A monastery without secrets. Monastic life is full of joy
Who are the monks, where do they live and what clothes do they wear? What makes them choose such a difficult path? These questions are of interest not only to those who are planning to enter a monastery. What is known about people who voluntarily renounced worldly pleasures and devoted themselves to worship?
Monastery - what is it?
First, it’s worth figuring out where the monks live. The term “monastery” came into our language from Greek. This word means "alone, lonely" and is used to refer to communities or people who choose to be alone. A monastery is a religious gathering of people who have taken a vow of celibacy and withdrawn from society.
Traditionally, the monastery has a complex of buildings, which includes church, utility and residential premises. They are used depending on the needs of the community. Also, each monastery determines its own charter, which all members of the religious community must follow.
Today, several types of monasteries have survived in which monastic life can take place. The Lavra is a large monastery, which is part of Orthodox Church. Kinovia is a Christian community that has a community charter. Abbey - catholic church, who reports to the bishop or even directly to the pope. There are also monastic villages called deserts, which are located far from the main monastery.
Historical background
Knowing the history of the origin of monasteries will help you better understand who the monks are. Nowadays, monasteries can be found in many countries of the world. It is believed that they began to appear since the spread of Christianity, which happened in the third century AD. The first monks were people who left cities into the wilderness and led the life of ascetics; then they were called hermits. Egypt is the birthplace of monasticism; it was in this country that the first monastery appeared in the 4th century thanks to Pachomius the Great.
Soon after this, monasteries arose first in Palestine, and then in European countries. The first monastic communities in the West were created through the efforts of Athanasius the Great. The fathers of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in Rus' were Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk.
Who are monks: general information
It's time to get to the fun part. Who are monks is a question that fascinates many people. This is the name given to those who voluntarily rejected worldly joys and devoted their lives to worship. Monasticism is a calling, not a choice; it is not surprising that only a select few become monks, while everyone else leaves the monastery walls.
Becoming a monk is available not only to men, but also to women. The latter can also settle in a monastery after making the necessary vows. There were times when there were no nunneries or monasteries. This practice was introduced in 1504, it was then that joint monasteries were abolished in Rus'.
Life of monks
The above describes who the monks are. What kind of life do people lead who have followed their calling and dedicated themselves to God? To be tonsured does not mean that a person ends life on earth. It continues to satisfy the need for sleep and food. Of course, each monk has his own duties, working for the benefit of people or the monastery, which is called obedience.
Obedience is the work that the inhabitants of the monastery do when they are free from worship. It is divided into economic and educational. By economic work we mean that which is aimed at maintaining order in the monastery. What kind of work the monk is engaged in is decided by the abbot. Educational work is prayers.
Every minute of such a person is devoted to the service of God. He is not bothered by earthly goals and ideals. The monk’s day is spent in prayers, which become for him a kind of meaning of life.
Vows
It's no secret that monks take vows. What is the monastic vow of celibacy? A person who makes such a promise not only gives up the opportunity to get married. This vow implies that gender no longer matters to him. The bodily shell remained in the world that the monk left; from now on, only souls are important to him.
Also, a servant of God must take a vow of non-covetousness. By saying goodbye to the world, the monk also renounces the right to personal property. This implies that he cannot own anything, even if we're talking about about a ballpoint pen. A person gives up property because he no longer needs it. Everything that the monks use, such as books, is the property of the monastery.
What is the monastic vow of obedience? This means that a person completely rejects his desires. His only goal from now on is unity with the Lord, to whom he offers prayers hourly. However, willpower remains with him. In addition, the monk is required to unquestioningly follow the orders of the abbot. This is not a sign of submission and servility, but rather helps to find peace and joy in the soul.
How to become a monk
Becoming a monk is a long journey that not every applicant succeeds in completing. Many people realize that they are not able to part with the benefits of civilization, to give up the opportunity to have a family and property. The road to becoming a servant of God begins with communication with a spiritual father, who gives useful advice to a person who has decided to say goodbye to worldly life.
Next, the applicant, if he has not yet abandoned his intention, becomes a laborer - an assistant to the clergy. He must constantly be in the monastery and follow its rules. This gives a person the opportunity to understand whether he is ready to spend his life in prayer and physical labor, say goodbye to the benefits of civilization, and rarely see his family. On average, a future monk follows the path of a laborer for about three years, after which he becomes a novice. The duration of this stage is determined individually; a person is still free to leave the monastery walls at any time. If he passes all the tests with honor, he will be tonsured a monk.
About the ranks
Residents of our country are accustomed to calling the clergyman “father.” This common word is acceptable, but you need to know that in the Orthodox Church there is a strict hierarchy of orders. To begin with, it is worth mentioning that all clergy are divided into black (taking a vow of celibacy) and white (having the right to start a family).
Only four are available to family people Orthodox rank: deacon, protodeacon, priest and archpriest. Many people prefer this path because they do not want to completely abandon worldly life. What kind of monastic rank can a person who decides to do this receive? There are many more options: hierodeacon, archdeacon, hieromonk, abbot, archimandrite, and so on. A monk can also become a bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, or patriarch.
The highest monastic rank is patriarch. Only a person who has taken a vow of celibacy can be awarded it. There are known cases when family clergy, whose children have already grown up, with the consent of their spouse, go to a monastery and renounce worldly life. It happens that their wives do the same, as evidenced by the example of Saints Fevronia and Peter of Murom.
Cloth
The clothing of the monks also arouses keen interest among the public. A cassock is a long robe that reaches to the heels. It has narrow sleeves and the collar is buttoned tightly. The cassock is an undergarment. If worn by a monk, the item should be black. Cassocks of other colors (gray, brown, white, dark blue) can only be afforded by family clergy. Traditionally, they are made from wool, cloth, satin, and linen.
Of course, the clothing of monks is not only a cassock. The outer garment of a person who has dedicated himself to God is called a cassock. Traditionally, it has long and wide sleeves. Black cassocks are most widespread, but you can also find white, cream, gray, and brown versions.
It is impossible not to mention the monastic headdress - the hood. It appeared in the church environment a long time ago, initially it looked like a soft cap made of simple matter. The modern cap is covered with a black veil that extends below the shoulders. Most often you can find black hoods, but there are also products made in other colors.
Who can't become a monk
Entering a monastery is a decision that not every person can implement. It is believed that people cannot give up their worldly life if they are kept from this commitment to others. Let's say the candidate has small children, elderly parents, and disabled relatives. Also, those who are being treated for serious illness. This is due to the fact that the person would have to give up quality medical care.
Report at the XXIII International Christmas educational readings, direction “Succession of patristic traditions in monasticism of the Russian Church” (Sretensky stauropegial monastery. January 22-23, 2015)
The inner life of a monk largely depends on the internal rules of the monastery.
The monastery, like a spiritual cradle, takes in babies and gives them everything they need to grow for God. Prayer, as the main task of a monk, is not only a conversation with God, it is the atmosphere in which the soul lives, and monasteries, or ισιχαστιρηα - literally translated, a place of silence and peace - create the atmosphere that is conducive to prayer. Two words: προσ− ευχη, translated from Greek, make up the meaning of the word “prayer.” Ευχη means prayer, a wish as if in a static state, and in combination with προσ it means its direction or movement towards any person, with the aim of connecting with him. This person for a monk is Christ Himself, to Him he is called to constantly turn his inner gaze and heartfelt desire to unite with Him.
When such a desire matures in a person’s heart, he becomes uninterested in the world in which he lives; he loses interest in communicating with his loved ones, he loses his taste for everything worldly and at some point knocks on the monastery gates to enter... We can say that he heard the voice of God, as the prophet Moses once heard him: “ go up to my mountain and stand there...” (Ex. 24:12). And what is the result? − “...and Moses went up into the mountain, and the clouds covered the mountain, and the Glory of God came down...” (Ex. 24:15-16).
IN Old Testament monastic life was transformed by holy men, such as the prophet Moses, the holy prophet Elijah, and St. John the Baptist, who lived “in deserts, caves, and the pits of the earth...” (Heb. 11:38).
Moses was chosen by God to lead the people out of slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. Moses was almost always in a crowded environment, but most importantly, he did not stop being in constant communication with God, and God Himself instructed him and appeared to him.
Saint John the Baptist, before going out to the people to preach the Gospel, lived for many years, withdrawn from the world, in the desert - in fasting and prayer. And the people who came to him, seeing his harsh life, were surprised. Modern monasteries, like the different faces of Moses and John, essentially embody within their walls these different types of residence, united by one thing - an uninterrupted stay with God. Monasteries are an integral part of the Mother Church and remain an active organ in its living organism. They are like a heart that, although invisible, can be heard. Monks also wish to be invisible to the world, but the world hears about good deeds their. Monasticism is Easter, the transition from a spiritual person to a spiritual person. A person comes out of the world in order to be silent for the world and begin a conversation with Christ. By this, he in no way despises people and his relatives, but only his very attachment to them, the spirit of this world, since he thirsts for the Higher Spirit.
If they say about someone: “Here he is - a real monk!”, then it immediately becomes clear to us what is meant: a doer inner prayer, non-acquisitive, not tied to the earthly world. A monk must build a vertical line within himself: being in the flesh on earth, with the mind in Heaven. Many such verticals are a single component of those pillars that support the whole world. The main thing is not to lose this vertical.
A novice who has stepped onto the threshold of the first degree of monasticism in our monastery is given a blessing to wear a cassock, and she surrenders her mobile phone and receives a rosary in return. The connection with the world ceases, or, more precisely, it changes. Only once a week, on Sunday, the nuns have the blessing to call their family and friends if necessary.
Monasticism, although it gives the impression of escape from the world, is a natural part of society. Monasteries were and are places of spiritual life for the laity, and monks are the spiritual fathers of the people who come to them.
One of the offerings of the love of monasteries to the world is that many monasteries operated and operate hospitals, old people's homes, schools and shelters in which pain, loneliness and orphanhood are treated. Monasteries have served and continue to serve as refuges for the expelled, as homes for the homeless, as workshops where they learn professions, and as educational centers for educating the young.
They asked Abba Agathon: “What is love?” And he, the blessed one, who had perfectly acquired the queen of virtues, answered: “Love is - if I met a leper, I would gladly give him my body, and if it were possible, I would take his body for myself.”
The meaning and tasks of monasteries are only spiritual, therefore nothing worldly should be present within their walls, but only heavenly things, so that the souls of inhabitants and pilgrims are filled with the sweetness of heavenly life. Work in monasteries should be proportionate to the physical and spiritual strength of the inhabitants and be a rest or release from prayerful work. When piety and fear of God reign in a monastery, and no worldly thinking is present in it, this pleases God, touches the laity and attracts them to the monastery.
“As we live in the spirit, let us walk in the spirit...”(Gal. 6:25), writes the Apostle Paul. If something is done in a monastery that is not in keeping with the spirit of monasticism, then the monks in that monastery will not have inner peace. In order to preserve inner peace and tranquility in the souls of the inhabitants, the monastery should not develop into some kind of profit-making enterprise, and modest monastic shops should not turn into shopping centers, where the flow of buyers will go, and not pious pilgrims seeking spiritual benefit.
If monasteries do have such trading centers, then their best location is not on the territory of the monastery, and they should not be served by monks. When lay people come to a monastery that lives with a monastic, and not an entrepreneurial, spirit, they receive benefits, healing of the soul, strengthening of the spirit and strength to further bear their earthly cross.
Regardless of whether the monastery is located high in the mountains, far in the desert, or in the center of the bustle of the city, the monastery fence has its function: it not only optically, but also spiritually encloses and protects inner life monastery from outside influence on her.
The laity should be received in the monastery cordially, in simplicity of spirit and love. They expect to see a different life in the monasteries, to “taste a little of heaven,” and for this they do not necessarily have to start conversations with the monks. Everything they need is given to them by the Lord Himself through participation in monastic services, the Sacraments of Confession and Communion. And a short stay among monastics in itself already has a healing effect on the soul.
“When we remain in silence,” said St. Seraphim of Sarov, “then the devil has no time to reach the hidden person of the heart; Understand this about silence in the mind. It gives birth to various fruits of the Spirit in the soul. From solitude and silence tenderness and meekness are born; in combination with other activities of the spirit, it elevates a person to piety. The fruit of silence is peace of soul, silence and constant prayer.” Through silence, the Monk Seraphim achieved the highest spiritual gifts and grace-filled consolations, feeling in his heart the constant joy of the Holy Spirit, which poured out into the hearts of those who looked at him.
In the monastery entrusted to me, communication between sisters is very limited, but, of course, not in the spirit of prohibition or blind submission. Our Abba, at the very beginning of our founding, instructed us with these words: “Beware of unnecessary conversations with each other. Especially in women’s monasteries there is such a danger of “getting sick with verbosity”... pay the main attention to prayer, because that’s what you came here for.”
The hotel sister meets pilgrims and answers the first questions they have; if desired, pilgrims can talk with the abbess. In the modern world, a person does not need bodily food as much as he acutely feels the need for spiritual nutrition. Diseases modern society naturally pose new tasks for monasteries and require a special approach to solving them. Help at least one family not to collapse, support teenagers who must withstand enormous psychological pressure in schools, help as much as possible and tell the mother not to kill in the womb...
How can we determine the extent to which monks can participate in the life of the laity?
The Monk Paisius of Athos was asked about this, and he replied: “Monks can help the laity until they see that a person can already help himself. If we immerse ourselves entirely in the problems and sorrows of the laity, then we ourselves will soon become laity. It happens that a monk, under the pretext of helping the laity, commits acts that are alien to the monastic spirit. In this case, the laity do not receive any benefit from the help, but on the contrary, they are tempted, seeing in the monastics the worldly spirit they are accustomed to. There are monks who carry a worldly spirit within them, and vice versa - laypeople who have a monastic spirit within them. Therefore, upon meeting Christ, the schema will be removed from one and placed on the other...”
“If lay people want a monastic life, then they become saints, and if a monk wants a worldly life, then he goes to hell,” said the monk. Monks should try to help the whole world, first of all, with their prayer, because they are given time for this work. They are not bound by everyday responsibilities and therefore can and should help others if they themselves live in a prayerful spirit.
Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that a person comes to the monastery with his own worldly attitude and even with his own profession. While waiting for its use in the monastery, he does not even think about parting with his “wealth”. He actually brings a worldly spirit with him into the monastery, in which he continues to live. Lacking diligence in fulfilling spiritual obedience and in the absence of proper attention from the abbot, his mind is mainly occupied with external affairs and, in the end, becomes spiritually coarse so that it is impossible for him even when he is bound to sit in his cell. Every now and then he moves among the pilgrims, looking for a conversation with them, wanting to help them, show them the sights of the monastery... and all his attention is turned to the perishable (buildings, beautifully planted flowers, equipment, dishes). Such a monk openly shows to the laity his origin from clay, and not from the Spirit of God.
Over time, each monastery develops its own experience of maintaining silence and silence. It depends on many things, both internal and external factors. For example, is it possible to assume a silent life for monastic brothers and sisters who carry out obedience in the Holy Land? Almost impossible.
I know the experience of some monasteries, where on Wednesdays and Fridays the telephone is completely turned off and only the fax works. They are familiar with the Internet by hearsay. However, one of these monasteries maintains an orphanage and a home for the elderly, which are run by pious laymen. Twice a week nuns work in them with medical education, as well as catechist sisters, but on the remaining days of the week these nuns labor in their monastic order. It’s hard for me to imagine that in Germany, where there are only two monasteries, you can practice turning off your phone for two whole days... but you can try.
In one large, communal monastery, in which approximately 150 sisters work, the sisters are forced to find themselves “benefactors” who can pay for the most necessary things - medicines, fabric for monastic clothes, a one-time vacation per year...
The abbess of one of the Greek monasteries told us this summer that when she did not go to her father’s funeral, her mother and brother could not bear it and were indignant, telling her: “You are in delight! Is this a manifestation of the love that you monks are telling us about?” Her answer to her brother was as follows: “I still won’t be able to return the life of our father, but I can help him with prayer. I came here to the monastery to leave here for the Kingdom of Heaven, I have no other route.” Only after some time, thank God, did her relatives understand her action.
Communication with the world creates an obstacle to communication with God, since it is physically impossible to talk with two interlocutors at the same time. Listening to one, we leave the other interlocutor and vice versa. In addition, experience shows that when communicating with worldly people, visual or sound impressions certainly remain in the soul of a monk, which subsequently lead to distraction of the mind and are an additional obstacle to smart work, and in worst cases, a bait for the enemy.
Our Abba says: “When communicating with your neighbor, mentally build the Trinity: you are God - your neighbor. And so you will accustom yourself to see your neighbor through Christ as the messenger of God.”
A little from our experience.
Today our monastery is the only Orthodox convent in Germany. Pilgrims come to us from all Orthodox jurisdictions, from all over the world, and each with their own national temperament and church traditions. On each door of the guest cell hangs a reminder for pilgrims in Russian and German languages, with the help of which pilgrims can easily navigate the daily routine, services and general rules behavior in the monastery. The day begins in the evening, and the liturgical cycle in the monastery begins at 18:00 in the evening - the ninth hour and vespers, after which a meal is served for both nuns and pilgrims. At 20:00 we serve Little Compline with Canon Mother of God from the octoechus and, after joint prayers for the coming sleep, the rite of forgiveness is performed. After this, the sisters silently disperse to their cells.
“When leaving church, we should not throw the prayer like a rag, but carefully and in complete silence carry it to our cell,” this is how our Abba instructs us. “Monks must enter their cells like a priest entering the altar,” says the Bishop. From 4:00 to 7:00 am they read morning prayers, Midnight Office, Matins and the Hours with pictorial symbols are sung; on days when the Liturgy is served, the symbols are omitted. After the proposed meal or tea, depending on the day of the week, obedience begins. From 12:00 to 13:45 the monastery is closed for rest and the sisters and pilgrims are in their cells. After rest, 15-minute tea for everyone and from 14:00 to 16:00 again obedience. From 16:00 to 18:00 cell rule time and spiritual reading. At this time, the monastery is closed to communication with the world. During these hours, pilgrims, just like the sisters, are not blessed to do anything else or walk around the monastery, disturbing the silence. The pilgrims' stay with us lasts three days. At the request of the pilgrims and subject to their participation in all monastic services, they are blessed to stay longer. We encourage pilgrims with children to wake up their children and bring them to at least part of the service. I saw such an experience in Arizona, with Elder Ephraim, where children from five years old, completely cheerful, came to the night service, which begins at about one in the morning... and waited for Holy Communion. Such experiences among teenagers shape their souls, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
In our monastery, the first floor is occupied by hotel cells for pilgrims, and on the second floor there are cells of nuns. In one building with a common corridor and a refectory, two different worlds. Pilgrims are accepted as temporarily joining the already existing rhythm of monastic life. While participating in divine services and obediences, and often working together with the sisters, they do not have the blessing to talk with them, just as the sisters are not blessed to talk with pilgrims. During obediences, both nuns and pilgrims say the Jesus Prayer in a low voice. When it is played during obediences in a monastery, on the one hand, it protects the monastics from unnecessary external intrusion. On the other hand, perceiving it by ear, it is easier to remain in prayer, in remembrance of Christ, since we all know what kind of flights the mind of a person who begins to pray is capable of.
Thus, monks and laity, communing from the same Chalice and communicating with God in the monastery through prayer, thereby communicate with each other. It is prayerful communication that allows monks and laity to keep this sacred parallel between them undisturbed, which leads to one goal - union with Christ!
Monasticism has established itself and lives as an “army of the sacred,” a monastic and angelic city.
Monasteries are a blessing from God in the modern world!
"That's it! I'm tired of it! I'm leaving for a monastery!" - many of us allow ourselves such jokes. But there are people who once said this to themselves seriously and accomplished their plan, saying goodbye to worldly life forever.
In the previous material we described in detail. They talked about early rises and hours of worship, modest meals and endless “obediences”. Not everyone can live such a life: it’s not for nothing that in Minsk, which has a population of more than two million, there are only about a hundred sisters. They say that people go to the monastery to escape difficult problems and failures. The nuns of the St. Elisabeth Convent categorically disagree with this.
They don't raise their voices and don't get offended by anything. They answer any questions with pleasure and try not to hide anything. Communication with sisters is very easy and relaxed, but it is extremely difficult to understand them. When it comes to God, there is a feeling that these people are speaking a completely different language. Why such extremes? Why deprive yourself of all the joys of life, instead of simply keeping the commandments, regularly going to church on Sundays and reading the Lord's Prayer before going to bed? Each nun has her own arguments for this.
The sisters are unanimous on one thing: in their opinion, they do not leave for the monastery, but come to it. They come to God, and do not run away from life’s problems. The sisters do not agree with the stereotype that they end up here not because of a good life. Rather, serious trials force one to turn to faith. What happens next depends on the person.
Nun Juliana, 55 years old. "God controls everything: your thoughts and your actions"
This, for example, happened to sister Juliania, who for a long time was completely far from religion. The woman was known throughout the world as a good musician. Social status, material well-being, a husband and three beautiful children - she had everything one could only dream of. But one day a tragedy happened: a child became seriously ill ( last stage oncology). Doctors gave practically no chance of recovery. Disillusioned with the possibilities of medicine, the woman decided to “beg for a child.” Quite unexpectedly for herself, she believed in God. And then incredible things began to happen to her family: her son recovered, despite the doctors’ gloomy forecasts. For the woman, everything was obvious: “The Lord himself healed the child.” Since then, every year her faith has only grown stronger.
“I realized that this was exactly what I had been missing for a long time. All my life I felt that my soul was languishing. But in fact, the soul was looking for God...
The woman continued her soul searching and eventually found herself in the monastery. The children grew up and chose their own path, and nun Juliana chose hers.
“I understood that I couldn’t do this anymore - live in the capacity in which I lived before. Something needed to change. God controls everything: your thoughts and your actions.
Nun Juliana assures that the children reacted relatively calmly to her decision. They regularly “come to visit”, and their daughter even sings in the monastery Sunday choir.
- When you feel that you are “ready”, you do not notice what others would call “endure”. If you came to the monastery, it means that you have a serious determination for this.
Nun Martha, 40 years old. “I used to envy believers because they have eternity...”
Nun Martha opened the doors of the monastery during a period of strong spiritual uplift. As she herself says, at some point she was “as if touched by the Lord.” Before that, she was a student at the Academy of Arts, did not go to church and was not interested in anything like that. One day during the holidays, a girl went to visit her grandmother, who lives in Israel. The goals of the trip were the most secular: to make interesting sketches, relax, sunbathe and see the sights. The trip to the holy places was especially memorable: everything that the guide told seemed extremely interesting to the young artist.
“I thought: if Christ actually said this, then he is definitely God.” Everything quickly fell into place for me. I returned from Israel very inspired. Gradually I stopped understanding how one could NOT believe. By the way, I used to sometimes envy believers because they have eternity...
After returning home, the girl continued to be interested in religion: she read specialized literature and even tried to paint icons. Having learned about the Jesus Prayer, the student began to read it during classes, and then even ordinary educational drawings, in her opinion, came out more beautiful than ever. One of the teachers even said that the works “glow.” Together with the sisters of mercy, she began going to a children's boarding school. Nun Martha remembers that period of her life as especially happy. It is not surprising that after graduating from the Academy of Arts she ended up in the monastery icon-painting workshop.
- I liked it so much there: the sisters read prayers, everyone was so inspired. It seemed like perfect “space”; the feeling of flying did not leave me. There were no doubts, I was sure that I was in the right place.
Just three years divided our heroine’s life into “before” and “after.” In 1998 she started going to church, and in 2001 she was already in a monastery.
- If we talk about my decision, then, in fact, I did not accept it, but simply sought God’s will...
Nun Nadezhda, 25 years old. “In the monastery I felt a cloud of grace”
The fate of the nun Nadezhda was also decided by chance (or by the Lord himself, as they often say here). The girl came to Minsk to go to college, but ended up entering... a monastery. During the exams, she rented a room with one of the sisters of mercy. She brought her to the monastery to look, to look around.
“I felt a different atmosphere, a “cloud of grace,” so to speak. There was a feeling that you plunged into another world - into a world of love and understanding.
The girl did not manage to go to college; she had to change her plans to next year. And she decided to pass the time again in the monastery: to work hard and, so to speak, gain the “monastic spirit.” Two weeks, according to sister Nadezhda, passed unnoticed. But when she returned home, she did not feel any relief. There was a strong emptiness in my soul.
But the young girl’s parents were shocked. They can be understood: Sister Nadezhda became a nun, in fact, immediately after school! Without knowing or feeling the taste of life.
- This happens again because of stereotypes, supposedly in the monastery they are almost “buried alive.” But time passes, and our relatives accept our decisions and begin to receive communion and confession themselves. It’s not for nothing that they say that when someone goes to a monastery, a guardian angel appears for his family, he takes care of his relatives and protects them.
Probation period: from laborers to nuns
Sister Nadezhda was tonsured a nun almost immediately after she arrived at the monastery. But this is rather the exception than the rule. Usually, before putting on their vestments, women go through long way. Almost like " probation"at work. There are several stages of spiritual growth. "
"Trudnitsy" come to the monastery to work, take a closer look and understand whether they made the right choice. They participate in divine services, obediences, but can leave at any time. The next stage is novitiate, which means the sister’s readiness to “renounce her desires.” By taking monastic vows, women promise to devote themselves to God forever. They can be compared to brides: they are already engaged, but have not yet become wives - this is the highest step. Only half of the 100 nuns of the St. Elisabeth Monastery accept it. - nuns. They have a huge responsibility: what are the monastic vows alone (the prohibition of having personal money), “chastity” and “obedience” (in in this case this does not mean work, but the ability to obey) - these are the main rules by which nuns live.
- Outwardly it may seem that you are depriving yourself of something, but this is wrong. The more you try for Christ, the more inner freedom you gain. Here you don’t need to think about how to do this, but how to do that... Everything is decided for you. In this sense, life is much easier this way.
In the monastery I felt the fullness of life and harmony. When you leave here for the city, everything seems somehow empty and lifeless. In the monastery - real life, here people begin to truly open up, including through obedience.
After listening to extremely enthusiastic reviews about life in the monastery, we became interested: are there cases when sisters change their decision at the last stage - after being tonsured as a nun? It turns out yes. They say here that a more terrible sin cannot be imagined.
Nun Afanasia, dean of the monastery:
- We had a nun who left the monastery into the world. Then, apparently, she repented and returned to God again, albeit to a different monastery. After a while she joined us again. Something happened internal process. And although this great sin, God forgives everyone.
First try
I went to the monastery several times. The first desire arose when I was 14 years old. Then I lived in Minsk, studying in the first year of music school. Just started going to church and asked to sing in the church choir cathedral. In the shop of one of the Minsk churches, I accidentally came across a detailed life of St. Seraphim of Sarov - a thick book, about 300 pages. I read it in one fell swoop and immediately wanted to follow the example of the saint.
Soon I had the opportunity to visit several Belarusian and Russian monasteries as a guest and pilgrim. In one of them, I made friends with the brethren, who at that time consisted of only two monks and one novice. Since then, I periodically came to this monastery to live. By various reasons, also due to my young age, in those years I was not able to fulfill my dream.
The second time I thought about monasticism was years later. For several years I chose between different monasteries - from St. Petersburg to Georgian mountain monasteries. I went there to visit and took a closer look. Finally, he chose the St. Elias Monastery of the Odessa Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate, which he entered as a novice. By the way, we met his deputy and talked for a long time before the real meeting on one of the social networks.
Monastic life
Having crossed the threshold of the monastery with my things, I realized that my worries and doubts were behind me: I was home, now a difficult, but understandable and bright life, full of spiritual achievements, awaited me. It was quiet happiness.
The monastery is located in the very center of the city. We were free to leave the territory for a short time. It was even possible to go to the sea, but for a longer absence it was necessary to obtain permission from the governor or dean. If you need to leave the city, permission had to be in writing. The fact is that there are a lot of deceivers who put on vestments and pretend to be clergy, monks or novices, but at the same time have nothing to do with either the clergy or monasticism. These people go around towns and villages, collecting donations. Permission from the monastery was a kind of shield: just a little, without any problems, you could prove that you belonged, the real one.
In the monastery itself I had a separate cell, and for this I am grateful to the governor. Most novices and even some monks lived in twos. All amenities were on the floor. The building was always clean and tidy. This was monitored by the civilian workers of the monastery: cleaners, laundresses and other employees. All household needs were satisfied in abundance: we were well fed in the fraternal refectory, and they turned a blind eye to the fact that we also had our own food in our cells.
Very great joy I experienced it when something delicious was served in the refectory! For example, red fish, caviar, good wine. Meat products they were not used in the common refectory, but we were not forbidden to eat them. Therefore, when I managed to buy something outside the monastery and bring it into my cell, I was also happy. Without being a priest, there were few opportunities to earn money on his own. For example, they paid, it seems, 50 hryvnia for bell ringing during the wedding. This was enough either to put it on the phone or to buy something tasty. More serious needs were provided at the expense of the monastery.
We got up at 5:30, with the exception of Sundays and major church holidays(on such days, two or three liturgies were served, and everyone got up depending on which liturgy he wanted or was scheduled to attend or serve). At 6:00 the morning monastic service began prayer rule. All the brethren had to be present, except for the sick, absent, and so on. Then at 7:00 the liturgy began, at which mandatory the serving priest, deacon and sexton on duty remained. The rest are optional.
At this time, I either went to the office for obedience, or returned to the cell to sleep for a few more hours. At 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning (I don't remember exactly) there was breakfast, which it was not necessary to attend. At 1 or 2 p.m. there was lunch with the obligatory presence of all the brethren. During lunch, the lives of the saints whose memory was celebrated that day were read, and important announcements were made by the monastery authorities. At 17:00 the evening service began, after which there was dinner and the evening monastic prayer rule. Bedtime was not regulated in any way, but if next morning someone from the brethren woke up the rule, they sent him with a special invitation.
Once I had the opportunity to perform a funeral service for a hieromonk. He was very young. A little older than me. I didn’t even know him during my lifetime. They say he lived in our monastery, then he left somewhere and was banned. And so he died. But, naturally, the funeral service was performed as a priest. So, all our brethren read the Psalter around the clock at the tomb. My duty once happened at night. In the temple there was only a coffin with a body and me. And so on for several hours until the next one replaced me. There was no fear, although I remembered Gogol several times, yes. Was there pity? I don't even know. Neither life nor death is in our hands, so be sorry - don’t be sorry... I only hoped that he had time to repent before his death. Like each of us, we will need to be in time.
Pranks of novices
On Easter, after a long fast, I was so hungry that, without waiting for the common holiday meal, I ran across the street to McDonald's. Right in the cassock! I and everyone else had this opportunity, and no one made any comments. By the way, many, leaving the monastery, changed into civilian clothes. I never parted with my vestments. While I lived in the monastery, I simply did not have any secular clothing at all, except for jackets and pants, which had to be worn under a cassock in cold weather so as not to freeze.
In the monastery itself, one of the novices’ pastimes was fantasizing about who would be given what name when tonsured. Usually, until the last moment, only the one who tonsures and the ruling bishop know him. The novice himself only finds out about his new name under scissors, so we joked: we found the most exotic church names and called each other them.
And punishments
For systematic lateness, they could be put on bows, in the most severe cases - on the sole (a place next to the altar) in front of the parishioners, but this was done extremely rarely and was always justified.
It happened that someone left without permission for several days. A priest did this once. They returned him with the help of the governor directly over the phone. But again, all such cases were like children's pranks in a large family. Parents can scold, but nothing more.
There was a funny incident with one worker. A worker is layman, secular person, who came to the monastery to work. He does not belong to the brethren of the monastery and has no obligations to the monastery, except for general church and civil ones (do not kill, do not steal, etc.). At any moment, a worker can leave, or, on the contrary, become a novice and follow the monastic path. So, one worker was placed at the entrance of the monastery. A friend came to the abbot and said: “What a cheap parking lot you have in the monastery!” And it’s completely free there! It turned out that this same worker took money from visitors for parking. Of course, he was strongly reprimanded for this, but they did not kick him out.
The hardest thing
When I first came to visit, the governor warned me that real life in the monastery differs from what is written in lives and other books. Prepared me to take off rose-colored glasses. That is, to some extent, I was warned about some negative things that could occur, but I was not prepared for everything.
As in any other organization, the monastery, of course, has very different people. There were also those who tried to curry favor with their superiors, became arrogant in front of the brethren, and so on. For example, one day a hieromonk who was under a ban came to us. This means that the ruling bishop, for some offense, temporarily (usually until repentance) forbade him to perform sacred functions as a punishment, but the priesthood itself was not removed. This father and I were the same age and at first we became friends and talked about spiritual topics. Once he even drew a kind caricature of me. I still keep it with me.
The closer it got to lifting the ban on him, the more I noticed that he was behaving more and more arrogantly towards me. He was appointed assistant sacristan (the sacristan is responsible for all liturgical vestments), and I was a sexton, that is, during the performance of my duties I was directly subordinate to both the sacristan and his assistant. And here, too, it became noticeable how he began to treat me differently, but the apotheosis was his demand to address him as you after the ban was lifted from him.
For me, the most difficult things not only in monastic but also in secular life are subordination and labor discipline. In the monastery it was absolutely impossible to communicate on equal terms with fathers of higher rank or position. The hand of the authorities was visible always and everywhere. This is not only and not always the governor or the dean. It could be the same sacristan and anyone who is above you in the monastic hierarchy. Whatever happened, no later than an hour later they already knew about it at the very top.
Although there were among the brethren those with whom I found great common language, despite not only the enormous distance in hierarchical structure, but also by a significant age difference. Once I came home on vacation and really wanted to get an appointment with the then Metropolitan of Minsk Filaret. I was thinking about my future fate and really wanted to consult with him. We met often when I took my first steps in the church, but I was not sure if he would remember me and accept me. Coincidentally, there were many venerable Minsk priests in the queue: rectors of large churches, archpriests. And then the Metropolitan comes out, points at me and calls me to his office. Ahead of all abbots and archpriests!
He listened to me carefully, then talked for a long time about his monastic experience. He talked for a very long time. When I left the office, the entire line of archpriests and abbots looked at me very askance, and one abbot, whom I knew from the old days, said to me in front of everyone: “Well, you stayed there so long that you should have left there with a panagia.” . Panagia is a badge of honor worn by bishops and above. The line laughed, there was a release of tension, but the Metropolitan’s secretary then swore very much that I had taken up the Metropolitan’s time for so long.
Tourism and emigration
Months passed, and absolutely nothing happened to me in the monastery. I very much desired tonsure, ordination and further service in the priesthood. I won’t hide it, I also had bishop’s ambitions. If at the age of 14 I longed for ascetic monasticism and complete removal from the world, then when I was 27 years old, one of the main motives for entering the monastery was episcopal consecration. Even in my thoughts, I constantly imagined myself in a bishop’s position and in bishop’s vestments. One of my main obediences in the monastery was work in the office of the governor. The office processed documents for the ordination of some seminarians and other proteges (candidates for holy orders), as well as for monastic tonsure in our monastery.
Many proteges and candidates for monastic vows passed through me. Some, before my eyes, went from layman to hieromonk and received appointments to parishes. With me, as I already said, absolutely nothing happened! And in general, it seemed to me that the governor, who was also my confessor, to some extent alienated me from himself. Before entering the monastery, we were friends and communicated. When I came to the monastery as a guest, he constantly took me with him on trips. When I arrived at the same monastery with my things, at first it seemed to me that the governor had been replaced. “Don’t confuse tourism and emigration,” some colleagues joked. This is largely why I decided to leave. If I had not felt that the governor had changed his attitude towards me, or if I had at least understood the reason for such changes, perhaps I would have remained in the monastery. And so I felt unnecessary in this place.
From scratch
I had access to the Internet, I could consult on any issues with very experienced clergy. I told everything about myself: what I want, what I don’t want, what I feel, what I’m ready for and what I’m not. Two clergymen advised me to leave.
I left with great disappointment, with resentment towards the governor. But I I don’t regret anything and am very grateful to the monastery and brethren for the experience gained.When I left, the governor told me that he could have tonsured me as a monk five times, but something stopped him.
When I left, there was no fear. There was such a leap into the unknown, a feeling of freedom. This is what happens when you finally make a decision that seems right.
I started my life completely from scratch. When I decided to leave the monastery, I not only had no civilian clothes, but also no money. There was nothing at all except a guitar, a microphone, an amplifier and my personal library. I brought it with me from worldly life. Mostly these were church books, but there were also secular ones. I agreed to sell the first ones through the monastery shop, the second ones I took to the city book market and sold there. So I got some money. Several friends also helped - they sent me money transfers.
The abbot of the monastery gave money for a one-way ticket (he and I ended up made up. The Lord is a most wonderful person and a good monk. Communicating with him even once every few years is a great joy). I had a choice of where to go: either to Moscow, or to Minsk, where I lived, studied and worked for many years, or to Tbilisi, where I was born. I chose the last option and within a few days I was on the ship that was taking me to Georgia.
Friends met me in Tbilisi. They helped us rent an apartment and start new life. Four months later I returned to Russia, where I live permanently to this day. After long wanderings, I finally found my place here. Today I have mine small business: I individual entrepreneur, I provide translation and interpretation services, as well as legal services. I remember monastic life with warmth.
The correspondent of the “Ivanovskaya Gazeta” spent three months as a laborer in a convent - the Svyatoezerskaya Iveron Hermitage...
Inequality
The degree of severity of monastic rules is different for everyone. For example, you go to the refectory in the morning. No one has a blessing for breakfast! You see a whole table with food left over from lunch and dinner. Nuns, novices, and kitchen workers are sitting and happily talking about something. They fall silent when you appear. Eat with them. And the next day you listen to reproaches from the nun Ephrama: “ How could you leave the station and go to the refectory! No one has a blessing for this. Yes, the nuns and workers are sitting. But they are so...” It turns out that they can, but I can’t! Or you are obliged to go to the evening service, even if your legs are weak from fatigue. But the laborer Natalya, who washes dishes in the monastery, may not visit them at all. She is an orphan and has been wandering around monasteries all her life. People in the Desert feel sorry for her.
One of the nuns’ mother lives in the monastery. She herself is a cellarer (in the worldly sense, the head of the dining room). A mother who has been living in the Desert for several months now helps her daughter in the refectory. A woman has no clear responsibilities, no obediences. Everything she does is done voluntarily. Nuns sometimes come to each other's cells without a blessing. They do not go to bed at a clearly set time, preferring to communicate with each other. Why is it that a newcomer who struggles is treated so harshly?
There are completely reasonable answers to all these questions. Why does inequality exist? Firstly, you are new to the monastery. They look closely at you, as in any team. Secondly, you came out of nowhere, without a blessing spiritual father. This worries the nuns very much. Thirdly, the neophyte, as it turns out later, is tested for strength. One of the nuns admitted: “You were specially sent to do heavy physical labor. They wanted to check whether you could stand it or not. Everyone who begins their journey in a monastery goes through this. Then they will be sent to another area of work, for example, to sew robes. In a monastery you should be able to do everything.”
Monks: who are they?
- How long have you been in the monastery? - I ask nun Ephraim.
- Monks are not asked such questions. But I'll tell you. I've been here for 12 years. She is from Sochi. Former geologist. There is a son and grandson. I hardly communicate with my family.
Relatives in the monastery are a special topic.
Nun Maria: “I'm from Moscow myself. From the age of 18 I wanted to become a nun. The spiritual father said: “Finish college.” Finished. She told her mother: “I want to go to a monastery!” Mom didn’t understand: “You’re a normal girl!” Then - family scandals and quarrels. Mom took away my passport and religious literature, locked me at home, and tried to get me a job. I got on my knees: “Let me go!” She began to travel with me as a pilgrim to monasteries. We began to understand each other. One day I called from here: “Mom, tomorrow I’m getting tonsured as a monk.” Mom: “Well, this is your way.”
Nun Onufria: “I wanted to become a nun from the age of 16, to settle in Diveyevo convent. Then a friend came to this monastery and “pulled” me here. I moved here with my mother and twin sister. Now our whole family are nuns.”
Father Dmitry(serves in the monastery): “ You can go to a monastery only with the blessing of your loved ones.”
Pilgrim - laborer - search for a spiritual father - entry into the nursing corps (with the permission of the abbess) - novitiate - monasticism - monasticism. It's almost mandatory procedure joining the nuns. But there are also exceptions.
Nun Onufria explains: “You can live your whole life as a laborer in a monastery, or you can immediately become a nun. The main thing is your own inner feeling, the power of faith.”
From a worldly point of view, all the nuns of the monastery can be divided into three categories. The first is the young nuns. Usually these are girls 18-25 years old. From an early age they visit temples and monasteries. Upon reaching adulthood, future nuns find spiritual fathers and take monastic vows.
Why do they leave worldly life- the question is complex. This is the secret of monasticism. Young nuns are the most dangerous contingent for the Desert. They can fall into temptation more easily. There are cases when young nuns left the monastery, got married and stopped visiting the temple. Therefore, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided that women who have reached their 30th birthday can take monastic vows.
You need to understand that entering a monastery is a very bold and extremely decisive step. A person changes his life radically, sometimes without suspecting what awaits him beyond the fence of the Desert. A nun can begin to be “broken” after even 10 years of non-secular life. This becomes a real personal tragedy: a woman expects something specific from monasticism, but gets something completely different.
Leaving the Desert is not prohibited. “Our gates are open, - speaks Abbess Georgiy, - but what to do if you took an oath before God?”
The second category of nuns are people who came to Pustyn after a life tragedy. For example, they got sick or didn’t behave correct image life and decided to improve. There are many such nuns: former convicts, women easy virtue etc. They are among the most religious. None of them talks about their difficult past and no one asks unnecessary questions. And so everything is clear, without words.
The third category is elderly nuns. They take monastic vows at the end of their lives. Some become schemamonks (that is, those who do not fulfill obediences and only pray in their lonely cell). Elderly nuns are the calmest. But sometimes they cannot withstand temptations. A 70-year-old cell neighbor left Pustyn for another monastery (Optina metochion) without explanation.
The powers of the inhabitants of the Desert are extremely regulated. Mother Maria is in charge of the sacristy, Ambrose's mother is in charge of the cellarer in the refectory, Pelagia's mother is in charge of the warehouse, Onufria's mother is in charge of the "hotel housekeeping", Joseph's mother is the chief "fisherman", Domna's mother is the monastery doctor. A monk must be able to do everything. But in the Desert no one invades “foreign” territory or performs other people’s functions.
Nuns lead a correct lifestyle. They do not drink, do not smoke, and fast (almost 240 days a year). The local population believes that the nuns move to the other side of the lake and indulge in all their might. This is wrong. The nuns (who, however, allow themselves to bathe in robes in the Holy Lake) simply have no time for debauchery. They work 6 days a week. If there is nothing to do, they pray, read akathists, perform other obediences (for example, one of the nuns must read the Jesus Prayer 300 times before leaving their cell).
On Sunday there is a long service until one o'clock in the afternoon. On Sunday evenings, the nuns sleep before a hard week of work.
Holidays, of course, happen: Easter, for example, or Peter and Paul Day. It is prohibited to work on holidays, but it is also not allowed to leave the Desert. ( “So as not to be tempted”- the nuns say). Pilgrims arrive on holidays. They are allowed to stay in the monastery for only three days. Although there are exceptions. People who have been traveling to Pustyn for a long time are treated like family by the nuns. They are allowed to stay in the Desert even for several weeks. (Pilgrims often cause irritation. You feel that they are treated almost more hospitably than you, and are not so harsh with them.)
Nuns are required to go to confession and receive communion weekly. Before communion there is a mandatory three-day fast. During fasting days, nuns try not to talk. Each of them endures this difficult moment differently. “On fast days we have conflicts, says mother Maria. - At this time, temptations are greatest. Many nuns can’t stand it and break down.”
Relationships with the local population and nuns are a controversial issue. The Desert Temple is regularly visited by parishioners. Nuns go to visit sick and infirm believers. The nuns buy mushrooms and berries from the locals for their own needs. For those who do not believe in God, the path to the monastery territory is practically closed. The nuns can tell many unpleasant stories about the non-believers living in the village. The local population, according to the inhabitants of the Desert, is engaged in theft. They can “drag away” anything: a shovel from a monastery site, and an icon from a temple.
In addition, some residents, according to the nuns, “prandise” in witchcraft. Opposite the church altar in the flower garden, Ephraim's mother regularly digs up dead chickens. A bird killed in front of the temple walls is considered obscurantist. The priests serving in the Desert refuse to give communion and confess to the “sorcerers.”
Behind the fence
Why are you leaving the monastery after three months of stay? You understand that you are a worldly person after all (at least for now). You weren't ready for unexpected turn fate. The monastery is very difficult, it is not for everyone. After all, it is possible to behave righteously in the world!
What do you leave behind the fence of the Desert? A piece of yourself - the past. What are you going into the world with? With the realization that life is a wonderful thing, you can do many good, good deeds in it.
And one more thing. You come to the conclusion: you can either fall or rise. But in any case, at the top and at the bottom, you must remain human!
