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The blog includes recent ministry updates of the convent, sermons, icons, personal stories and everything related to Orthodox Christianity. Join our Catalog of Good Deeds and become part of the ministry of St.Elisabeth Convent! #CatalogOfGoodDeeds"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/-\/Monasticism?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=8"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/search\/label\/Monasticism"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/-\/Monasticism\/-\/Monasticism?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=9\u0026max-results=8"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"25"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"8"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-2030294240211440916"},"published":{"$t":"2018-12-07T06:07:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-12-07T06:07:50.236-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Becoming a Monk: a Closer Look at Monastic Tonsuring in Orthodoxy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/--2WOnMyRJ7U\/XAo4mfDDR0I\/AAAAAAABDc0\/NbjPumVAsr8W3uhRSStwO-G8OiaYeYo9ACLcBGAs\/s1600\/3.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"612\" data-original-width=\"940\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/--2WOnMyRJ7U\/XAo4mfDDR0I\/AAAAAAABDc0\/NbjPumVAsr8W3uhRSStwO-G8OiaYeYo9ACLcBGAs\/s640\/3.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EI imagine that very few Orthodox have ever observed the rite for the tonsuring of a monastic. The first time I observed the rite was during my stay at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary in Pennsylvania, where a priest who had been recently elected bishop was being tonsured a monk prior to his episcopal consecration. The Orthodox Church has for many years held to the practice of only choosing its bishops from among the monks, doubtless on the basis that only those who have proven themselves humble in their monastic life should be trusted to exercise authority over their fellows. Our present practice of hustling episcopal candidates from the monastery altar to the episcopal throne without their having actually spent any real time in the monastery doesn’t quite fulfill the rationale for choosing only monastics as bishops, but that question cannot be examined here. Here we simply look at the rite of monastic tonsure and the life to which it was meant to lead.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn the beginning, there was no specific rite of tonsure or liturgical way to make a monk. A monk (from the Greek \u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003Emonachos\u003C\/i\u003E, or “solitary”) was anyone who had left the world to dwell apart. There were no promises made or formal clothing given. Monasticism consisted simply of the individual’s choice to depart from society and live on its fringes, either completely alone or in the company of a few like-minded solitaries. This occasional choice soon grew into a movement, as men came flooding into the deserted fringes of the world in enough numbers so as to constitute a kind of desert city. These men came with all kinds of motivations, and from all kinds of backgrounds. To avoid chaos and catastrophe, the flood needed to be organized and institutionalized, which it was. In this process of institutionalization, several names tower above others—names like Anthony, Pachomius, and Euthymius. One liturgical fruit of this long process of institutionalization is our present Orthodox rite of monastic tonsure.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe present Orthodox rite of the little schema—what in the West would be “final vows” wherein the novice pledges himself to permanent monasticism—begins with the candidate prostrating himself (or herself) before the abbot (or abbess). As befits such an occasion, the abbot offers many words of caution, warning the candidate against taking such a momentous step impulsively or casually, for there could be no turning back if the candidate later changed his mind the next morning. The candidate was regarded as dying decisively to the world, and being born again to a new life, which is why the newly-tonsured monk was given a new name. Dying is for keeps, and so is monastic commitment—hence all those long exhortations from the Abbot.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-CmM__aGJFoY\/XAo4qFRC32I\/AAAAAAABDc8\/_HE66v0fQXQSvvBJQbaXAha6vYNiAGlSACLcBGAs\/s1600\/6.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"533\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-CmM__aGJFoY\/XAo4qFRC32I\/AAAAAAABDc8\/_HE66v0fQXQSvvBJQbaXAha6vYNiAGlSACLcBGAs\/s640\/6.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn the service, the abbot next questions the candidate, asking what he wants, in order to elicit the reply that the candidate wants to live a life of asceticism among the monks, and that he is choosing this life freely. The candidate pledges himself to sobriety, chastity, poverty, piety, and obedience, and to stay in his monastery to the end of his days. After another long exhortation, the time for the actual tonsure arrives. Tonsure (or the cutting off of one’s hair) since ancient times has signified consecration to God. As long ago as the giving of the Mosaic Law, Nazirites offered their hair to God as a sacrifice, an image of offering their entire bodies to Him. The new monk therefore is shorn as a sign that he now belongs no longer to the world of men, but to God alone, sitting in solitude before Him. Nowadays, the actual shearing is minimal, a snipping of a few token hairs, rather than a full cropping, but the intention remains the same.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EBefore cutting the candidate’s hair, the abbot places the scissors on the Gospel Book. He then points to the scissors and instructs the candidate to take the scissors and give them to him. Having received them, the abbot then throws them back down on the Gospel Book and repeats the request another two times. By insisting that the candidate give him the scissors not once but three times, the Church makes clear the candidate’s determination to become a monk. And by taking the scissors from the Gospel Book (and not simply from a table), the Church expresses that the new monk is receiving the scissors and his new monastic life from the hand of Christ Himself. It is a wonderful bit of imagery.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAfter the tonsure, the new monk is dressed in the clothing of his new state: a long robe, a paraman (a square of cloth on which the cross is represented), a riassa or long-sleeved robe, a leather belt, a long mantle, a monastic veil, and a prayer rope. The service concludes with the other members of the monastery giving the kiss of peace to the new monastic, each one asking the newly-tonsured monk his (or her) name. The monk’s new life of solitude and struggle has begun.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-og6pxnDQ1zw\/XAo1f35NDSI\/AAAAAAABDcU\/8drKEy4G5aUq78MFEIYdqwRx4Y6b8VYHwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/2.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"533\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-og6pxnDQ1zw\/XAo1f35NDSI\/AAAAAAABDcU\/8drKEy4G5aUq78MFEIYdqwRx4Y6b8VYHwCLcBGAs\/s640\/2.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIt is fair to say, I think, that the secular world has little appreciation for Orthodox monasticism. Buddhist monks seem to be admired, and certainly the Dalai Lama is always sure to make the Best Sellers List, but in general, the world is somewhat perplexed by what seems to them to be a spectacular waste of time and talent. All those young and gifted people vanishing from the world into a monastery, like stars sliding into a black hole—what’s the point? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if they remained in the world and offered their time and talents for the good of society? An older and angrier generation of Marxists denounced the monks as parasites on society (part of the bourgeoisie). In our day, the critics of monasticism may not go that far, but they do a fair bit of head-scratching trying to figure out how the people under the monastic veils could sensibly choose such a seemingly non-productive life. Certainly there is more than enough work to go around if we would help our suffering world. Shouldn’t the monks come out and lend a hand?\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn fact, the monks \u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003Eare\u003C\/i\u003E lending a hand through their prayers. I pray regularly every day, but my little rule of prayer is nothing compared to the exertions going on behind the high walls of Mount Athos, as they pray not only for themselves but for all the world. Of course, if one doesn’t believe that prayer “works”, then one must regard those exertions as futile. But Christians do believe that prayer works, and that our merciful Lord hearkens to the prayers offered in faith. Indeed, if the fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (see James 5:16), then the monks are offering an incalculable service to the world as they ceaselessly intercede for it.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Mix2J_aAfNg\/XAo7aq9XoKI\/AAAAAAABDdw\/triIiRT23bIq5FT7tZOHhG3vudJ5kDoTwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/22.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"500\" data-original-width=\"786\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Mix2J_aAfNg\/XAo7aq9XoKI\/AAAAAAABDdw\/triIiRT23bIq5FT7tZOHhG3vudJ5kDoTwCLcBGAs\/s640\/22.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAlso, monks provide a service for the Church at large, for they help preserve its saltiness, and without them, the Church would be in perpetual danger of losing its saving savour (see Matthew 5:13). God calls His Church to be \u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003Ein\u003C\/i\u003E the world but not \u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003Eof\u003C\/i\u003Ethe world, and the long history of Byzantium proves that this is a tall order. The Church often finds itself functioning as an established State-church, working hand in glove with Caesar, and enduring all the temptations to moral compromise which have always attended such a working relationship. The monks in their monasteries form a counter-balance to Caesar, a standing reminder that the Church belongs ultimately not to this age, but to the age to come. Monasticism thus represents the institutionalization of the Church’s eschatological nature, an in-your-face witness that we are all just sojourners in this world, and that we are just visiting this planet.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EWe may not often see the monastic rite of tonsure, and in North America, Orthodox monks are comparatively few and far between. But this tonsure and the life it represents are crucial to the health of the Church. If the Church here is to thrive, we need to see this rite used even more than it is now.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv align=\"right\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EBy Fr. Lawrence Farley\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv align=\"right\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/myocn.net\/tonsuring-monks\/\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;serif\u0026quot;; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2030294240211440916"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2030294240211440916"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/12\/becoming-monk-closer-look-at-monastic.html","title":"Becoming a Monk: a Closer Look at Monastic Tonsuring in Orthodoxy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/--2WOnMyRJ7U\/XAo4mfDDR0I\/AAAAAAABDc0\/NbjPumVAsr8W3uhRSStwO-G8OiaYeYo9ACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/3.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-5089475076833578855"},"published":{"$t":"2018-06-27T01:02:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-06-27T01:02:21.392-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Letters of St. Ambrose of Optina on Monasticism and Life in the World"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-yMPswcStX94\/WzM4-tLliFI\/AAAAAAAA8YE\/841YEMTAQBohz9AZexE2Z8KZ4_YmoytjQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/34_8a02a609.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"468\" data-original-width=\"699\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-yMPswcStX94\/WzM4-tLliFI\/AAAAAAAA8YE\/841YEMTAQBohz9AZexE2Z8KZ4_YmoytjQCLcBGAs\/s640\/34_8a02a609.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EJanuary 3, 1879 …\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn our last letter of December 14, you wrote that you cannot find any books applicable to your situation. You say that all books discuss monasticism, and that you are not a nun but are simply living near a monastery. In response I would say this to you: the Gospel teaching is given to everyone in common, and everyone is obliged to fulfill it. Monasticism stemmed from the desire to live exactly according to the Gospel teaching. This is terribly difficult amidst the noise of the city and the cares of life in the world, which hinder such a precise fulfillment of the Gospel teaching, even though everyone is called to this. Monastics are distinguished from laymen in that the latter are permitted to live in a state of matrimony, while the former choose to remain unmarried. Read more often the Gospel of Matthew, from the beginning of the fifth chapter to the end of the tenth, and try to live according to what is written there. Then your life will be marked by harmony, and you will find peace of soul.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EJanuary 11, 1879\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E \u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EPeace to you and God’s blessing, and a strengthening towards good. On January 3 I briefly wrote to you that monastic life by no means differs from the Gospel teaching, and that those living in the world differ from monastic s only as concerns their married state. About married people, however, St. John of the Ladder writes that they are like those whose hands and feet are bound with fetters. Although even these can walk the path of righteousness, it is only with difficulty; they often stumble and fall and become sorely wounded as a result. The unmarried–and particularly monastic–state offers greater facility in the fulfillment of the Gospel teaching. It is for this reason that monasticism was established by the Holy Fathers.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EYou are now in the middle, between the world and monasticism. The middle path is everywhere approved, and for you–both on account of your upbringing and your weak constitution–it is in many ways appropriate. Only try to live according to the Gospel commandments. Above all, judge no one about anything, so that you yourself will not be judged...\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn my letters I’ve always had one aim –to dispel your misconceptions about monasticism and spiritual life in general, which you formed while still living in the world. You have perhaps heard it said that even apparently correct theory does not always coincide with practice. One’s own experience, when it follows the experience of spiritual people in the past, is a good instructor, provided we check our life against the Biblical and patristic teaching.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-2TxeFuKJewc\/WzM4-o0rdWI\/AAAAAAAA8YA\/YpXJau-tFtMMm2fV4pWbcmTfeN7-_HfNgCEwYBhgL\/s1600\/269043.p.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"501\" data-original-width=\"700\" height=\"458\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-2TxeFuKJewc\/WzM4-o0rdWI\/AAAAAAAA8YA\/YpXJau-tFtMMm2fV4pWbcmTfeN7-_HfNgCEwYBhgL\/s640\/269043.p.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EYou laid for yourself and your life a rather strange foundation: I wanted so, I thought so, I intended so… You are not the only one; many desire a good spiritual life in the simplest form. Few, however, (they are rare, in fact) fulfill their good desires in actuality; they are those who hold tightly the words of Holy Scripture: “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22), and who, entreating the help of God, try to bear the griefs and illnesses and various discomforts visited upon them without murmuring, always keeping in remembrance the words of the Lord Himself: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matt. 19:17)\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAnd the most important of these commandments are: “Judge not and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:17). Besides this, those who want to be saved must bear in mind the words of St. Peter Damascene, that salvation is accomplished between fear and hope…\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ETo live in a simple hut without humbling oneself will not lead to any good. It is better for someone who is weak in soul and body to live in a comfortable cell and to humble himself, blaming and reproaching himself for such comfortable and spacious quarters. Only few, and those possessing a strong constitution, can without harm lead an austere life, and endure cold and hunger and dampness and sleeping on the ground. According to the words of St. John Damascene, those who are weak in body derive more profit from humility and thanksgiving than from physical labors and podvigs to which they are unequal.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EYou are adversely affected by the harsh words of such people who, in your opinion, should speak differently. St. John Climacus writes that God providentially leaves some flaws even in spiritual people so as to bring them to humility.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIf you wish to set yourself on a firm path toward salvation, try above all to pay heed to yourself alone, and leave everyone else to God’s Providence and their own will, and don’t concern yourself with instructing anyone. Not in vain is it said: Each man begetteth himself shame or glory according to his deeds. This will be most beneficial, meat conducive to salvation, and, what’s more, more peaceful.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/www.pravmir.com\/monasticism-and-life-in-the-world\/\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/5089475076833578855"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/5089475076833578855"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/06\/the-letters-of-st-ambrose-of-optina-on.html","title":"The Letters of St. Ambrose of Optina on Monasticism and Life in the World"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-yMPswcStX94\/WzM4-tLliFI\/AAAAAAAA8YE\/841YEMTAQBohz9AZexE2Z8KZ4_YmoytjQCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/34_8a02a609.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-2551676984574126565"},"published":{"$t":"2018-05-17T04:08:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-05-17T04:08:55.223-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Is it Possible to Live a Monastic Life in the World?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-2rK4zHFg3SM\/Wv0hIcFTR0I\/AAAAAAAA6yA\/dkGx9BhExckBfR-EwprsUNxEasl993hzQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1468462883_shag-v-zagrobnyy-mir.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"686\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-2rK4zHFg3SM\/Wv0hIcFTR0I\/AAAAAAAA6yA\/dkGx9BhExckBfR-EwprsUNxEasl993hzQCLcBGAs\/s640\/1468462883_shag-v-zagrobnyy-mir.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EQuestion:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EI want to give my life completely to Christ, but do not want to go to a monastery. Is it really necessary to be in a monastery to lead a monastic life? Can’t I live as a monastic in the world?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThis is a question that comes up quite often, except that it is usually in the form of a statement. May God bless your humility in asking this instead of informing and declaring that a monastery is not necessary for one who desires a monastic life!\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EFirst, you must realize that God’s grace is present everywhere, but it is especially felt in a monastery. When people visit a monastery, they feel that it is a holy place where God is present. Paradoxically, the monastics who dwell in that monastery more often feel the intense spiritual warfare that the evil one is waging against them. When visitors came to one monastery and said to one of the nuns, “It is so peaceful here,” she replied, “You feel the peace, we see the warfare.”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-tMDXHfOTj_A\/Wv0hI4uF_8I\/AAAAAAAA6yI\/e0q3_-70nVo7EZdELXINwiZMeH42uutZACLcBGAs\/s1600\/monasi.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"831\" data-original-width=\"1276\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-tMDXHfOTj_A\/Wv0hI4uF_8I\/AAAAAAAA6yI\/e0q3_-70nVo7EZdELXINwiZMeH42uutZACLcBGAs\/s640\/monasi.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAnyone who strives to fulfill the Gospel commandments, who tries to live truly according to the teachings of the Church, feels both of these aspects to some degree: both the grace of God in their lives, but also the intense battle that the devil and his legions wage against him. The more intensely we strive to serve God, the more the evil one seeks to deter us from our path. This is most true in the life of one who renounces the world and seeks to live completely for Christ.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESo, can this be done while living in the world? Yes. And no. One can certainly, with God’s help, live according to the Gospel commandments and the teachings of the Church in the world, maintaining a job, being faithful in the Church, living according to the “little holy trinity” of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, reading the lives of the saints and other soul edifying books, etc. This is all what the Church requires of all her faithful. This is all according to the commandments. Such a person may participate in some “worldly” activities which are not harmful—certain and limited sports, wholesome entertainment, etc., without losing his focus on God.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe monastic life takes in what the fathers refer to as the “Evangelical advice.” Remember the rich young man in the Gospel who asked the Lord, What must I do to inherit eternal life? The Lord told him to keep the commandments, which the man stated that he had done since his youth. Then the Lord said, if you want, sell all you have, take up your cross, and come, follow me (Mark 10:21).\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIf you want!!! In other words, it is not mandatory for salvation to give up everything, only “if you want” These were the words which St. Anthony heard and which led him to begin his monastic life. We know that his early monastic life was spent at first with an elder on the edge of the town, and that later he went off into the desert.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe world holds many temptations for us. Some of the pleasures of worldly life are not bad: marrying and having children are certainly blessed by Christ who worked His first public miracle at the wedding of Cana in Galilee. Being with other people—even those who are not of our faith—is not bad in itself, but it can lead one down a wrong path if one is not careful. Certain entertainments, as we mentioned above, are not bad in themselves, as long as they do not become passions. But the monastic is the one who chooses the narrower path. In order to follow this path, he must have others who are experienced in the dangers, pitfalls and perils along the way. You can find this only in a monastery with others who are struggling (while falling and getting back up again) on that same path.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-lHIMetDmVcU\/Wv0hIex54CI\/AAAAAAAA6x8\/faxqyaCyFG8AX6UnFd7ltQ4wx0ylH0iVgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/49285.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"403\" data-original-width=\"604\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-lHIMetDmVcU\/Wv0hIex54CI\/AAAAAAAA6x8\/faxqyaCyFG8AX6UnFd7ltQ4wx0ylH0iVgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/49285.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIf you are trying to walk that narrow path in the world with all its temptations and you fall (and you will fall), who will help to lift you up again? More than likely, those who are falling in the same pits as you will encourage you to remain and wallow in the mire. In the monastery, not only do you have the more experienced who can guide and reprimand you when you stray, but that great grace from God also surrounds you and assists you in these struggles. The very monastic garment itself is holy and guards the monastic.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ELet’s take an innocent example to illustrate how important the habit is: Let’s say you are driving through a rather desolate area and are very thirsty. You come upon a small settlement that has a few houses and a bar, but no gas station or grocery store or other place where you could find a cup of coffee or soft drink or tea. (There are many such towns in the west!) You stop your car and go in the bar to get a non-alcoholic drink. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. Yet when you are saying your prayers, you remember the things you saw in the bar, perhaps lewd jokes, inappropriately dressed people, etc. Even though you did nothing wrong, still, your prayer is disturbed by these remembrances.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe monk or nun who would be traveling along that same road and who is equally thirsty would not go into such an establishment. The habit itself would be as the walls of the monastery protecting him from doing so, for as innocent as his intention would be in wanting a glass of ice tea, he could not bring scandal upon the Church by going into such a place.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThere is another pitfall which catches everyone who tries to live the monastic life in the world. Pride. This is not to say that pride does not assail those in the monastery! It certainly does, however in the monastic setting, when one begins to fall into pride, there are elders who are quick to cut off that sin in the novice. You are not somebody in the monastery because you are fasting and praying—everyone is doing that! You are not considered as “pious” because you struggle to obtain the virtues—that is what is expected. But when you say, “I can lead the monastic life in the world and not bother going into the monastery” you are declaring already quite pridefully that you already know it all! Then, instead of all your efforts going toward your salvation, you will have lost everything.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThere is no question that there are monastics who live as anchorites. That life cannot be compared to what you are requesting. Those who live such a monastic life do so only after many years in a monastery and only with the blessing of their monastic elder. When a brother would ask Elder Cleopa for a blessing to go off into the forest alone to live, the Elder would tell him, “after you have been in obedience for thirty years, then come back to me and we will think about it!”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EDo not dismiss that grace which works invisibly in the monastery. It is very powerful and without it no one in a monastery would be saved. The holy fathers say that when you are saved you are saved in community; but when you fall, you fall alone.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIf you want to be saved in the world, follow the commandments; if you want to as a monastic, go to a monastery and submit to the superior of that monastery and to its rules.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/orthodoxinfo.com\/praxis\/livemonasticworld.aspx\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2551676984574126565"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2551676984574126565"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/05\/is-it-possible-to-live-monastic-life-in.html","title":"Is it Possible to Live a Monastic Life in the World?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-2rK4zHFg3SM\/Wv0hIcFTR0I\/AAAAAAAA6yA\/dkGx9BhExckBfR-EwprsUNxEasl993hzQCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/1468462883_shag-v-zagrobnyy-mir.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-8234861141377732627"},"published":{"$t":"2018-05-11T05:03:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-05-11T05:03:09.343-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Family"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Choosing between Monasticism and Marriage"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-OvTQzVo3kcw\/WvRaKwnYDfI\/AAAAAAAA6rU\/k148-13WgZEGuENbyi6XmApzyp2-fWrGgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/0f8753891115.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"480\" data-original-width=\"708\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-OvTQzVo3kcw\/WvRaKwnYDfI\/AAAAAAAA6rU\/k148-13WgZEGuENbyi6XmApzyp2-fWrGgCLcBGAs\/s640\/0f8753891115.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMost young people don’t know how to discover their calling in the life. Whether to dedicate themselves to monasticism or select the marriage path. Some have the feeling that monasticism is a more superior choice than marriage and that marriage represents a lower situation. Others believe that any young man who chooses to become a monk is a coward who avoids the responsibilities of citizenship.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EBishop of Nafpaktos, Hierotheos provides a warm insight and a clear view of the essence of both marriage and monastic life, based on the teaching of the Eastern Church Fathers. “Both marriage and monasticism are powerful symbolic ways of straining toward the ultimate goal of love. Celibacy and marriage are not contrasted with each other; instead, both are compared to and directed to God’s love”. \u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ST4Wbkgukg4\/WvRaK0qXwuI\/AAAAAAAA6rc\/57lts7ZkAbYuO1pO4X2-aT1SiKwMBMW4gCLcBGAs\/s1600\/32662034752_d2b5d88bc6_b.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"603\" data-original-width=\"937\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ST4Wbkgukg4\/WvRaK0qXwuI\/AAAAAAAA6rc\/57lts7ZkAbYuO1pO4X2-aT1SiKwMBMW4gCLcBGAs\/s640\/32662034752_d2b5d88bc6_b.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMonasticism and Married Life\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EOrthodox spirituality is accessible to all people; responding to its message is not associated with special groups of people. All those who have been baptised in the name of the Holy Triune God are “compelled” to uphold Christ’s commandments. There are no excep­tions on the way toward theosis, which is the “journey” from the image of God to His likeness. The Apostle Paul says clearly: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3, 27).\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe essence and aim of Orthodox spirituality presented in the foregoing chapters is delineated in the Word of Christ and the teachings of the Apostles. Many passages from Holy Scripture have been quoted which show that the first Christians lived the spiritual life profoundly, having attained to the illumination of the nous and unceasing prayer.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn a reference to virginity and marriage the Apostle Paul states: “He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife” (1 Cor. 7, 32-33). Yet, at the same time he stresses: “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wines be as though they had none” (1 Cor. 7, 29). Thus married people also lived asceti­cally and had experiences of the spiritual life.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMoreover, not to be overlooked is the fact that all of the Apostle Paul’s Epistles, sent to the various Churches, were addressed to Christians who were married and had families. And it is within these Epistles that St. Paul speaks of cleansing of the heart, illumination of the soul, acquisition of noetic prayer, of the unceasing prayer of the heart, Sonship by grace, and of life in the Holy Spirit. These epistles disclose that the Christians of the first Apostolic Churches lived as the monks live today in the holy monasteries. When the persecutions ceased, however, and Christianity became the official state religion, seculariza­tion penetrated the Church and the ascetic way of living disappeared from the cities. It was precisely during this time that monasticism developed as an attempt to preserve the essence of the spiritual life. For this reason the holy Fathers emphasize that monasticism is the continuity of the Apostolic age and the life of the first Church; and that the monks are those who live the life of the Gospel, who experience repentance to its ultimate degree and who try to ob­serve the commandments of Christ unyieldingly. Every Orthodox monk who lives within this atmos­phere is an Apostle of Christ, a Martyr and a Prophet. Monasticism is apostolic, prophetic and martyrial life.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cGWGirq72x8\/WvRaK4uprMI\/AAAAAAAA6rY\/iLy3aX-vchEy5Q6hDrPPVMpvGpnyTo-0QCLcBGAs\/s1600\/16388912_1211645678942691_2101893256_o.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"550\" data-original-width=\"1020\" height=\"344\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cGWGirq72x8\/WvRaK4uprMI\/AAAAAAAA6rY\/iLy3aX-vchEy5Q6hDrPPVMpvGpnyTo-0QCLcBGAs\/s640\/16388912_1211645678942691_2101893256_o.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ETo understand the essence of monastic life, one should read the beatitudes of Christ. The monk com­mences his life in profound repentance with tears of mourning and the cleansing of the heart. In the Gospel and the Apostle Paul’s Epistles all the ele­ments which constitute the genuine monastic tradi­tion, as proclaimed by the Fathers, can be found.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThese same elements are emphasized in the ser­vice of monastic tonsuring. It states there that during the noviciate period the prospective monk passes through the stage of the Catechumen, living in deep repentance and undergoing purification of the heart.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThis is the “first love” of which the Evangelist John speaks in the book of Revelation. When repentance is accomplished monastic tonsuring takes place, which is referred to as the “second baptism”.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMonastic tonsuring is called a mystery because the monk experiences the purifying and illuminating energy of God. According to St. Symeon the New Theologian the second baptism is the baptism of the Spirit, that is, the illumination of the nous and the acquisition of noetic prayer. The following is said to the monk while he is being tonsured: “You are purged of your sins and becometh son of light”, Thus, the monk experiences purification of the heart prior to his tonsure, and ac­quires illumination of the nous while being tonsured.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe apostolic life and the way of life of the first Christians, as described in the Pauline Epistles and the book of the Acts, is made visible.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMonasticism is apostolic and evangelical; mor­tification of the “old man” precedes it, though, and then the monk becomes a “temple” of the Most Holy Spirit. The prayers read by the priest are expressive of this theme.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMarried Christians in their personal lives are also called to live the Gospel and the commandments of Christ. Noone is exempted from this responsibility. Every one must experience repentance; overcome sel­fishness; and acquire love for God and love for others.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIt is apparent that the circumstances of married life are different from those of the monastery, and thus a certain adjustment is needed. Yet, what the monastery is for the monk, the family is for the married person. Family is the place for ascetic practice in married life. It is therein that a person is called to carry out the will of God.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E“O God most pure … bless this marriage, and vouchsafe unto these thy servants, N. and N., a peaceful life, length of days, chastity, mutual love in the bond of peace, long· lived seed, gratitude from their posterity, a crown of glory which fadeth not away. Graciously grant that they may behold their children’s children. Preserve their bed un assailed, and give them of the dew of heaven from on high, and of the fatness of the earth. Fill their houses with wheat, and wine, and oil, and with every beneficence, that they may bestow in turn upon the needy; granting also unto those who are here present with them all those petitions which are of their salvation”. (Rite of the Holy Matrimony).\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe Church has placed all of its teaching on marriage in the prayers read during the marriage ceremony. The wedded are blessed to live their lives in love and prudence, following the commandments of God.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E“Be thou exalted, a Bridegroom, like unto Abraham; and be thou blessed, like unto Isaac; and do thou multiply like unto Jacob, walking in peace, and keeping the commandments of God in righteousness.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAnd thou, O Bride: Be thou exalted like unto Sarah; and exult thou, like unto Rebecca; and do thou multiply, like unto Rachel: and rejoice thou in thy husband, fulfilling the conditions of the law: for so is it well pleasing unto God”. (Rite of the Holy Matrimony).\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe fact that women and men who had been wor­thy of experiencing divine vision in the Old Testament are mentioned in the prayers, demonstrates the as­cetic and saving character of marriage in Christ. The holy Fathers teach that conception, gestation and birth constitute the “garments of skin” which Adam wore after the Fall. God, however, eventually blessed this way. St. Maximos writes that marriage, as we know it today, is a result of the Fall.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESt. Chrysostom teaches that all of the command­ments of the Gospel -except, of course, for that of marriage-are to be shared by all men -monks and married.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESt. Basil discerns that both -monastics and the married-are called to uphold the commandments of Christ in the Gospel. St. Gregory Palamas, on the theme of the purity of the heart, declares that married persons can also strive to attain it.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5Cm-Pni4itU\/WvRaLTu0OnI\/AAAAAAAA6rg\/RP3arSPwIdkx5uLybDTmjEtNA4dk_16QwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/monakhi-_3_.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1066\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5Cm-Pni4itU\/WvRaLTu0OnI\/AAAAAAAA6rg\/RP3arSPwIdkx5uLybDTmjEtNA4dk_16QwCLcBGAs\/s640\/monakhi-_3_.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe existence of many married Saints who pos­sessed noetic prayer both in the Old and the New Testaments reveals that married people have the capacity to experience Orthodox spirituality in all its manifestations. The prophetess Anna kept noetic prayer within her heart and prayed unceasingly while in the midst of experiencing great pain.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EWithin the framework of Orthodox spirituality, therefore, Christians are not divided into categories of married and single, monastics and lay people; however they are separated into those who have the Holy Spirit within and those who do not. It is possible for all people to uphold Christ’s commandments and experience Or­thodox spirituality under the guidance of a spiritual father. There are neither privileged nor non-privileged people within Orthodox tradition.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/pemptousia.com\/2016\/12\/marriage-or-monasticism\/\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/8234861141377732627"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/8234861141377732627"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/05\/choosing-between-monasticism-and.html","title":"Choosing between Monasticism and Marriage"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-OvTQzVo3kcw\/WvRaKwnYDfI\/AAAAAAAA6rU\/k148-13WgZEGuENbyi6XmApzyp2-fWrGgCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/0f8753891115.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-673188606554307305"},"published":{"$t":"2018-05-01T01:31:00.002-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-09-12T04:25:58.941-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Developing a Proper Understanding of Monastic Life"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-oDD8VKO_lsA\/Wugl7MtpKRI\/AAAAAAAA6S8\/vzb8HAYtRMEcGbZN0zZ_SfsWMoG1U0z9QCLcBGAs\/s1600\/2-4_1.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"620\" data-original-width=\"1000\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-oDD8VKO_lsA\/Wugl7MtpKRI\/AAAAAAAA6S8\/vzb8HAYtRMEcGbZN0zZ_SfsWMoG1U0z9QCLcBGAs\/s640\/2-4_1.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“They wandered about in sheepkins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:38-39).\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe idea that the life of a monk is useless is not uncommon amongst Christians of today. The seeds of such thought can be found in Blessed Augustine’s critiques of certain monastic groups (though he did not attack the monastic life as such), but are mostly to be found in the fruit of the Protestant Reformation in the West. There is decidedly something off when one compares the so-called “Protestant work ethic” with misunderstandings and even anger concerning the monastic life. Objections about their seemingly “not doing anything,” of monastic life as some kind of vacation from an otherwise struggling world, and the notion that monastics simply live off the hard work of others “in the world”, so to speak, abound. Others say that the monastic life is completely antithetical to the Gospel itself, deducing the Gospel to little more than a social-justice movement bent on creating heaven on earth. To such as these, the idea of solitary contemplative life (or that of contemplative life in a community) is more reminiscent of the Neo-Platonism of pagan thinkers such as Plotinus, than of Christ.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAll of these notions completely misunderstand the truth of what a monk actually is, as well as misunderstand the idea of evangelism and sanctity. St. Silouan the Athonite says, “There are people who say that monks ought to be of some use to the world, and not eat bread they have not toiled for, but we have to understand the nature of a monk’s service and the way in which he has to help the world. A monk is someone who prays for the whole world, who weeps for the whole world; and in this lies his main work.”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-X_lnrJ1Mcn0\/WucnbX9to8I\/AAAAAAAA6PU\/Zlm3_XesbPsbz-XyShdtKtXxAlgaBrjzgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/F-lifeofmonk.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"360\" data-original-width=\"940\" height=\"244\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-X_lnrJ1Mcn0\/WucnbX9to8I\/AAAAAAAA6PU\/Zlm3_XesbPsbz-XyShdtKtXxAlgaBrjzgCLcBGAs\/s640\/F-lifeofmonk.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ETo object that monks are nothing more than smelly hermits that hide from the world in caves is to completely miss the point of monasticism. Jesus Himself often went to the mountains and solitary places to pray, seeking to be alone with the Father. Is He too to be accused of not living the Gospel? May it never be!\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESt. John Maximovitch, a wonderworker of our times, speaks: “Holiness is not simply righteousness, for which the righteous merit the enjoyment of blessedness in the Kingdom of God, but rather such a height of righteousness that men are filled with the grace of God to the extent that it flows from them upon those who associate with them. Great is their blessedness; it proceeds from personal experience of the Glory of God. Being filled also with love for men, which proceeds from love of God, they are responsive to men’s needs, and upon their supplication they appear also as intercessors and defenders for them before God.” St. Neilos the Ascetic adds, “Let us avoid staying in towns and villages; it is better for their inhabitants to come to us. Let us seek the wilderness and so draw after us the people who now shun us.”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EWe see this in the lives of so many of the saints – from St. Anthony the Great to St. Seraphim of Sarov, who drew others to themselves because of the grace and holiness that overflowed from them. They lived in the wilds of the forests, in the empty wastes of the desert, in the depths of the earth and still the holy saints of the Church drew the inhabitants of the world to themselves.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ETo over-simplify the monastic life and its adherents to being little more than a collective of people who “can’t handle the world and its problems” is to miss the point. I remember clearly the Coptic monk Fr. Lazarus el-Anthony saying that he left “the world” because he was weak, not because he was strong and some kind of super-Christian ubermensch.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-vodlGlS66rA\/WucoqYtbE_I\/AAAAAAAA6Pc\/PcMMbqOiL1IfAsEMnv0CgAEgU1FQVrzTwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/117524.jpeg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"548\" data-original-width=\"920\" height=\"380\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-vodlGlS66rA\/WucoqYtbE_I\/AAAAAAAA6Pc\/PcMMbqOiL1IfAsEMnv0CgAEgU1FQVrzTwCLcBGAs\/s640\/117524.jpeg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EWhat does the Savior say on this? “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe words of Christ Himself speak against the objections to the monastic life. For what is the monastic life other than the life of constant adoration, contemplation and prayer towards God? And what fault can be found in such a life? It is the prayers of the monks that causes the world to continue to turn; it is their humility which makes up for the lack of our own. As St. Silouan says, “Prayer keeps the world alive and when prayer fails, the world will perish.”\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/deathtotheworld.com\/articles\/the-point-of-a-monk\/\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/673188606554307305"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/673188606554307305"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/05\/developing-proper-undersatanding-of.html","title":"Developing a Proper Understanding of Monastic Life"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-oDD8VKO_lsA\/Wugl7MtpKRI\/AAAAAAAA6S8\/vzb8HAYtRMEcGbZN0zZ_SfsWMoG1U0z9QCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/2-4_1.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-4965822569756532014"},"published":{"$t":"2018-03-28T23:22:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-03-28T23:22:46.467-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"An Epistolary Examination of the Call to Lifelong Celibacy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-4WQqEK49J5I\/Wrx9CoyAhEI\/AAAAAAAA4aQ\/dDeIf3jCJv8xyMRkdmKvHjtW67OvkCP-wCLcBGAs\/s1600\/Monashestvo.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"557\" data-original-width=\"1020\" height=\"348\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-4WQqEK49J5I\/Wrx9CoyAhEI\/AAAAAAAA4aQ\/dDeIf3jCJv8xyMRkdmKvHjtW67OvkCP-wCLcBGAs\/s640\/Monashestvo.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EFrom the editor: This epistolary examination of the call to lifelong celibacy, such as is embraced by monks and nuns, centres upon the character of that calling as a spiritual gift. An understanding of the proper Christian view of celibacy is ever more important in a world that continues to accord it less and less value, and view it more frequently than not as aberrational.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe notion of celibacy is one hard for the modern mind to understand, still less to appreciate. To what end might a man or woman rebuke (so it seems to many) the rich gift of the married life? For what reason might the human person embark upon a life that seems to 'fail to appreciate' the marvel of this type of precious relationship? Since many stumble at the weight of these and similar questions, so do many dismiss all together that 'other' way of life whose motivations seem so foreign, so unapproachable. In the conceptual struggle of contemporary man to comprehend a manner of living divergent from the 'mainstream' with which he is familiar, that whole way of life is all too often dismissed with the arguments that seem unable to support or defend it. Little does this modern man, who prides himself on the breadth of his understanding and the scope of his embracing acceptance, realise how truly closed his mind can be. Following the example of millions throughout history who have shunned and disparaged that which is not understood or personally appreciated, modern man regards the notion of celibacy as flawed, defective, at its core a distortion of the good and the fullness of human life.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThere is little we can do to change this view which predominates in the contemporary world. A people that closes its eyes and stops up its ears to the unfamiliar will not be swayed by many words or patterned arguments. It is possible to have ears, but not to hear; to have eyes, but not to see. Understanding cannot be forced. Changes of heart come more gradually, more mystically. But we may, we must, reinforce in ourselves the understanding of realities which the world around us may not accept. There is a higher judge, a far greater standard, than the opinions of the society of men. When we live according to the truth of His standard, then shall the world come gradually to see through our lives what it might not otherwise accept from our lips.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-wb5JMUZzgu4\/Wrx9BRoot3I\/AAAAAAAA4aA\/ma_87Wzp1V8YXfD_0f0jU8Bd-iY3zCrfwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/23_20170815-IMG_9948.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"451\" data-original-width=\"723\" height=\"398\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-wb5JMUZzgu4\/Wrx9BRoot3I\/AAAAAAAA4aA\/ma_87Wzp1V8YXfD_0f0jU8Bd-iY3zCrfwCLcBGAs\/s640\/23_20170815-IMG_9948.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAnd so with the calling of celibacy, we must not permit our hearts to be turned by a world which accords it no value. We must understand and always appreciate, cherish, the breadth of the love of God which gives divergent gifts to His precious children. And here the heart of our mystery: gift. As much as the blessing of the sacramental married life is known so to be, so must we come to understand, first of all, that the celibate life is, too, a gift. Only when it is so approached, only when it is so conceived, can it properly be comprehended. The heart of Christ, which accords all men their spiritual gifts through the person of the Holy Spirit, is the true source of the celibate vocation. Spiritual things come only from the Spirit, and a divine gift is always something given, when and to whom God Himself wills. To call celibacy a gift is to affirm that which is all too often forgotten in contemporary life: that it has its root and source in the divine life of God—that it has its manifestation in the person of such an individual as this same God has created, chosen, and formed to journey into the Kingdom by such a way.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EFrom the holy voices of the Fathers of the Church we have been taught, time and time again, that this life, this calling, is not for all. Saint Paul, himself a great lover of the celibate way, affirms nothing less when he says: 'I wish that all men were even as I myself'—that is, that all could be celibate. But then he quickly adds, 'But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that' ({bible}1 Cor 7.7{\/bible}). Only those to whom God has given this gift may truly possess it, and only such a one should endeavour to embrace it personally. Just as a man who has not been given the gift of prophecy will never be a prophet, and as a woman who has not been given the gift of visions will never be a seer, so the individual who has not been given the gift of celibacy will never truly be a celibate. It is a holy way of life, but it is not the exclusive way of life. It is a gift given to some through the love of God, which neither debases nor exalts them in relation to their brethren to whom God has given the gift of the call to marriage. God's gifts are not to be 'rated'. All are holy blessings.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn appreciating this reality of celibacy as a spiritual gift, we are able to address and to quell in our hearts many of the concerns the world bears toward this life. First, and perhaps the most insidious among the views of the world, is the belief that the way of celibacy stands in judgement of the way of marriage. There is fear in our contemporary culture, that an acceptance of the notion of celibacy equates to an acceptance of a tacit devaluation of marriage—that the celibate man looks spitefully on his married brother and the celibate woman scorns her married sister. But it is the world, not the holy Church, which approaches our topic with such an 'either-or' attitude; for how can one who truly views both the married and celibate ways as gifts of one and the same loving God, set one in opposition to the other? How can he be serious of his faith, who would receive one gift from Christ, but call another evil? No, the value and sanctity of all things is in the Giver, who by His radiant energies makes all gifts holy. Celibacy and marriage both have their essence in Him who draws all things to life. How striking to our expectations that some of the most poignant phrases ever composed in support of and love for the married way, have come from the pens of celibate monks, nuns and Apostles. Such individuals know how deep, convicting and abiding God's gifts may be within a human life, and how precious can be that embodiment of Trinitarian love that is made manifest in the gift of Christian marriage. But they magnify a gift they know is not their own. Their own life is rooted in a different gift, another way, and it is this gift that receives the personal love of their own hearts.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-6RfsVxpqtfM\/Wrx9Bak6nPI\/AAAAAAAA4aI\/wT3UctNVXmkITdz4g8Z8EpljAJsW8Tl5ACEwYBhgL\/s1600\/198569.b.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"468\" data-original-width=\"736\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-6RfsVxpqtfM\/Wrx9Bak6nPI\/AAAAAAAA4aI\/wT3UctNVXmkITdz4g8Z8EpljAJsW8Tl5ACEwYBhgL\/s640\/198569.b.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESaint Paul, the great Apostle, taught us well concerning the varieties of spiritual gifts, that they are numerous, divergent, yet all precious and divinely personal. He himself received the wondrous and exceptional gift of the apostolate and therefore was in a position, it might be thought, to place one gift above another in the manner that some gifts bring authority over the exercise of others (cf. {bible}1 Cor 12:1-31{\/bible}). But it is our same Saint Paul who reminds us of the inherent value of all the gifts of the Lord, precisely because they are gifts of the Lord. Because we know to call celibacy a gift, so we know not to use it in judgement of other gifts. The world which sees in Christian celibacy a despisal of the married way, sees but the illusion of its own misunderstanding.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESecondly, our understanding of celibacy as a gift helps us to appreciate the fact that this life is not a negative, but a positive calling. All too often is celibacy described in terms of negation: the celibate is one who 'lacks' a spouse, who 'goes without' marriage, who 'suffers the absence' of a partner. But gifts are not matters of negation, they are rooted in the active receipt of otherwise un-possessed blessings. Celibacy is only a negative state when viewed from one, specific angle. How often does modern man stop to think of celibacy, even attempt to think of celibacy, as the embracing of a different kind of positive? Perhaps never, certainly not often; and yet this is the very message of celibacy as gift. The celibate man may live without a wife, but he possesses the great gift of being wed solely to Christ, of having none for the object of his intimate love than his own Creator. She who lives in celibate devotion to God vests herself in the same manner of life embraced by the Son who walked on this earth with neither spouse nor mate, yet wed Himself to all the world as the perfect Bridegroom for a waiting bride. Are not such things positive, not states of deprivation but of rich fulfilment? The celibate does not see his life predominantly as one of 'going without', but one of going with Christ in a different way. Yes, there are sacrifices made, oftentimes severe in form and nature, but this is no less true in a holy marriage. In the requirement of great sacrifice, the callings are the same. Their distinction lies in the manner, not the quantity, of the offering. Only when we are truly, deeply biased, do we fail to see that both gifts require tremendous personal sacrifice, yet from and through this sacrifice grant many rich blessings.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe celibate's call is to walk toward Christ in a different manner than his married brother. Due to the unsearchable wisdom and love of God, he is called to a type of journey into the Kingdom that is more socially solitary—but he is never alone. The celibate, too, believes that 'it is not good for man to be alone'; but let us not be so naive and closed-minded as to think that marriage is the only way to be 'together'. The celibate joins himself to the world in a relationship of no single intimate union with another, that through his one union with Christ, and through Him the Spirit and the Father, he may be lover and companion to all. It is a very different call than to the blessed state of marriage; but a call is always, by its nature, social.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-AwENTRHEn5c\/Wrx9CpcppaI\/AAAAAAAA4aM\/hHiH7s_v5R8G2MCHIQ4jcJzMvzmZgEAQwCEwYBhgL\/s1600\/282527.p.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"510\" data-original-width=\"700\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-AwENTRHEn5c\/Wrx9CpcppaI\/AAAAAAAA4aM\/hHiH7s_v5R8G2MCHIQ4jcJzMvzmZgEAQwCEwYBhgL\/s640\/282527.p.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ECelibacy is a positive calling, and we are reminded of this when we appreciate its nature as divine gift. We find here, too, reassurance of the fullness of life to be had in such a calling. Society may be eager to decry the celibate way as one in which the individual 'misses out' on the fullness of life attainable in marriage, but in so doing, our modern world only shows more clearly its failure to understand the nature of the gifts of God as effective personal realities. The richness, the wholeness and the completeness of life do not come from the adherence to any social or relational model: they come from personal union with God. Such union is always and only available to man through the gifts given him by our precious and loving Lord; and so individual fullness comes from realising, embracing and fostering within us the gifts we, and not any other, have received. Many receive the gift of the married vocation, and to these the richness of union with God comes, in part, through that gift's actualisation in a holy and sanctified marriage. Not to embrace the gift is to wage battle with God, who knows better than man what life is most suited to him. And this same concept is equally true of him who has received the gift of celibacy: only in the gift's embrace will such a person ever truly know the richness and fullness of life as God has set it before him. No other way shall ever satisfy the longing in his heart, even if that other way is that which brings fulfilment and union to a hundred million others. It is not his way. To live a celibate life is, for the one who has received this gift, the context of his journey into union with God.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EOur life in Christ is the true soul of our being as human persons. We live in Him through His coming to us as man—the divine Man to whose life we were joined when, through the mystical power of the Holy Trinity, we were baptised in the same waters that flowed over His own flesh and sealed with the same Spirit that soared over the creation formed in Him. It is to this life that we must attend with all diligence and care, working to attain the discernment that will enable us to see and to recognise the unique and precious gifts God has given to each of us personally as His own priceless children. Let us never succumb to societal pressures that would have us walk one way or another based upon the comforts and preferences of a troubled world. Let us never be swayed into judging or pre-determining the gifts of God, which only He has the right to determine and give. We must find in ourselves the light of Christ which calls us toward Himself, and see through its illumination the path by which He calls us to His side. Whether it be by the celibate or married way, our response should be only joy—and great joy at this. How can we do anything but rejoice when our Maker shows us the road which He has fashioned especially between us and Him? Shall we once again take from the Tree of Life the fruit that seems sweetest to our senses, rather than the food sprung forth specifically for our growth and sanctification? May our societally-induced 'preferences' never cause us to scorn our gift through longing for another. May God give to us the patience and the openness to discern which gift we have been given; and when we have found it, to follow Him in that gift. If we are thus faithful to Him and Him alone, surely our wise Lord will bless our lives with richness beyond imagining and fullness beyond expectation; for He is a good and loving God who knows and desires what is best for His children.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMay we always have His blessing.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/www.monachos.net\/content\/monasticism\/spirituality\/94-a-brief-word-on-celibacy\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/4965822569756532014"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/4965822569756532014"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/03\/an-epistolary-examination-of-call-to.html","title":"An Epistolary Examination of the Call to Lifelong Celibacy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-4WQqEK49J5I\/Wrx9CoyAhEI\/AAAAAAAA4aQ\/dDeIf3jCJv8xyMRkdmKvHjtW67OvkCP-wCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/Monashestvo.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-6431645448040233955"},"published":{"$t":"2018-02-22T05:49:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-02-22T05:49:31.965-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Orthodox Wisdom"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A Letter of Elder Anatoliy of Optina to a Newly Tonsured Nun"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rZ_SEFcLxLw\/Wo7GEuTS0pI\/AAAAAAAA3IQ\/0nVK8r67egwn43CpbomivhwN2L51WvVPACLcBGAs\/s1600\/pismo-optinskogo-starca-anatoliya-m.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"533\" data-original-width=\"900\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rZ_SEFcLxLw\/Wo7GEuTS0pI\/AAAAAAAA3IQ\/0nVK8r67egwn43CpbomivhwN2L51WvVPACLcBGAs\/s640\/pismo-optinskogo-starca-anatoliya-m.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMarch 13, 1876\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EGreetings, sister in Christ, dear Mother T.! I congratulate you on accepting the holy and angelic image. Do you know that this image is the symbol of betrothal with Jesus, the Heavenly Bridegroom? For it is sung in the troparion to a martyr, “I love You, my Bridegroom”, and for every nun is a martyr, remember, to Whom you are betrothed!\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EYou ask me for guidance and advice on what you should do in order not to deviate from your path? Start with humility. Then do with humility and finish with humility. Thus you will reach holiness. This path, the path of humility, is the safest one. Holy Fathers say, this path just “prevent you from falling down. Where can a humble one fall, when he considers himself worse than anyone?” So, how can we not be humble, when Christ, the God of gods and the Lord of lords, humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8)? The astonishment of angels, the most beautiful of all sons of the humankind, died a shameful death for us; how dare we, weak and sinful, reject to admit our sins and weaknesses? \u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EWhat concerns high thoughts: avoid them like the plague. “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). “And the heavens are not pure in His sight” (Job 15:15). And Prophet Isaiah said long ago what any our truth is: “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). \u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EYou ask how can one follow his way? Listen not to me, a filthy man, but to the Eternal Truth Itself: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). \u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIt means that anyone who is going to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, must not recall their high virtues – and especially their high thoughts – but must look at the feats and glory of saints. Let us stick to them! But you should look at your own weaknesses and sins and remember about the possible future torments of a soul – then you will not sin. \u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EPeace to you, mother T.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv align=\"right\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E– Sinful Hieromonk Anatoliy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/6431645448040233955"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/6431645448040233955"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/02\/a-letter-of-elder-anatoliy-of-optina-to.html","title":"A Letter of Elder Anatoliy of Optina to a Newly Tonsured Nun"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rZ_SEFcLxLw\/Wo7GEuTS0pI\/AAAAAAAA3IQ\/0nVK8r67egwn43CpbomivhwN2L51WvVPACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/pismo-optinskogo-starca-anatoliya-m.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8069144293415979705.post-2714764095248316009"},"published":{"$t":"2018-02-13T23:24:00.001-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-02-13T23:33:05.830-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monasticism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A Look at Monastic Ranks in the Orthodox Church"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-1p6wXOOSZKI\/WoPdbzKnjKI\/AAAAAAAA2qw\/yVGCs-Jg-PgJL0uvRkUZP0Kbs9VnUlRlACLcBGAs\/s1600\/264644.p.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"468\" data-original-width=\"700\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-1p6wXOOSZKI\/WoPdbzKnjKI\/AAAAAAAA2qw\/yVGCs-Jg-PgJL0uvRkUZP0Kbs9VnUlRlACLcBGAs\/s640\/264644.p.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAlthough the Orthodox Church does not have religious orders as the Latin (Roman Catholic) church does, there are\u0026nbsp; different styles of monastic life in Orthodoxy, both individually and in community. Generally speaking some monasteries may be more liturgical oriented, while others may be mores ascetic, while still other may have a certain mystical tradition, and other be more inclined to spiritual guidance and openness to the world for the purpose of care and counseling. These various styles of monasticism, which take both a personal as well as a corporate form, are not formally predetermined or officially legislated. They are the result of organic development under the living grace of God.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn addition to the various spiritual styles of monastic life, three formal types of organization may be mentioned. The first is that of coenobitic communion. In the coenobitic monastery everything is shared: living quarters, food, work, prayer, common efforts, cares, struggles, and achievements. The leader and spiritual father of the coenobium is the Abbot (Egoumenos). The exhortation to the Abbot in the Charter of St. Athanasius the Athonite is typical: \"Take care that the brethren have everything in common. No one must own as much as a needle. Your body and soul shall be your own, and nothing else. Everything must be shared equally with love between all your spiritual children, brethren and fathers.\" The second form is called idiorhythmic in which the monks or nuns pray together liturgically, but work and eat individually or in small groups. In this type of monasticim the persons may even psalmodize and do the offices separately, coming together only for the Eucharistic Liturgy, and even then, perhaps, only on certain occasions. Finally, there is the eremitic type of monasticism where the individual monks or nuns are actually hermits, also called anchorites or recluses. They live in total individual seclusion and never join in the liturgical prayer of the community, except again perhaps on the most solemn occasions. In the rarest of cases it may even happen that the holy Eucharist is brought to the monk or nun who remains perpetually alone.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-rBLDZmuieSE\/WoPdb11um3I\/AAAAAAAA2qs\/yV-a4ZOY4WMfo9pBz7r72c9v1k1NIHodACLcBGAs\/s1600\/monasi.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"831\" data-original-width=\"1276\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-rBLDZmuieSE\/WoPdb11um3I\/AAAAAAAA2qs\/yV-a4ZOY4WMfo9pBz7r72c9v1k1NIHodACLcBGAs\/s640\/monasi.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe Monastic Ranks\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe Orthodox monastic tradition has four classic ranks that apply equally to men and women. The first step is that of novice (Greek:δόκιμος), which in church terminology is called the rank of obedience. At this first stage the candidate for monastic profession simply lives in the monastery under the direction of a spiritual father or mother. There is no formal ceremony for the clothing of a novice, he or she simply receives permission to wear the clothing of a novice. In the Eastern monastic tradition, novices, may or may not dress in the black inner cassock (Greek: Anterion [Αντερίον], Esorason [Εσώρασον], Slavonic: Podriasnik) and wear the soft monastic hat (Greek: Skoufos, Slavonic:Skufia), depending on the tradition of the local community, and in accordance to the Abbot's directives. In some communities, the novice also wears the leather belt. Monks are given a prayer rope and instructed in the use of the Jesus Prayer.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIf a novice chooses to leave during the period of the novitiate, no penalty is incurred. He may also be asked to leave at any time if his behavior does not conform to the monastic life, or if the superior discerns that he is not called to monasticism. When the Abbot or Abbess(Egoumenos or Egoumenissa) deems the novice is ready, he is asked if he wishes to join the monastery. Some, out of humility, will choose to remain novices all their lives. Every stage of the monastic life must be entered into voluntarily.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ERasophore\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E (Greek: ρασοφόρος, rasophoros; Slavonic: ryasofor), lit. \"Robe-bearer\"-- If the novice continues on to become a monk, he is clothed in the first degree of monasticism at a service at which he receives the tonsure. Although there are no formal vows made at this point, the candidate is normally required to affirm his commitment to persevere in the monastic life. The Abbot (Egoumenos) will then perform the tonsure, cutting a small amount of hair from four spots on the head, forming a cross. He is then given the outer robe with wide sleeves, from which the name Rassophoros is derived. He is also given a kamilavkion, a cylindrical brimless hat, which is covered with a veil called an epanokamelavkion. (These are separate items in the Greek tradition; in the Russian tradition the two are stitched together and collectively called a klobuk.) If he has not previously received it, a leather belt is fastened around his waist. His habit is usually black, signifying that he is now dead to the world and he receives a new name.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAlthough the Rassophoros does not make formal vows, he is still morally obligated to continue in the monastic estate for the rest of his life. Some will remain Rossophoroi permanently without going on to the higher degrees.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-kgBfmBhJMBw\/WoPeKuonM2I\/AAAAAAAA2q8\/PobMCyv7trsv8D8WT15EBWW-WGcLAWI1wCLcBGAs\/s1600\/DSC_5391-620x330.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"330\" data-original-width=\"620\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-kgBfmBhJMBw\/WoPeKuonM2I\/AAAAAAAA2q8\/PobMCyv7trsv8D8WT15EBWW-WGcLAWI1wCLcBGAs\/s1600\/DSC_5391-620x330.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EStavrophore\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E (Greek: σταυροφόρος, stavrophoros; Slavonic: krestonosets), lit. \"Cross-bearer\"--- The next level for Eastern Orthodox monastics takes place some years after when the Abbot (Egoumenos) feels the monk has reached an appropriate level of discipline, dedication and humility. This degree is also known as the Little Schema, and is thought of as a \"betrothal\" to the Great Schema. At this stage, the monk makes formal vows of stability of place, chastity, obedience and poverty. Then he is tonsured and clothed in the habit, which in addition to that worn by the Rassophoroi, include the paramandyas (Greek: παραμανδύας; Slavonic: paraman), a piece of square cloth worn on the back, embroidered with the instruments of the Passion, and connected by ties to a wooden cross worn over the heart. The paramandyas represents the yoke of Christ. Because of this addition he is now called Stavrophoros, or Cross-bearer. He is also given a wooden hand cross (or \"profession cross\"), which he should keep in his icon corner, and a beeswax candle, symbolic of monastic vigilance the sacrificing of himself for God. He will be buried holding the cross, and the candle will be burned at his funeral. In the Slavonic practice, the Stavrophore also wears the monastic mantle, which symbolizes 40 days of the Lord's fasting on the Mountain of Temptation. The rasson worn by the Stavrophore is more ample than that worn by the Rassophore.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAfter the ceremony, the newly-tonsured Stavrophore will remain in vigil in the church for five days, refraining from all work, except spiritual reading. Currently, this vigil is often reduced to three days. The Egoumenos (Abbot) increases the Stavrophore monk's prayer rule, allows a more strict personal ascetic practice, and gives the monk more responsibility.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EGreat Schema\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EGreat Schema\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E (Greek: μεγαλόσχημος, megaloschemos; Slavonic: Schima)--Monks whose Egoumenoi (Abbots) feel they have reached a high level of spiritual excellence reach the final stage, called the Great Schema. The tonsure of a Schemamonk or Schemanun follows the same format as the Stavrophore, and he makes the same vows and is tonsured in the same manner. But in addition to all the garments worn by the Stavrophore, he is given the analavos (Slavonic: analav) which is the article of monastic vesture emblematic of the Great Schema. For this reason, the analavos itself is sometimes itself called the \"Great Schema.\" It drapes over the shoulders and hangs down in front and in back, with the front portion somewhat longer, and is embroidered with the instruments of the Passion and the Trisagion (i.e., the Cross of Calvary, spear, reed, sponge, skull and Adam's cross-bones and Peter's cock.) The Greek form does not have a hood, the Slavonic form has a hood and lappets on the shoulders, so that the garment forms a large cross covering the monk's shoulders, chest, and back. Another piece added is the Polystavrion (Πολυσταύριον, \"Many Crosses\"), which consists of a cord with a number of small crosses plaited into it. The polystavrion forms a yoke around the monk and serves to hold the analavos in place, and reminds the monastic that he is bound to Christ and that his arms are no longer fit for worldly activities, but that he must labor only for the Kingdom of Heaven. Among the Greeks, the mantle is added at this stage. The paramandyas of the Megaloschemos is larger than that of the Stavrophoros, and if he wears the klobuk, it is of a distinctive thimble shape, called a koukoulion, the veil of which is usually embroidered with crosses.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-rHG6hdSHSUo\/WoPfJ2dMTKI\/AAAAAAAA2rI\/tj57tLXzhwQCthzAcfSLlJ1fNt0fCxhLQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/0_1c7cc1_c9659d58_orig.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"868\" data-original-width=\"1249\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-rHG6hdSHSUo\/WoPfJ2dMTKI\/AAAAAAAA2rI\/tj57tLXzhwQCthzAcfSLlJ1fNt0fCxhLQCLcBGAs\/s640\/0_1c7cc1_c9659d58_orig.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EThe Schemamonk also shall remain some days in vigil in the church. On the eighth day after Tonsure, there is a special service for the \"Removal of the Koukoulion\".\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn some monastic traditions the Great Schema is never given or is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others, e.g., the cenobitic monastaries on Mount Athos, it is common to tonsure a monastic into the Great Schema only 3 years after commencing the monastic life.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn Russia and some other traditions, when a bearer of some monastic title acquires the Great Schema, his title incorporates the word \"schema\". For example, a hieromonk of Great Schema is called hieroschemamonk, archimandrite becomes schema-archimandrite, hegumen - schema-hegumen, etc.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E[The Orthodox attitude towards monasticism is best summed up in the collect of the Prodigal Son with which the ceremony of profession opens: (The monk here is a penitent,)\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMake haste to open Thy Fatherly arms Unto me who have wasted my life like the prodigal Despise not a heart now grown poor O Savior, Who hast before Thine eyes The boundless riches of Thy mercies. For unto Thee, O Lord, in compunction do I cry: O Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E[and the verse which is chanted during the clothing:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E(The monk here is the betrothed of God.)\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EMy soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He hath Put on me the garment of salvation, and with the Tunic of gladness hath he clothed me. He hath put Upon me a crown as upon a bridegroom, and as a Bride hath he adorned me with an ornament.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-FPVSqxrYvHU\/WoPfNs4ANtI\/AAAAAAAA2rM\/dLwzXwDZUj0u26-TRYk3ByDDLmWAnOytQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/279279.p.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"512\" data-original-width=\"700\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-FPVSqxrYvHU\/WoPfNs4ANtI\/AAAAAAAA2rM\/dLwzXwDZUj0u26-TRYk3ByDDLmWAnOytQCLcBGAs\/s640\/279279.p.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EIn the Orthodox Tradition there is no prescribed length of time that a person must remain in one or another of the monastic ranks. This is so because of the radically personal character of the vocation. Thus, some persons may progress rapidly to profession, while others may take years, and still others may never be formally professed while still remaining within the monastic community. The decision in these matters is made individually in each case by the spiritual director and the head of the community.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003EAll Christians are obligated to keep the Lord's commandments, but this requires effort. Fallen human nature, enslaved by its passions is reluctant to fulfill this obligation. It seeks pleasure and avoids the pain involved in fighting the passions and selfishness. The monastic life is so arranged as to facilitate this work. On the other hand the worldly life, particularly in our secular society, makes it harder to be an ascetic. The problem for the Christian in the world is that he is called upon to reach the same goal under adverse conditions.\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;\"\u003ESource: http:\/\/saintandrewgoc.org\/home\/2012\/5\/2\/types-of-monasticism-in-the-orthodox-church.html\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2714764095248316009"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8069144293415979705\/posts\/default\/2714764095248316009"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com\/2018\/02\/a-look-at-monastic-ranks-in-orthodox.html","title":"A Look at Monastic Ranks in the Orthodox Church"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"The Catalog of Good Deeds"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11948185456674306630"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-1p6wXOOSZKI\/WoPdbzKnjKI\/AAAAAAAA2qw\/yVGCs-Jg-PgJL0uvRkUZP0Kbs9VnUlRlACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/264644.p.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}}]}});