastosalmium, it is pronounced three times: “Hallluia, hallluia, alleluela, glory to You, God,” afflidays are put to death, except for Sunday and festive days, the Sabbath and the polyeles in which these bows are left. When the brethren come to the gathering, and before leaving, they believe together, one waist bow, and then all at one time worship the fraternity standing at the descent. At the first request of each ecteen and in the exaltation, which the servant of the hieromonks concludes the ectinium, one waive is supposed to be one waist. Before reading and after reading the Holy Gospel, when singing Glory, one waist bow. On the ninth song when singing the Honest Cherubi, with each repetition of these words - one waist bow. In the Divine Liturgy after "cend us and fall to Christ" one waist protrusion is put. At the end of the entire Herubiem song, that is, after Allelluia - three waist bows. The presented gifts as still unsanctified is given honor by one waist prostration and after it the worship of the chapter. At the end of You, we eat the deep three waist bows, and one earthly blade is reckless: during the singing of this holy song, the proposed Holy Gifts are sanctified. There is a worthy effect - one bow. Before the prayer of the Lord, the ungashy prostrate one earthly, and the wings are marked only by the sign of the cross, because they should immediately sing. After the prayer of the Lord, when the servant of the Hieromonk says, “Tyact is thy kingdom,” and the other words of the exclamation, there is one lap prostitutes. When you cry: “Holy Saints” rely on three belt bows. When the Holy Mysteries endure with the proclamation: “With the fear of God and faith, you will begin one deep waist, one waist reveility is supposedly to be the most heavenly Christ Himself, invisible to the Holy Mysteries, and one earthly bows. The same should come when the holy rite is carried out for the second time with the proclamation: “Always, now and intact, and forever and ever.” At the end of the Divine Liturgy, three belt bows are due, and the younger ones of both wings turn to the elders, everyone greets each other with worship. On Sundays and holidays, on the Sabbaths and Pilelles, earthly bows in the church are canceled.12
25. Kamilavkas are removed from their heads and stand on their shoulder, so that the cross formed by the end of the clook does not go down from the shoulders at the next time of the service, at the Liturgy: at the entrance to the Gospel, when reading the Gospel, at a great entrance, with the words of Christ: “Take an opportunity” to Достойноadequately inclusive; when singing the Ophius of the Father and at the beginning of the Holy Day. In the evening: at the entrance. In the morning: when reading the gospel and when singing the Most Holy. When reading the Apostle at the Liturgy and Paremia on the Great Evening, the reader takes off the kamilavka. The brethren remove the kamilavki when singing Father ours before the meal and Worthy after meals 1313. The brethren should both shoot and wear kamilawks all at the same time, without warning each other.
26. In general, in the Church of God, all possible awe and order must preserve all possible reverence and order both for the glory of God, and for their own spiritual benefit and for the spiritual benefit of the people, who are eded by the awe of monks, and their disengrace is embarrassed, seduced, damaged. It shall not be borne out of the church untimely; it shall not allow themselves any kind of violation of the rules of deed and reverence. From negligence to the small and insignificant easily and soon proceed to the negligence of the most important and about everything. In order to keep your attention to his important duties, you must constantly observe themselves and be attentive to all, the smallest of his actions 1414.
27. With the need, excess sputum should be carefully put into the headscarf, and not put on the floor with obscene noise. It should not cough and blow his nose loudly, these and other similar natural needs should be performed with sluggishness and decency. There is no smell of tobacco in the church. If you eat food, which is a natural need for a person, it is not allowed in the church: it is more unacceptable to smell tobacco, that it is not a natural necessity, but a bad skill and a whim. And in general, the monastic who enters the rank should unlearn from the use of tobacco. Our worldly brethren are very much tempted by the use of tobacco by monastics, the indispensable duty of love requires that we do not give rise to the temptation of the worldly brethren, who, tempted by something insignificant, will not trust us in the important. He who cannot overcome habits, but he is aware of his weakness, and may the lack of self-reporting of self-reporting and let him not reveal the habit before the brethren, because the harm caused to one is not so much severe as the harm caused to many. This is the opinion of our fathers about our failure by our infirmities.
28. The most severe awe and order is established to be preserved in the church, they may be preserved in the meal. Staying in a meal for backup food should be a continuation of the service. Brethren, feeding the body with reasonable contentment of the offered dishes, should at the same time nourish the soul with the word of God, which is read during the meal. To do this, a deep silence is observed in the meal. If you need to say anything, it is said very quietly and briefly, so as not to prevent the hearing of reading 1616.
29. All brethren should eat food in a common meal, and not according to the cells, except for patients who are allowed to eat food in the cell, but not otherwise than with the knowledge and permission of the rector. Try to be a part of the common meal, without avoiding it for some unimportant reason, which has the guise of truth: in due time you will see a special mental benefit from the constant participation in the common meal.
30. Eating both meals in meals and in the cells should be the most prudent in relation to the amount. Initial should eat almost fullness, but not up to saturation. Fasting, so much useful to the monk subsequently 17, for the initial should be moderate. If the novelty does not eat food outside the meal, then such a fast will be quite satisfactory for him. Eating food in a meal is almost full of fullness for the newlywed because he is obliged to perform obediences sometimes difficult and for this purpose not to weaken the bodily forces too much. For the proper weakening of their quality and quantity of monastic food is enough. Passions are diminished in the new beginnings not from the increased fast, but from the confession of sinful thoughts, from labor and from the removal from the free treatment of others.
31. Although the use of wine is permitted by the Church Statute at a meal, it is permitted only for those working elders for whom it is necessary and useful. For young wine is harmful, because it is offered in a meal in some monasteries, it is very useful for young people to completely abstain from wine. “Praise to the monk is abstinence from wine,” said the Holy Great Simeon the Wonderworker; if, because of the corporal infirmity, the monk is forced to use it, then let him use little.”18 The Monk Pimen the Great said, “Monachs should not drink wine” 19. “Let the wine beetle gives up youth,” said the Reverend Mark the Ascetic 2020.
32. In the cells should be engaged in a showerous reading and such needlework that does not excite addiction to itself. Otherwise, all your attention will be diverted to the needlework, to which you have a predilection: God and your salvation will be made alien to you. Books of secular, especially harmful to morality, not to read, not even to have in the cell.
33. Innovatives should not start 21 in the cell of the ambiguity that is, various objects of whim and luxury. Cellular impairment attracts the mind and heart of the new beginning, thus, distracts them from God. In addition, it excites dreaminess, counteracting the prosper of the spiritual. The best decoration of the monical cell is the chosen library, which should consist of the Holy Scriptures and the scriptures of the fathers about the monastic life. “It is necessary to have Christian books,” said Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus, “one view of these books averts from sin and encourages virtue” 2222. The scriptures shall contain honestly, giving honor to the Holy Spirit living in them. In the elders, known in their special piety and spiritual succession, the New Testament is placed under the holy icons of 23.
34. Initial is forbidden to take women, even closest relatives in the cells; the acceptance of relatives and acquaintances of the males are initiated to seek permission from the abbot.
35. Innovatives should not only be protected from the adoption of worldly people in the cell, but also from the timeless accession to the cell to each other. The timeless visit of each other to beginnerly serves as an occasion for them for idle talk, to boldness, to boldness, which is exterminated in the heart of the newfound fear of God and good arbitrariness to an ascetic life, the strongest action of passions, especially despondency, anger and fornication passion is excites. For this reason, the great elder Simeon the Blagogevygowy commanded the disciple to his saint Simeon, the New Theologian, when he entered the monastery, to refuse all acquaintance outside and inside the monastery. The disciple, carefully fulfilling the testament of the elder, soon reached a high spiritual success of 24.
36. Initial! Visit the cella of your priest or your elder for your spiritual edification and confession of your sins and sinful thoughts. Blessed is if you find the old man who is knowledgeable, experienced and well-intentioned: a satisfactory mentor in our times is the greatest rarity. Reveal the sanctuary of the Celius in which you hear the word of God that gives you life. If there is no satisfactory mentor in the monastery, then more often confess in sins before the spiritual father, and write the instructions in the Gospels and books written by the Holy Fathers about asceticism. Cellia will become yours with a haven and a refuge for you from the spiritual and heartaches.
37. In the cell should not have any snowfall, no delicacies, especially no drinks. Not for the fulfillment of carnal wishes, not for the earthly joys and pleasures we enter the monastery! We enter into it with the means of true repentance, continuous by entertainment and entertainment, to reconcile with God and to receive from Him an invaluable gift of salvation.
38. Clothes should have, as simple as possible, but decent and neat, required by the custom and position of the monastery and its relationship to visiting worldly brethren, whom can be equally seduced by magnificent and muttish clothes. There are no colored batters and clutches under the cassocks: such clothes are for those who cry for their dead soul; they are wearing black clothes, into which men are clothed as a sign of their deep sorrow. The innovative must observe this rule, because his soul is consistent with the state of its body and cannot retain a feeling of repentance when the body is decorated with lush and shiny clothing. From luxurious clothes are in the new inauguration and hardening, its flesh comes to life for prodigal sensations and movements 26. It is indecent to have a beautiful clothes for a sinner: otherwise he will be like a clamped and gilded tomb, outside a light and rich, inside with a stinking corpse.
39. To the elders should be respected, the hieromonks should be approached by a blessing with reverence and faith. This should have respect for duty and out of love, and not by man-greatness or other any inducement of this age, an alien monastic mood, an alien spirit of the Church.
40. Brethren at a mutual meeting should adore each other, honoring in the one’s inner circle the image of God, honoring Christ Himself (Matt. 25:40).
41. Young people should strive to love everyone in the same way, guarding, as from a Diavol network, from an exceptional love for any kind of peer or secular acquaintance. Such love in the young is nothing but the displeased addiction they strongly reject them from their duties to God 27.
42. On a mutual date, it must be extremely to bear the sense of touch, to such an extent that it is by no means to take the brother by the hand; it must also be removed from other greetings that do not go for the holy monastic monastery. With rigour observed this storage in ancient monasteries. His violators were subjected to the Egyptian monasteries, the best in the Christian world, public monastic punishment. This is told by the Reverend Cassian Roman 28.
43. How the greatest danger should avoid acquaintance with that brother who lives negligently, not out of condemnation of him, no! Another reason for this is that nothing is so sticky, so not contagious as the weakness of the brother. The apostle bequeathed: “We command you, brethren, about the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be dissatisfied with you from every brother a walking, and not according to tradition, the oath of us” (2 Salt. 3:6). “Beast a brother shall be called a prostitute, or a vigilante, or an idolater, or a drunk, or a predator, with one below the least of the poison” (1 Cor. 5:11). Why? For the Apostle says, “Things of the good of the conversation are evil” (1 Cor. 15:33). Have you met a drunken woman briefly? Know that in his society and you will be accustomed to drinking. Do you talk to a prostitute often? Know that he will overflow his voluptuous feelings into you. Friends and short acquaintances of yours should be those who are all intent is to be God’s delight. This is what the holy prophet David did. He says of himself: “The passages in the non-peacefulness of my heart in the middle of my house”; but, despite such non-thug, “the creative crime of hate” of the divine hatred, consisting at a distance from them: “sadded my sincere tay, this expulsion: proud eye and an inherent heart, with not like. My eyes are on the faithful earth, to plant with me: walk along the way illiful, you are the servants of these. Do not live in the midst of my house, create pride; verb the wrongdoed not correct before my eyes.Пс. 100:2–27100:2-27). “I am the green of the old friends of yours, God.” 138:17). The Monk Pimen the Great said: “The conclusion (the end, crown) of the whole instruction to the new inherited monk: move away from a lean society (acquaintance, friendship) and hold fast to a good society” 2929.
44. It should not be at a monastery with an open head: in this is a violation of modesty and reverence. Also, it should not allow yourself a cry, unsinkable, excessive free body movements, which upsets the inner devotion of the new initial, upsets the order of the monastery, disturbs the tranquility of the brotherhood, leads to the temptation of worldly visitors to the monastery.
45. Outside the monastery cottage, you can not go anywhere, without first requesting permission from the authorities.
46. When walking, no one walks alone, but walk and always necessarily together or three. This decree existed in both ancient and modern well-equipped holy abodes. They are warned many temptations, even falls. "Woe to one"! (Ecclesian 4:10) – When some temptation begins to fascinate him, there is no one to stop him! Opposite that brother, the Prophets, the divine scripture likens the firm and high hail (Proverbs.).
47. Do not like to go to the city, do not like to visit worldly villages! How not to be damaged by the soul of a young monk or a newcomer who wants to accept the vows of ionism, from frequent vision to temptations and from confusion with the temptations to which his heart is still alive, with which it is fertilized and carried away? If it had not been able to enjoy the delights of the world, it would not have been attracted to them. Inoc, who feels an attraction to frequent exits from the monastery to the world, is wounded by an arrow of the devil. Inok, who subsequently painful attraction of the heart often leave the monastery and wander among the temptations of the world, took into itself an arbitrarily deadly, poisonous arrow, launched into it by the devil, allowed poisoning it to spill in its soul, poison it. The new initiated, indescent wandering, must be recognized as incapable of a monastic life, and prudently from the monastery. The monk who indulged in wandering, should be considered to be changed to God, conscience, and vows of monasticism. For such an inonic there is nothing sacred; all the advisable deeds, all iniquity and atrocity, he considers granted to himself, being enthusiastic and obscured by the passion of peace, which acquista-informs in itself the service of all passions. It is necessary to give special forensic to such an inocus, because he will not stop making all the evils of the monastery with the help of his unnecessary connections among the world in order to justify his behavior and to reflect any attempt to curb his atrocities.
48. It all depends on the skill. If we are weak, we will receive a bad skill that will dominate us as a cruel master of slaves. If we coerce ourselves, we will get a good skill that will act in us as a beneficial natural property. Choose the useful for yourself, learn to it: the skill will make the useful pleasant. Let us force ourselves to acquire a good skill for patient staying in the monastery, leaving it only at least in need, staying outside him as little as possible, returning to it as soon as possible. The head of monasticism, the Monk Anthony the Great, said: “As fish, slowing down on land, die, and monks, being with worldly people, outside of the cell, lose their disposition to silence. As the fish tends to the sea, so we should strive in our kelias, so that, slowing down outside, not to forget about internal storage.”30 From the skill to stay in the monastery, we will conveniently move on to another, even better skill, to the skill to stay in the cell. Then the merciful Lord will lead us and the holy skill to be within ourselves.
49. Observing prudent silence, who keeps his sight and touch, moving away from the special love for anyone from the brethren and from the worldly, moving away from attachment to earthly things, moving away from free circulation and from everything that is disturbed by modesty and awe will soon feel the deadness from which life ensures (2 Cor. 4:10). On the contrary, indulging indulgence, not vigilant, allowing himself to be addicted and free conversion, will never achieve anything spiritual, at least he spent a century in the monastery.
50. Each of the brethren undertakes to attach daily to the miraculous icon or to the holy relics located in the monastery. It should be applied with three reverents and in the heartfelt prayer that the saints help to perform the sight of emianocy for the glory of God, for the salvation of the soul. Of the three bows, two rely on before kissing an icon or relic and one after kissing. This is done by reverent monks in all monasteries, where there are holy miraculous icons or holy relics. Inonic are applied to icons and relics usually after morning or after the evening, or after the evening rule.
Conclusion
Preservation of the above rules can lead to the external behavior of the monk in the improvement, accustom it to constant awe and observe against himself 31. Having led his external behavior in order, is similar to a well-detained vessel, without wells: in such a vessel you can moisten a precious world, run with confidence that the world will remain intact. And the monk, who has made his customs, is capable of mental work, which is preserved intact with well-equipped bodily customs; it, on the contrary, cannot hold in a jerk, upset by external behavior. St. Isaac of Sirial says at the beginning of 56 the Word: “The calm work precedes the spiritual, as the creation of the body in Adam preceded the influx of souls into it. A non-core-cooked work cannot have a soulful thing: the second is born from the first, like a ear from a gratifying wheat grain. He who has no spiritual work is alien to spiritual talents.” The same reverend in 46 says: “I have seen many great and wonderful fathers, who, more than other deeds, cared for the devotion of the senses and skills of the body: from this devotion of thought is born. Much happens to a person outside his desire and compels him to break the limits placed for himself: why if he had not been in the constant possession of the senses, then in such cases for a long time could not come to his senses and find his former peaceful arrangement. In the English word 89: “In the presence of your friends, behave reverently: by doing so, you will benefit yourself and it, because the soul often overthrows the bridle of protection under the pretext of love. Beware of conversations: they are not always useful. In the congregations, prefer silence: it protects from many (mental) losses. Keep your sight more than a womb: because its scum is no doubt easier than external. Do not believe, brother, that inner thoughts can be held without the prior inclineant of the body into a good and devotional structure, to be killed (bad) habits more than demons.
When Basil the Great arrived in Antioch, then the philosopher of Lebanon, the mentor of the Antiochian School and fellow Basil to the school of Athens, asked him to utter teaching to his young listeners. St. Basil did this. Having told them that they should keep the purity of the soul of the body, and he taught them in detail the rules for external behavior: he commanded to have a humble gait, not to speak loudly, to observe in conversation devotion, to eat food and drink reverently, to keep silence with the old, to be attentive to the wise, obedient to the chiefs, to have equal and less disinterested love, to be removed from the evil. Wisdom Vasily taught the young men the instruction most related to their external behavior, knowing that devotion would immediately communicate from body to soul and the improvement of the body very soon will lead the soul to the improvement of 32.
Particular attention should be paid to educating from freedom in the treatment of people, freedom, so much approved and so much loved in secular societies. Nowadays, many, accustomed to free conversion in the worldly life, keep it in the monastery; others, having already entered the monastery, try to acquire it, finding something especially attractive in it. The harmful effects of free circulation are not noticed in entertainment, with inattention to oneself, with an incessantly multidisciplinary action of innumerable temptations; but for the monastic they are disastrous. The holy fathers strongly speak out against the free conversion, which they call audacity. One day, a brother came to the Reverend Agathon, who was distinguished between the fathers of the Egyptian Skete, a modern, special gift of reasoning, and asked him: “I intend to live with the brethren, tell me how to live with them?” The elder answered, “Lasten the time of your stay with them as if you are the first day of your coming. Throughout your life, you have preserved wandering (that is, behave in the monastery as a wanderer and a stranger, and not as a resident and a member of society) and do not allow yourself free treatment (producement).” Avva Macarius 33, which happened here, made the question: “What is the significance of the audacity (free treatment)?” The old man answered, “Audonment is like a great heat, which when it comes, all run away from his face, and the fruits of the trees spoil.” Avva Macarius said, “Is the audaculity so bad?” Abwa Agathon replied, “There is no greater passion as audacity: she is the parent of all passions; the ascetic must abstain from the freedom in circulation34.”34 The Monk Abba Dorotheus, bringing these words of St. Agathon in one of his teachings, says: “The elder said very well and very wisely, calling the audacity the mother of all passions. She is their mother because it expels the fear of God from the soul. If “by the fear of the Lord all turns away from evil” (Proverbs 15:27), then there is undoubtedly every evil where there is no fear of God. The audacity manifests itself differently: it can be expressed in words and actions of the body, and one eye. From audacity pass to idle talk, to conversations about objects of worldly and humorous, exciting obscene laughter. It is also considered to be audacity when one touches his neighbor without need, or will stretch his hand to his lips, to stop his word or laughter, when he will allow himself to tear anything out of the hands of his neighbor, or push it when he allows himself to look at his neighbor shameless. All this is considered to be audacity and is due to the fact that a person does not have in the soul of the fear of God. From this state, you can go little by little to the perfect negligence about yourself. God, “God, teaching the commandments of which the law that is given to Moses, said: ‘Good-Beauty will be the children of Israel.’” 15:31). Without reverence, neither true worship nor the preservation of the commandments is possible.
The act as daring was the once sowing criminal plans and the bail of the heart. When Judas of Iscariot had already conspired with the Sanhedrin about the betrayal of the Lord, and then he shamelessly lay at a secret supper with the other apostles; he did not stop holding his hand to the vessel from the salt and taking salt with the Teacher and his Lord. To this act, by appearance, the Lord pointed out as a sign of a traitor (Matt. 26:23).
Free treatment is often used to the inducement of man-reliance, double-mindedness, from the weakness of moral rules and will. Guarding from these principles of free conversion, the Monk Barsonophy the Great and his disciple John the Prophet (saying yourselves, and it will remove from you the freedom to treat your neighbors, the cause of all evils in man! If you want to get rid of shameful passions, do not treat anyone freely, especially those to which your heart is inclined in the passion of lust. By this you will be freed from vanity, for man-to-people's hope is mixed to vanity, to man-reatness - free circulation, and free circulation is the mother of all passions "35. “Turn away from boldness as death” 3636. It is obvious and understandable to all that free circulation, very easily and often turning into the greatest audacity and audacity, is the cause of quarrels, anger, purity; but not everyone knows and understands that the strongest prodigal passion is kindled out of free circulation. Let these beloved brethren know, who begin the invisible field of martyrdom and who brought to fight with the passions of the flesh and spirit, with the fact that God’s grace, the enduring effort of the ascetic, to defeat them, and to receive a crown of salvation from the hand of Christ for victory. In general, it must be said that a monk is subject to completely different laws than a worldly man, and needs strict observation of himself, constant caution, in constant distrust of his mind, heart and body. A monk can be likened to an orange flower and a layman can be likened to a field flower. It is impossible to meet such beautiful and precious flowers on the field, which are found in the greenhouse; for the fact that greenhouse flowers require special care for them, can not tolerate bad weather, with little freshness of the air are damaged, while the field does not need any care and supervision, grow at large and transfer conveniently air changes. All the holy fathers command the monks the strictest observation of themselves, the strictest possession of themselves. From an insignificant circumstance in appearance, a monk may arise the greatest temptation and fall itself. One careless touch, one insignificant look, as proved by countless experiments, suddenly changed in the monk all his mental disposition, all the cordial pledges, the very way of thinking. You have to keep yourself and keep it. The aforementioned Reverend Agathon said, “Without the greatest observation of oneself, it is impossible to succeed in any virtue” 3737. Initial from the very entry of them into the monastery must pay all attention to the fence of themselves with reverent skills and customs, study them and apply all the increased effort to acquire them, although it cost a considerable work. The good skill, hardly acquired in his youth, turns into a natural property and everywhere accompanies the acquirer of it. He who fences himself with good bodily skills can accumulate mental wealth with hopelessness: it will remain intact, being protected from everywhere by good bodily skills. On the contrary, a harmful skill can take away in the shortest possible time all the mental wealth accumulated over a long time accumulated with an increased feat, with a loss of health and strength, so that the new accumulation of wealth is already extremely difficult. Especially the reason for such mental disasters is the skill of free treatment and associated with it and giving birth to him frequent absences from the monastery and from the cell. The breeches! Let us pray to the Lord, by uniting with prayer and our own effort, that He may induce us to give us the affliction, and to restore our mouth (Psalm 140:3) and to the other members, as well as our feelings, which, in the unfed, are made up of holes for sin, they enter and kill her. Amen.
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Notes
Church Charter, Chapter 35.
Leostichitsa, Word 1, Chapters 18 and 19, translated into Russian in 1851.
Ibid., Chief. 9.
Leostlicitor, Word 4, chapters 3 and 5.
Book 4, Chapter 8 and 9.
is the name of monasticism in the scriptures of many holy fathers: in the word about the reasoning of the Monk Cassian the Roman, the Kindness, part 1, in the teachings of Abba Dorotheus; in the word of St. Simeon, the New Theologian, and so on.
Lesznut, title of Word 28.
Church Charter, Chapter 37 and Leostich, Word 19, chapters 5.
Ladgesic, Word 28, chapter 3.
The Reverend Pimen the Great. Alphabetical paternic. The most careful serviceability of the reader was required in ancient monasteries. Reverend Cassian, Book 2, 11. For the error when reading, the reader was epithymized. Reverend Cassian, Book 4, chapter 16.
Church Charter, chapter 27.
It is borrowed from the Church Charter, followed by the Psalter and from the customs of the most comfortable monasteries of the Russian.
Church Charter, chapter 29.
The Monk Abba Dorofei. Teaching 3, about conscience.
Reverend Neil Sorsky, Word 5, article on the measure of food.
Church Charter, chapter 35.
St. Gregory Sinait is useful heads, chapter 18. Kindness, p. 1.
Church Charter, chapter 35.
It's also in the Alphabetical pateric.
Message to the monk Nicholas.
Monastery expression.
Alphabetical paternic.
Who wrote these rules, visiting at the original beginning of his most experienced elders, noticed this commendable custom.
The life of the Monk Simeon, the New Theologian, the manuscript; there is the life of this saint of God and the printed edition of the Optina Desert.
St. Abbes Dorotheus, the Teaching 4 of the Fear of God.
The dictum of St. Isaiah the Hermit. Alphabetical paternic.
St. Isaac of Sir, the Word of 8, and the Monk Simeon, the New Theologian, 125, Kindness, p. 1.
Book 4, Chapter 10 and 11.
Alphabetical paternic.
Alphabetical pateric and Fostool. Tale, Article 10.
It is obvious that these rules must necessarily be observed in their considerable principles, as the decrees of the apostles and holy fathers, as belonging to the moral tradition of the Church. The same is obvious that in petty parts relating to the outer deanery, should be applied to the demand and position of each monastery.
Not the Great, but the other, later monk of the Skull.
Alphabetical patient and Memorable Tales.
Guidance to the spiritual life of the Monks Varsonhoi and John, answers to questions 256 and 258.
St. Isaac of Sir, Word 9.
Alphabetical pateric and Memorable Tales, an article about Abbot Agathon.
