What does the middle path of monasticism mean? Who is a monk and why do they go to a monastery? List of used literature
The Gospel requires all Christians to live a morally good life and struggle with their passions and vices, but at the same time, from the very beginning of the Christian Church, many of the believers strove to achieve the highest spiritual perfection. They voluntarily renounced property and distributed it to the poor, took a vow of virginity, spent time in unceasing prayer, labor, fasting and abstinence. Christians who have chosen the highest path of serving Christ through renunciation of the material and other benefits of the world are called monks(from the Greek "monos" - one, lonely) or monks because they lead a special (different, different from the mundane) way of life.
Monasticism arose during the period of persecution of Christians, in the 2nd-3rd centuries. The heyday of monastic exploits falls on the IV-V centuries, when the persecution of Christians ceased and the Christian faith in the Roman Empire became a state. At this time, a large number of Christians, wishing to devote themselves entirely to God, began to leave the cities and settle in the deserts. Usually this exodus is associated with the influx of a large number of pagans into the Church. Previously, people became Christians out of deep conviction, realizing that by doing this they doom themselves to persecution and death. Now Christianity, as a religion patronized and spread by the state, could be accepted fearlessly. This inevitably led to a decrease in the spiritual level and height of the life of Christians, to a passion for everyday cares, luxury and amusements. Therefore, many zealous Christians, looking for opportunities to fully fulfill the commandments of Christ, to bear a special feat for His sake, retired from the world and went into the wilderness.
The birthplace of monastic exploits is Egypt, and the Egyptian ascetic is considered the father of monasticism. St. Anthony the Great(251–355). He was not the first desert dweller, but he became the first person to arouse wide interest in this kind of Christian exploit. The height of the spiritual life and virtues of the Monk Anthony, his moral authority prompted a huge number of Christians to follow his example and embark on the monastic path.
Anthony was born into a wealthy family and became an orphan at the age of 18. In imitation of the apostles, who left everything for Christ's sake, he gave his property to the poor and became a disciple of an elder who lived on the edge of the village. He visited Anthony and other hermits, wishing to take advantage of their advice, to learn from their experience of ascetic life. Already at this time, Anthony was so famous for his exploits that he was called "the friend of God."
In striving for complete solitude at 34, Anthony left the elder and settled in completely deserted places on the banks of the Nile. Antony suffered from hunger and thirst, tormented by heavy thoughts. The ascetic fought against the attacking temptations by constant physical labor and prayer. Once, when the holy ascetic was exhausted and ready to fall into despondency, the Lord appeared to him. Seeing Him, Anthony cried out: “Where have you been, good Jesus? Why didn't You come first to end my suffering? " The Lord replied: "I was here and waited until I see your feat."
Jesus Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount that the city on the top of the mountain cannot hide. After a while, the glory of the extraordinary life of St. Antonia spread throughout Egypt. Those who came to Antony were amazed, not finding in him traces of exhaustion from the greatest hardships to which he subjected himself; he was a calm and equally affable old man with everyone. Many Christians strove to settle near him and lead an ascetic life.
The Monk Anthony is the founder hermit feat. He did not leave behind a monastery, built according to strictly defined rules, as many saints later did. The hermit colonies that appeared under his influence were united only by spiritual ties. Hermits lived separately from each other in huts or caves, indulging in fasting, prayer, and labor for the benefit of their own and the poor (weaving baskets, mats, etc.). Anthony was the spiritual father of this multitude of monks, he instructed his disciples to live in complete renunciation of earthly blessings, in complete devotion to the will of God, in constant labor and prayer, taught the struggle against passions and spirits of malice. The instructions of the Monk Anthony formed the basis of all subsequent asceticism, and his life, written by St. Athanasius the Great, for many centuries became a model for compiling the life of the monk. For his exploits, Saint Anthony earned the title of the Great.
Another form of monastic life was born in Egypt - hermitage or semi-hermit... The ascetics, having one or two disciples with them, lived in huts or caves (cells) and only on Sundays came to church. The mentor was called "abba", which means "father." The relationship between the abba and his disciples was based on mutual love and obedience to the mentor. Among the Egyptian ascetics who led a semi-hermitic lifestyle, perhaps the best known St. Macarius the Great(† 400), successor to St. Anthony, who carefully preserved his legacy and continued after his death the work of spiritual edification of the monks.
The founder of the third order of monastic life - sociable- became St. Pachomius the Great(† 346). He came from a pagan Egyptian family and was a warrior. During the service, Pachomius had the opportunity to get to know Christians better and was imbued with great respect for them. At the end of the war, Pachomius was baptized, went to the Thebaid desert and spent 15 years there under the guidance of one hermit elder. By the inspiration of God, Pachomius left the elder and set up a monastery on an island in the middle of the Nile. In this first communal monastery, the monks lived three by three in a cell, ate food together once a day (bread and salt, sometimes vegetables without oil), together they did needlework (the income belonged to the entire community), wore the same clothes (linen chiton, leather belt, peaked cap, sandals), several times a day came to the temple for prayer.
For all monks, it was obligatory to renounce everything worldly (relatives and property), complete submission to the abbot and cut off their will.
Subsequently, St. Pachomius founded several more monasteries. He also established the first convent for women. At the end of the life of St. Pachomius already had 11 monasteries under his rule, of which 2 were for women. All these monasteries were subordinate to one abbot (Pachomius) and lived according to a single Rule created by him. Most of the ancient authors report that the rules by which life was built in the monasteries of St. Pachomia, were given to him by an Angel. According to some reports, by the end of the 4th century in the established Venerables. Up to 7000 monks asceticised in the Pachomias monasteries.
Dormitory monasteries of St. Pachomias were of great importance for the spread of monasticism. The ascetic feat is extremely difficult and accessible to a few, the most experienced and spiritually strong ascetics. A cenobitic monastery with rules that were feasible for an ordinary person made it possible for everyone to live a monastic life. Anyone could be admitted to the hostel, even a newly converted Christian. Sometimes in the monastery of St. Pachomia, people who did not know the Lord's Prayer "Our Father" came. Living in a society of like-minded people served as a good instruction in the faith, had a beneficial effect on the new convert. Subsequently, it became a rule that monks receive a blessing for a hermitic feat only after many years of living in a cenobitic monastery.
Soon, monasticism spread to other regions - in Palestine and Sinai, in Syria, Asia Minor, Western Europe, and later on Holy Mount Athos. Monasteries were set up not only in the deserts, but also near cities, while urban monasteries in terms of the height of life did not differ in the least from the desert ones. One of the most famous urban monasteries was the Studite monastery in the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople.
In some areas, monasticism has acquired peculiar features. The Syrian monks were distinguished by very severe exploits. Some did not use boiled food and ate herbs, others lived in the open air, wore chains or chained themselves to the rocks. In Syria, such a kind of feat appeared as stalkerism(many years of prayer standing on a pillar - a tower). The founder of the pillar feat is considered St. Simeon the Stylite(† c. 459), who spent about 80 years on the pillar.
In Palestine, the monks did not undertake such difficult deeds and tried to march along the middle path, more accessible. A semi-sociable type of life was widespread here. Several sketes were united under the rule of one abbot into a single monastery - laurel... Each monk worked and managed himself, but for all there were common rules of life and a common temple. The most famous Palestinian Lavra is the still existing Lavra. St. Savvas the Sanctified(† 532), located near Jerusalem. Palestinian monks also found time to serve the world: they set up hospitals, hospitals, and participated in the fight against heresies. Subsequently, it was the Palestinian way of monastic life that was perceived in Russia.
Monasticism has always exerted a great beneficial influence on Christians who are carrying on heroic deeds in the world. The monks showed the laity an example of life in Christ. Over the years of many years of exploits, the monks have deeply studied the human soul, its passions (spiritual diseases introduced by original sin) and found the principles of dealing with them. The lives and records of the wise sayings of the holy ascetics became a guide in the spiritual life for subsequent generations of Christians.
Monasticism contributed to the spread of the faith of Christ and the final fall of paganism. The high life of the monks astonished even the pagans and was for them proof of the holiness of the Christian faith. Anthony the Great, by his one appearance in Alexandria, according to the testimony of Saint Athanasius the Great, converted as many pagans to the Christian faith as at other times they were converted per year.
The monks were zealous collaborators of the bishops in the struggle against heretics; they fearlessly denounced the mighty of the world for deviating from the Church and Orthodoxy. An indicator of the recognition of the high importance of monasticism in the life of the Church was the decision made in the 11th century to elect bishops only from among the monks.
Once Marina Tsvetaeva wrote the following lines:
“Neither with those, nor with these, nor with the third, nor with the hundredths ... with no one, alone, all my life, without books, without readers ... without a circle, without an environment, without any protection ... worse than a dog, but but that's all. "
“Everything” ... This obviously means the gift of spiritual insight into the world, spiritual comprehension of the world, the ability to hear higher and poetically express the spiritual essence of being. We know that Tsvetaeva suffered all her life.
In the 80s, another poetess, Bella Akhmadulina, who lived quite well, calmly and richly, after reading these lines, turned to Heaven with the following prayer: “I don’t know you, who are you - God? High power? Universal mind? But I ask You - give me everything! " And she assures that she immediately heard in her heart the answer: “Why do you want everything ???”.
According to the Serbian saint Justin, "grace is measured out to a person according to the measure of labor."
And a monk is a person who is ready for the hardest work in order to truly live by God.
Therefore, monastic life, although difficult, is defined by the monks themselves as joy.
Saint Barsanuphius of Optina:"Monasticism is bliss."
Our world is leaving the desire and ability to live a heroic deed, to endure for the sake of transformation, to heal relationships and oneself, to be ready to die for deciding to love our heart. And although many will still agree with Confucius that “to die of hunger is a small thing, and to lose morale is a big one,” in practice, few will be ready to die of hunger in order to do everything right and righteously. But our life has a price only when we have something to die for, something to give ourselves to. This something cannot be any single person - this is too little for the all-embracing, universal dimension of each of us. But to actualize kinship to the human race, to be everything for everyone, or at least try to live like this - this is work worthy of human greatness.
The path to your real self, the path to others, the path to God is a triune path. A person walks this path only to the extent of the sacrifice. To the extent that he surrenders himself, so much genuine being is accomplished in him. And if it is really difficult to become a saint, then it should be natural for a Christian to be a hero. The hero is heroic precisely because he does not live for himself. He needs neither self-affirmation, nor position, nor power, nor money, nor comfort, nor pleasure, but only light in the hearts of those who are loved by him. The hero does not even think where God will place him after death - he completely trusts the decision of Christ and worries only about how to serve the God who is dear to the hero more, more faithfully and purely. Roads are not for the sake of awards, the hero himself can lead a life, from the point of view of all others, very difficult. But he never grumbles, for he is not looking for bodily rest, but wants to take everyone and everyone into his heart, so that “I love” him is pure and faithful and fully reveals Christ to the tormented world.
A Christian may not become a saint, but he cannot but be an ascetic. Monasticism is the path of constant achievement, when a person tries to fulfill only the commandments of Christ in every time, place and deed.
Christianity immediately proclaimed itself an ascetic religion ... Asceticism in Christianity is not the lot of a select few, but an indispensable and necessary condition for a truly Christian life, since every Christian must be an ascetic and ascetic.
P. Ponomarev "Dogmatic foundations of Christian asceticism":“That really in the first three centuries of Christianity asceticism was known to the members of the Church of Christ as one of the essential labors, by going through which they thereby more fulfilled the commandments of Christ, there is no doubt about it. Scientists of different directions, studying the life of the leading Christians up to the edict of Emperor Constantine the Great, all unanimously speak about the existence of asceticism among them. "
The history of the emergence of monasticism:
Let us consider this on such an important example as the description of the reasons for the origin of monasticism. For I. Meyendorff, A. Dvorkin and A. Schmemann, the reason is as follows - after Constantine signed with Licinius in 313 the Edict of Milan, in which Christianity was permitted, pagans poured into the Church in large numbers (almost none of them lived a spiritual life), and those who wanted to please God and were against the secularization of the Church became monks.
But a completely different view of the origin of monasticism of the modern professor of the MDA A. Sidorov. He, citing many facts, draws our attention to the fact that monasticism appeared before the Edict of Milan and still grows out of the Old Testament Nazariteism. The Monk Anthony, who formalized monasticism as a way of residence, was born in the year 253 and at the age of 20 became a monk, living under the guidance of an experienced elder. That is, such a form of life existed even before Anthony.
A. Sidorov:"Monasticism did not suddenly and not immediately appear on the stage of world history, it was not duesexmachine, for for over two centuries it was ripening in the bosom of the Church in the form of what can conventionally be called ancient Christian asceticism."
Monasticism also appeared in those countries that had nothing to do with the Byzantine Empire: Syria, Ireland, Gaul.
P. S. Kazansky:"The rapid spread of monasticism at a time when the Christian faith became dominant in the Roman Empire and the persecution for faith ceased, shows that the pious zeal of Christians for this life was only embarrassed in its detection at times of persecution and, having received freedom, seeks to be revealed in all its strength."
So, the ascetic life is co-natural with the Church and is co-ordinate with her.
Saint Justin the Philosopher (100-165):"And there are many men and women, sixty and seventy years old, who from virginity have become disciples of Christ, live in virginity, and I am ready to point out such from every nation."
Tertullian (155-220):“How many people dedicated themselves to chastity immediately after their baptism! How many spouses, by mutual consent, refused carnal communication, becoming voluntary eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Origen (185–254) directly speaks of the existence in the Church of his time of widows and abstainers as a special group of Christians who devote themselves entirely to ascetic service to God.
Saint Anthony the Great (251–356) came to study with an old hermit who lived not far from the village. This old man has lived there since his youth. Anthony also went to many famous ascetics of that time and learned from them the spiritual life.
S. Smirnov "The Spiritual Father in the Ancient Eastern Church":"The Monk Anthony already had elders-leaders."
We see that the general attitude of the early Christians was ascetic. They fought with their old man for the sake of their own icon shining in them.
At the same time, each chose the path to which he most corresponded, which his heart desired. Someone got married and lived an ascetic life with children. Someone, entering into marriage, lived with a spouse or spouse like a brother with a sister. Someone lived in virginity outside of marriage, but at the same time learned to love everyone. For example - the holy martyr Tatiana, who was a deaconess, that is, she served the poor and the sick. Gradually, the path of celibacy was historically transformed into those forms that became monasticism, which now exists in the Church.
M. Skaballanovich:"Monasticism in the Church appeared much earlier than the 4th century."
And by the Providence of God, when the pagans came to the Church in great numbers, they met the great ascetic monks all over the world and learned from them the Orthodox spiritual life. Of course, we must know that not only among the monks there were then (as now) in the Church many ascetics and ascetics.
For some time monasticism existed in the form of hermitism. Although, of course, the idea of a cenobitic monastery appeared relatively soon. Monasticism was transformed into modern forms by Saint Basil the Great, who especially defended the idea of a cenobitic monastic life. He believed that the hermit was not so useful for the reason that the hermit had no one to serve with love. And any Christian should live for others and serve others. It's easy to do in a dorm.
Saint Basil the Great viewed monasticism not as a kind of elite standing above the Church of the Imperfect and somewhat apart from it, but as the realization of the church ideal of Christian perfection in a way that, in principle, is accessible to any believer. He taught that there is not and, in principle, there can be no special ethics for monks and for laity.
Saint Basil the Great:"Aren't the Gospels written for those who have married?"
Saint Basil the Great writes well-known moral rules not as monastic ethics, but as the ethics of all Christians in general. The saint personally knew many ascetics, both virginal and married. The second can be attributed to his mother - Saint Emilia, brother - Saint Gregory of Nyssa (whom the VII Ecumenical Council will call "Father of the Fathers").
In Epistle 22, which is an ascetic treatise "On the Perfection of a Monastic Life", Saint Basil speaks of Christian, and not some special monastic perfection: "A Christian should have thoughts worthy of a heavenly calling and live worthy of the Gospel of Christ."
Already in the 20th century, the righteous Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh will say that we must all live in such a way that, if the Gospels are lost, other people could write them, looking at our faces.
The "moral rules" of St. Basil the Great are not monastic rules in the proper sense of the word. This is a collection of ascetic works, originally called "Asceticon".
There were currents in monasticism that did not take the need for the Sacraments too seriously. The Holy Fathers, on the contrary, spoke of the need to participate in the Sacraments.
Hermits who lived far from the temple and monks who went on a journey took the sacrament with them.
Saint Basil the Great:“All those passing through the monastic life in the deserts, where there are no priests, have the sacrament at home and take it with their own hands. And in Alexandria and Egypt, even among the laity, almost everyone has the sacrament at home. "
This remark is important for us, because, according to the thought of the fathers, one cannot become a righteous person only by one's own strength. Graceful righteousness is found in synergy, the co-creation of God and man.
The origin of monasticism
Plan
Introduction
How monasticism began
History of monasticism
What influenced the emergence of monasticism
Anthony the Great, founder of monasticism
.Dormitories (monastery) Pachomius the Great
Development of monasticism
Eastern monasticism
Western monasticism
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
From the very first times of Christianity, people appear who refuse property and devote themselves entirely to Christian service. Monasticism as an institution appears when, after the legalization of the church, its outer boundaries were blurred. Christians felt the need to resolutely abandon the "carnal" ideals of the Greco-Roman world. The development of monasticism was influenced by ascetic Jewish sects: the Essenes, Nazarenes and others. Monasticism is religious maximalism. The essence of ancient Christian asceticism was celibacy and perpetual virginity. The rest of the renunciation and self-restraint observed by Christian ascetics, like staying awake during the night, or silence, especially fasting, served only as a means of subjugating the body to the spirit. Victory over carnal passions, self-denial, through which the monks achieved the highest moral purity and "holy" walking. Monasticism is called not only to get away from the world and its temptations, but also to enlighten - to save this world.
1. How Monasticism Begun
History of monasticism
In the 1st and 2nd centuries, asceticism in an obvious form was a solitary phenomenon, ascetics lived in the company of other people, not constituting a special society with certain rules of life, and did not consider their vows unchanged. Towards the end of the 3rd century, asceticism takes on a more definite form. People striving for the highest moral perfection find it more convenient to lead an ascetic life away from society. The ascetics who retired into the desert were called anchorites, that is, hermits and heremites, or hermits.
Orthodox authors see the roots of the monastic way of life in the ascetic experience of both pre-Christian ascetics and true ascetics of the faith of the apostolic times and times of mass persecution of Christians. At the same time, asceticism, as a rule, is understood as the path to religious and moral perfection and union with God. So, A.I. Sidorov points out that this path "presupposes a certain external and internal state of the soul and body of a person, contributing to the specified goal (virginity, abstinence, fasting, prayer, etc.)"
In his opinion, for all pagan ascetics, while observing the external attributes of an ascetic way of life, the virtue of humility is unusual, since the struggle with one passion was accompanied by the slavery of another - they did not have "the power of grace, regenerating man, but grace was given by Christ."
In times close to the Nativity of Christ, among the Jews there are so-called "sects", for example, the Essenes, or the "Kumrat community", which led an ascetic lifestyle. Some historians believe that John the Baptist was raised in such a community. The teachers of the Orthodox Church, the words of Jesus Christ “If anyone wants to follow Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24), are defined as a teaching about asceticism. However, in my opinion, with these words, Jesus clearly indicated the immeasurably high destiny of man. So, only in Christianity, as A.I. Sidorov, "moral commandments are not enclosed in such strictly defined forms, having reached which a person would have nothing else to do"
What influenced the emergence of monasticism
The basis of the monastic way of life is asceticism, indicating the following factors influencing the ascetic way of life of Christians in the first three centuries and naturally contributing to the emergence of monasticism:
The period of the I-IV centuries (the period of mass acceptance by Christians of martyrdom for their faith). On the one hand, asceticism was sometimes practiced as a preparation for martyrdom, on the other hand, as it were, it was an imitation of martyrdom. According to the expression of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: “Monasticism and martyrdom are the same feat in different forms” Tertullian exclaims: “How many people devoted themselves to chastity immediately after baptism! How many spouses, by mutual consent, refused carnal communication, becoming voluntary eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of God! " P.S. Kazansky, as if summarizing the formulated by A.I. Sidorov factors, cites the words of St. Cyprian: “The path leading to glory is short and narrow. Flee the wide and spacious paths: there joys are disastrous, pleasures deadly. The first hundredfruit is the fruit of the martyrs, the second, the sixtieth, is yours (of the virgins) "
“The emergence of monasticism was associated with the extinction of the Holy Spirit in the Church,” says Bishop Athanasius (Kalinkin). Monasticism arose in opposition to the secularization of the Church, "showing the strength of the spirit, the confession of a fiery living faith, life according to the Gospel commandments, a life in love."
In addition, it must be remembered that the goal of monasticism, as a moral strength, is the salvation not only of ourselves, but precisely the salvation of the whole world. “The light for the monks is the Angels, and the light for all the worldly is the monks and the monastic life,” says Athanasius.
Almost the migration of Christians to the desert begins under Constantine the Great. This happens first in Egypt, and immediately the bifurcation of the monastic path begins, two kinds of life are formed: the hermit and the cenobitic. Their essence with his characteristic imagery and simplicity is shown by the Monk John Climacus: “A hostel, arranged according to God, is a spiritual laundry that erases all filth and rudeness and all the ugliness of the soul. The hermitage can be called a dyehouse for those who have purified themselves from lust, memory malice and irritability, and then have already retired into silence. " And the pagan authors, writing essays against Christians, "the monks were presented as enemies of the fatherland."
In addition, new varieties of Christian asceticism appear, such as those who do not sleep, who are holy fools, and the most difficult path of asceticism is pillage. Stolpity consists in the fact that the ascetic voluntarily was at any time of the day or night in an open area, built on a pillar, from where he could preach to the people. The founder of the stolpniki is Simeon the Stylite (356-459).
2. Anthony the Great, founder of monasticism
The Monk Anthony the Great (251-356) is rightfully considered the father of monasticism. For a long time he lived as a hermit in strict seclusion in the desert on the banks of the Nile. Followers begin to come to him, wanting to learn from him, but he does not agree for a long time; finally, yielding to their requests, he allows them to settle in the neighborhood and build "monasteries", that is, single kalias, like the tents of nomadic tribes. These are the first hermit colonies. They live separately, as far as possible without communicating with each other, in seclusion and solitude, but still form a "brotherhood" united by spiritual guidance.
According to the descriptions of Athanasius the Great, the Monk Anthony the Great did not give outward rules for the monastic life; he was concerned mainly with instilling living piety in his disciples. Responding to the requests of the brethren to give them a charter for life, he offered a lesson, remarkable in depth and simplicity: "The Holy Scriptures are enough for the knowledge of all the rules, but it will be of great benefit if the brethren are comforted by mutual teachings."
Similar settlements appear on the Nitrian mountain around Abba Ammun, and not far from them there are others called "cells", and even deeper in the desert "sketes" (great plain). The Kelliots live alone in a closed cell. These are the same hermits - "A man who has cognized the sweetness of a cell avoids his neighbor," says Theodore of Formaeus.
So, this path of solitary achievement is difficult, not everyone can do it, but for many it is dangerous.
3. Dormitories (monastery) of Pachomius the Great
monasticism asceticism hermit reverend
Another type of monastic life is opposed to the secluded way of life - the hermitage: the cenobitic monastery (kinovia). Its prototype, according to the words of the ancient writer of the late 4th century, John Cassian the Roman, was the early Christian community. ”The first cynovia was organized by Pachomius the Great (292-349), who began his exploit with a hermit. He saw that a solitary lifestyle was unbearable and unhelpful for beginners. One must gradually educate and prepare for the creative freedom of hermitism, and Pachomius the Great organizes a hostel in Tavenissi on the basis of strict obedience. The basis of everything relied on loyalty to the established rules to the smallest detail, while completely cutting off their will or self-will. “Instead of the creative improvisation of hermitism, the idea of a measured life is realized here and is protected by the harsh discipline of supervision and punishment,” notes IM Kontsevich. Monastery of St. Pachomius the Great was an educational institution, where even those who were ignorant of the faith were admitted. It was a common life, a common feat, in mutual concerns, where nothing had to be hidden. According to legend, the Angel of the Lord, passing on the statute to St. Pachomius the Great, said: "I gave a charter ... for those whose minds are still immature, so that they, remembering the general rule of life out of fear of the Lord, at least as rebellious slaves, achieve freedom of spirit."
In his monasteries, Pachomius established rules that were binding on everyone. The main requirements of their charter were: chastity, humility, renunciation of everything earthly and unquestioning obedience to the mentor. The monks lived in three in each cell, worked together and once a day ate food consisting of bread, vegetables and fruits.
4. Development of monasticism
Eastern monasticism
By the end of the 4th century, all of Egypt is covered with monasteries. From Egypt, monasticism is transferred to Palestine. Already in the 20s of the 4th century near Gaza, the first hermit monastery was formed around the cell of St. Illarion, a disciple of St. Anthony the Great, and nearby the monastery of Epiphanius, later Bishop of Cyprus. From here, monasticism spread throughout Palestine and Syria. Basil the Great, who traveled through Egypt and Palestine and got acquainted with the monastic life there, spread male and female monasticism in Cappadocia. The charter he gave to his monks soon spread to the east and became universal.
Later, "laurels" appear (narrow passage, street). The first laurel was Farran, St. Chariton near Jerusalem, and then others on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho and around Bethlehem. In the 5th century St. Euthymius, and in VI, Savva the Sanctified creates a monastery with a lax communal charter, where the hostel is a preliminary stage for the transition of life in the cells. In Syria, monasticism is developing independently of the Egyptian. Many monasteries are being established around large cities. A characteristic feature of Syrian monasticism is the exploits of self-mortification. For example, in the 6th century "grazing", later the same stolpnichestvo.
From the devotees of the 5th century. remarkable: Isidore Pelusiot, Simeon the Stylite, Euthymius and many others. Isidore, a theologically and philosophically educated man, retired to the Egyptian deserts, spent his life like John the Baptist: he dressed in clothes of coarse hair and ate only roots and herbs. Simeon, a Syrian by birth, struggled for many years in prayer, never leaving the pillar and enduring hunger and all atmospheric changes. He laid the foundation for a new kind of asceticism - pillage. Euthymius, the founder of the Palestinian Lavra, received the gift of miracles for his exploits.
So, by the 5th century, the whole East was already dotted with many monasteries. The Olympic and Athos mountains became the main center of Eastern monasticism. Only on the latter there were about 20 monasteries, up to 100 sketes and cells, in which more than 8 thousand monks lived. From here monasticism came to Russia.
Western monasticism
In the West, monasticism developed mainly out of imitation of the East, since in the II, III centuries, asceticism among Western Christians was in the same respect as in the East.
One of the main bearers of the ideals of Christian chastity in the West was St. Ambrose. It is to him that the main merit belongs to "preparing the soil for the growth of flowers of monasticism"
The active spread of monasticism began in the second half of the 4th century. Getting acquainted with the monastic experience of the East, Western Christians organized the so-called hostels of ascetics, both in cities and in their surroundings. According to A.I. Sidorov, such hostels represented a kind of transitional stage from ancient Christian asceticism to monasticism proper.
Among the mentors in "spiritual science" in the West, St. John Cassian the Roman, Martin of Tours as special zealots of the Spirit of the Lord. A separate word must be said about Benedict of Nursia, (480-547), the creator of the Latin monastic charter. The information about Benedict contained in Gregory the Great is half legendary, therefore, it is very difficult to restore his life. Born in Nursia, educated in Rome, lived as a hermit in Subiaco, and after a failed attempt to reform the monastery in Vicovaro, founded a new one on Monte Cassino, for which, around 529, he composed a charter closely related to the long-standing monastic tradition of the East. This Rite formed the basis of many monastic rules and had a tremendous impact on the development of monasticism in Europe. It should be noted that one of the distinguishing features of Western monasticism from Eastern monasticism was its active participation in missionary activity. So, Patrick, in order to consolidate Christianity in Ireland, founded several monasteries there, which "were schools for the people."
Conclusion
After doing this little work, we can conclude that monasticism, as a striving for the highest path of serving God, came out, or was born in the Christian Church. Influenced from part of the Jewish aspirations to the Christian period, persecution by the Roman authorities, and later a departure from true beliefs (a significant decline in the religious and moral life of believers), were the result of the emergence and development of monasticism. Monasticism is a social religious group whose members take on the obligation: leaving the world, as a rule, giving up property, obligatory celibacy, breaking old family and social ties, being attached to a monastery, and subordinating to its charter. In reality, the life of a significant part of monks is far from asceticism.
List of used literature
Sidorov A.I. Ancient Christian asceticism and the emergence of monasticism. Moscow. Orthodox pilgrim, 1998.
Kazansky P.S. History of Orthodox Monasticism in the East. Moscow. Pilgrim, 2000.
Smirnov E.I. History of the Christian Church. Reprint. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1997.
Kontsevich I.M. Acquisition of the Holy Spirit in the ways of ancient Russia.
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In the church environment, the opinion is widespread that an Orthodox person is given only two ways to salvation - marriage or a monastery. But today more and more people, for a number of reasons, find themselves alone in the world, while they are often condemned for such a way of life as selfish. Is this attitude justified, and is there a middle way for a Christian, ponders Archpriest Maxim Pervozvansky, editor-in-chief of the "Heritage" magazine.
Know your heart and the will of God
You need to understand that life goes on as usual - today it is one, tomorrow a little different, the day after tomorrow the third. And in this course of life you need to know, firstly, the disposition of your heart, to understand where it lies, what, in other words, it really attracts me. And here it is important to separate the temporary hobby from the serious and constant diligence of the heart.
For example, if I have always felt a calling to monastic life, and then suddenly fell in love, what does it mean that I need to get married? Not at all, it means that I need to wait until this love weakens and understand if I really want to build a family life, have children, and so on.
Either I always wanted to have a family and felt that it was mine, and then suddenly I met an elder, or went on a pilgrimage trip and got carried away by the monastic theme. Does this mean that I now need to become a monk? No. That is, you need to separate your basic heart trend from some, maybe strong, powerful, but temporary emotional mood swings. It is not always easy to do this, but it is necessary in order not to make a mistake.
And secondly, we need to try to understand what the Lord expects of us, what He calls us to. We all want to live, but the Lord can call us to die. So here too - we may want one thing, but the Lord explicitly calls us to another. Of course, it is easy to formulate a desire - it would be good for us to know the will of God. But it is very difficult to recognize this desire.
Sometimes there are some signs (although I do not urge them to seek and breed mysticism), when the Lord, through meetings, events, even obvious miracles or someone's words, shows us His will. And sometimes we know the will of God just through the general arrangement of our hearts. As it is said: “The Lord will give you according to your heart and will fulfill all your advice” - if you want a family, then the Lord will most often give you this family.
I want to get married, but not for whom?
The older I get, the more I am convinced that those people who complain that they wanted to get married so much, and the Lord does not give, in fact did not really want it, or did not want it so. That is, the words are spoken one, but another in the heart. We behave in a certain way, set, serve when we want to marry or get married. Therefore, when a person is "displeased", as a rule, he has no problems to find a person and start a family. But often people who say “I want to get married” are actually preoccupied with something else in real life. It can be studies, a career, some family troubles, etc. - a lot of things that absorb deep interest and human energy.
Or a person gets into such a pose: "Yes, I want to get married, but not for whom!" And try to explain. This is also an internal position, a kind of readiness to reject any proposal in advance - either the horse is not white enough, or the prince is not slender enough, or the armor is not so polished. As you know, those who have a desire are looking for an opportunity, those who have no desire are looking for an excuse.
The same goes for monasticism. You can think as much as you like that now there are no normal monasteries, and the confessors have died out, and it is not known how to be saved. In fact, there are confessors, monasteries, and ideas on how to be saved. But after the Fall, we are all spiritually disabled. Our thoughts and feelings are confused, there is no clarity of desires, constancy of aspirations, and so on. We can neither understand ourselves, nor the world, we can only make claims.
Of course, it is wrong, and in no case should you get married if you don't want it, if there is no love, if there is no desire to start a family, have children, make your other half happy, try to somehow build your house, grow up with an economy, bring up , teach and so on. Of course, you don’t need to go to a monastery if you don’t want to be a monk, if your heart doesn’t burn for service, for obedience, for prayer. It is very difficult for a person to understand himself and the will of God. And if he fails to do this - he did not marry, and did not go to the monastery, then often he does not know at all what he wants in this life.
Apostle Paul: “He who gives in marriage to his damsel does well; but the one who does not give out does better "
Family is really a serious and difficult test for a Christian. This is very well understood by people who have recently married or have gotten married. Previously, you often went to the service, stood, prayed, but now you have a child in your arms, is capricious, crying, and instead of standing at the service, you have to push with the child in the dressing room, or come only to the Our Father. Or earlier you read akathists and canons, had the opportunity to calmly, without getting annoyed, do some household chores, but now you can read something only on the run, and all the time you swear from fatigue.
Family life is not so much benevolent and not as well-organized orthodox as the young people think. And there are a lot of things in it that hinder spiritual life. Indeed, it is very difficult to achieve such an intensity of visiting the temple, individual prayer, achieving inner spiritual peace, inner dispensation. Family life is a bustle, turmoil, nerves, especially if people are trying to live in the Orthodox way, to have children.
I often communicate with Orthodox family people who say: “Yes, we have practically no spirituality in the family, there is no time to talk with children about God or to pray normally. Either lessons, now cooking, three jobs at my father's, whom we do not see, then something else, we are all kind of twitched. " Yes, of course, it is difficult to organize spiritual life in a family. But all this is justified and pays off only by one thing, what we talked about before - life is not for oneself. Family life kills selfishness.
Of course, the monastic path is more direct, because there selfishness is killed by obedience, and there is everything for spiritual growth - daily worship, cell prayer, confessor. And the temptations that lie in wait for a monk are already purely spiritual. But only a person with a serious inner disposition for monastic life will be able to pull them. A person should not have a temporary passion for monasticism, but precisely a predisposition, a love for solitude, prayer, God, to whom you want to devote your whole life. And then, of course, this is a more direct path.
Why is the "middle way" dangerous?
It is often customary in our country to reproach people who did not find themselves in the monastery and who did not start a family in selfishness. This is due precisely to the fact that both the monastic path and the path of the family forces a person to live not for himself. In most cases, a person who is in a monastery or in a family simply cannot live for himself, this implies the very way of monastic or family life. And this is precisely the basis of Orthodox asceticism: "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me." And in modern life, when a person lives alone, he has the opportunity to live for himself.
This was not the case before. Even 100 years ago, it was much more difficult to live alone than in a family. It is no coincidence that "spouses", by the direct meaning of the word, are a pair of oxen. That is, it was much harder to drag the plow of life alone than together. And a person in his right mind and sober memory could not choose a lonely life for himself. And now it is possible. If a person has a place to live, a good job, he can come home and not think about lessons with children, dinner for the whole family, or, if we are talking about a monastery, run to obedience. A person is not obliged to do what he does not want: he wanted - went to bed, wanted - read a book, wanted - turned on the TV, wanted - prayed, wanted - went on a pilgrimage trip, wanted - went to the service, and so on. You may want small, but you can fulfill it. And this, in general, is not good from the point of view of the salvation of the soul.
And when they say that it is necessary in any case either to get married, to get married, or to go to a monastery, then it is understood that these are two main saving paths for a person. And the path of a lonely life is more difficult, because there are much more temptations and opportunities to live for yourself. And in this situation, if a person has not chosen either a family or a monastery for himself, he needs to make special efforts to live not for himself - to engage in charity work, social activities, to be a member of a youth association at a church, etc. And then it will be impossible to say that such a life is less saving than life in a marriage or a monastery.
But there are more difficulties. When you are young, when you have a lot of energy, you go to orphanages, nursing homes and so on, then at some point you will just become lazy. And you look, a person is already 40-50 years old, but he does not need anything, he is tired of life. In family life or in a monastery - whether you want it or not, you have to do something. For example, if you want to sleep, and the child has a stomach ache - if you like it or not, you get up, go for medicine, start to comfort him, lull him, and so on. Or if you are a monk, then in the morning, like it or not, you go to service in the morning, then to obedience.
When you are alone, it is difficult to realize - you do even deeds of mercy when you want to. Therefore, it is very important to create a situation for yourself when you will be forced to do what you do not want to do.
There is a wonderful story. Once, still young Lao Tzu was walking along one of the roads of China and met an old man who dug a hole next to his field. At the bottom of the pit, water appeared, steps led down to the water, the old man scooped water with wineskins, went up and carried this water to his garden. Lao Tzu looked at him and said: "Father, let me tell you: here you put two sticks, here another one, you tie a wineskin to a rope, and you won't have to go down." And he looked at him and said: “Young man, do you really think that I don’t know how a well-crane works? But a person using mechanisms becomes like a mechanism himself and loses confidence in the promptings of his own spirit. "
A terrible misfortune of modern society, especially urban society, is alienation from life, from its meaning. Of course, the crane is childish compared to those things that we are used to using - pressed a button, the kettle boiled water, the machine washed, the dishwasher washed, and so on. We do not understand how vegetables and animals grow, we live in concrete cages, not understanding and not knowing how living life works. And it is precisely because of this terrible alienation that it is extremely difficult for one person to create a spiritual life for himself.
You come home, and there is nothing to do, and then the modern temptations of social networks, TV and so on. That is why it is preferable, if there is hearty diligence, to realize either family life, or go to a monastery.
And not in a monastery, and not in a family, how can one be saved?
Any change in life requires a change in life, pardon the tautology. And a person is not ready to change his life. It is clear that if you are a 90-year old woman with three disabilities and live in a dilapidated housing, then this is one thing, but if a healthy man or a young woman, and at the same time cannot move yourself in any way, this no longer arouses sympathy.
If you move from city to village, there are many advantages - fresh air, farm products, fishing, but you will lose something, some amenities - you will have to heat the stove, shovel snow from the porch.
As the cat Matroskin said, "in order to sell something unnecessary, you need to buy something unnecessary." Loss is always inevitable, and people are not ready for this. That is why many do not get married and do not get married. And the older a person becomes, the more difficult it is for him to do this - he can already adequately assess the losses and risks.
There is no desire, internal, a person can declare it, but in fact there is none. Maybe there is no strength, I do not blame, because we are all spiritually disabled, but there are a lot of recipes: you can join a community; you can sell an apartment in Moscow and buy a solid house near the monastery; you can, like one friend of mine, go on a hitchhiking trip, see how people live.
Even if a person is over 50, he has been caring for a sick relative all his life, for example, and it did not work out with his family, he can still start a family. How? For example, go to the nearest orphanage and offer your help first. It is clear that we do not know our strength, there is no need to talk about adoption, but you can work with the child, and then, if something goes well, take patronage over him. And this is how a family is created, something that helps a person to live and be saved.
Therefore, if a person is ready, he has a million opportunities, and water does not flow under a lying stone. But, as the Monk Seraphim of Sarov said, there are few people who are saved, because there is little determination. This applies to both monastic and family life.
Did Maria Stroganova write it down?
At a certain moment, every Orthodox person faces the question of which path to choose: family life or monasticism? The Monk Paisios Svyatorets spoke about how to resolve it and what these paths are, whose instructions are presented to your attention in this article.
Hood. Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky
Each person, having reached a certain age, finds himself at a crossroads in life and, at times, does not know what to choose: the path of family life or monasticism. Elder Paisiy Svyatorets tried to help such people and reminded that first of all it is necessary for oneself to understand what the destiny of man is. According to him, one must always remember that the meaning of life is to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where two paths blessed by God lead. Both of these paths are different, but they lead to the same goal. The most important thing is that the one walking along one path does not condemn the one who is walking the other. By itself, monasticism or family life does not make a person a saint, an heir to the longed-for paradise. Both of these paths meet their own bitterness and misfortunes. Only personal love and zealous striving for a good deed sanctify a monk or a family man. Father Paisiy said: “Does he want to get married? Let him marry, but with zeal he will try to become a good head of the family and live a holy life. Does he want to become a monk? Let him become a monk, but he tries hard to become a good monk. " .
“The meaning of life is to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where two paths blessed by God lead. Both of these paths are different, but they lead to the same goal. "
A person who goes to a monastery should make sure that his desires are exclusively aimed at serving God, and not to satisfy his own selfish thoughts, inspired by pride. For if he did not start a family due to the fact that in his youth he indulged in fleshly passions, and now, tired of an unbridled life, he hastily becomes a monk, it is highly doubtful that in a monastery such a person will be able to fill the emptiness of his heart.
The main thing is that young people make their choice decisively and do not have pride and selfishness in themselves. Because sometimes young people consider themselves to be some kind of special and save themselves for something exceptional, not like everyone else. "You might think that they are gold and are afraid that they - like a simple piece of iron - are used in a reinforced concrete structure"- said the old man.
Some are afraid to make a choice because they find the present time to be difficult. The elder said to this that this position is wrong, because if you have confidence in Christ, then nothing is scary.
Do not forget that the time of adolescence flies extremely quickly. Therefore, it is better for young people not to stand in indecision at a crossroads, but to choose monasticism in accordance with their vocation, disposition and inclinations, without postponing the decision until later. The older a person gets, the more difficult it is for him to make a choice, especially after thirty years, when the character has already been formed, and life experience forces him to act with an eye to the difficulties that accompany both paths, while young people are able to partially close their eyes to them. However, knowledge of the difficulties and sorrows that are encountered on both of these paths is necessary, for it can help to avoid superficial enthusiasm from both monasticism and family life. So what are these paths?"Young people should try to avoid superficial enthusiasm from monasticism or family life."
Monastic path
Monasticism is a special path of grace, to which God himself calls a person. Elder Paisius wrote a lot about what is the deep meaning of monasticism in the Orthodox Church. A monk goes far, far away from the world, because he loves the world and wants to help it with his prayer. He leaves the place where something can interfere with his prayer, and goes to the place where he can pray pure and unceasing prayer for the whole world. If a worldly person, giving someone a blessing, helps with a pack of cereals or a pair of boots, then the monk, by his incessant prayer standing, provides material assistance to the whole world, since the Good God, through his humble prayer, gives food to those in need. Great tonsure. 1898, thin. Nesterov Mikhail Some argue that monks are lazy and do nothing, do not benefit the world. But the elder recalled that even before becoming monks, they leave the world, distributing to the needy their worldly property, which they no longer need. Thus, they are of immense benefit to those in need while living in the world.
For someone who has chosen the path of monasticism, it is important to completely master his heart, so that it does not have any feelings for any girl (youth). That is, choosing monasticism, a young man or girl should not have a single drop of doubt. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between heartfelt feelings, the presence of which closes the entrance to the monastery, from ordinary carnal warfare, which is not an obstacle to entering the monastic path."A young man or girl needs to grow up internally before entering a monastery."
The novice needs to forget the world and everything worldly. For this, he will be obliged to avoid meeting with worldly people, with visitors and relatives.
Before entering a monastery, a young man or girl needs to mature internally. Because every monk (or nun) is called to have a fatherly love for those who come for advice from the world. You also need to be attentive to junior monks (nuns). This is important, because a monk who has not matured will always require taking care of himself, and he will not take care of others, as he should. 
Spiritual nourishment, thin. Vasily Ivanovich Navozov After entering the monastery, the novice novice, and later the monk, should not be deceived by the fact that he is changing outwardly. He must pay special attention to his inner change - transformation. In this respect, Elder Paisius's words about himself are instructive: “My greatest enemy is monastic exaltation. Woe to the monk who only changes his name, and then does not find silence, and generally begins to imagine such things about himself that are not in reality " .
Unlike Christians in the world, monastics are required to pray incessantly. The monk should use every temptation from the devil as an occasion for prayer. It is necessary to pray that the Lord will help to overcome the passions.
Since a monk has no worldly responsibilities, he is obliged to cultivate great sacrifice in himself. He must always and everywhere be ready to sacrifice himself in the name of Christ. Elder Paisios often repeated in his conversations that the life of a monk is a sacrifice. This is the essence of monasticism. A monk must, taking the tonsure, decide to die. Then, in a difficult moment, the monk will cope with fear, and will not deny Christ, and will easily give himself up to torment. In this sense, a monk should always be ready for martyrdom.“The life of a monk is a sacrifice. This is the essence of monasticism "
The path of family life
If the young man made the decision to marry, then he will have a difficult task - the choice of the bride. Father Paisiy gave the young men advice on what, first of all, it is necessary to pay attention to when choosing a life partner.
According to the elder, the most important thing is for the girl, the future wife, to be after her heart. In addition, it is good that she has such qualities as simplicity, humility, reliability, courage, so that she has the fear of God. 
Wedding in the Orthodox Church, thin. Andrey Kartashov. Speaking about the character of the future bride, Father Paisiy noticed that a young man should not look for a soul mate with the same character as his. It is better when the bride's warehouse, disposition and character are different. Because the different characters of the future husband and wife complement each other, which makes up family happiness. For example, the husband is determined, but the wife is not. In this case, the husband will make decisions in an extreme situation and will help the wife overcome her inappropriate judgment, and the wife, in times of danger, will be able to "slow down" the husband's careless ardor. Thus, the family will always remain strong. The elder gave the following illustrative example: “A car needs both gas and brake pedals to stop in time. If the car had one brake, it would not move, and if it only had an accelerator, it would not be able to stop. "... In addition, the difference in the characters of the spouses makes it possible for the children to be in a state of balance: the strictness of the father keeps the children in check, and the kindness of the mother helps them to develop freely. Therefore, neither the groom nor the bride should under any circumstances break their character - they just need to start using it correctly, so that it benefits the family.
Elder Paisios insisted that the period between the proposal and the wedding should not be too long. At this time, it is necessary to preserve virginity and a chaste attitude towards each other. It is very important to learn this from the very beginning, then it will be possible to avoid many painful moments in relationships in future family life."The most important thing is that the girl, the future wife, is to her heart"
There is no thing on earth more complicated than human relationships. And the relationship between husband and wife is doubly complicated. It is necessary for a husband and wife to learn and manifest in their lives all those virtues that are necessary for all Orthodox Christians. At the foundation of the life of spouses, at the core of their relationship, there should always be: love and humility, spiritual nobility, sacrifice, patience, which begins with love and pain for a loved one, constant cultivation of kind, meek thoughts. Patience is needed to endure each other's quirks and keep the family from falling apart. Humility - to be condescending to your spouse's shortcomings and weaknesses. It is good when the spouses have, as the elder put it, "a good quarrel," that is, when the spouses are constantly striving to intercept each other's responsibilities, to work harder so that the other can have more rest. When the elder was asked who in the family should do household chores, he answered: "Whoever succeeds first, he gets ..." . 
Hood. Panov Eduard. Also, daily reading and knowledge of the Gospel and the desire to translate it into family life is very conducive to a good atmosphere in the family.
The husband must love his wife. This love must be so strong and complete that it can overflow and be transmitted to everyone around. The wife, in turn, is obliged to honor her husband. This reverence should even turn into a kind of reverence, as before a shrine. Because for any wife, the husband is a shrine. A wife should never contradict her husband, because this is a cheeky disposition, unworthy of a true Christian. If the spouses have such deep feelings of love for each other, then they feel closeness even at a distance. And if there are no such feelings, then they will be far from each other, even being close. However, Elder Paisius warns all spouses that it is impossible to love a husband or wife more than God. Such distorted love leads to divorce. People do not understand why at first they lived in perfect harmony, and then their relationship went wrong, and there is nothing left but to divorce.
Also, the reason for divorce is often the betrayal of one of the spouses. However, in such cases, the elder tried to persuade the injured party to endure with all his might, to pray as much as possible, to behave kindly with the one who had cheated, and not to lead to divorce, because the ultimate love, patience, compassion of the injured party return the guilty party to the good path. as his (or her) heart is softened by seeing such devotion.
Elder Paisius says the same thing about treason as about injustice. That is, it should be treated spiritually. A spouse (or spouse) in any situation should not say: "I am right." Spouses, even if they are right, have no right to be right. They should always strive to bring peace to another.
The birth of children is a blessing of God. Therefore, you should not make your own plans, but it is best to entrust the problem of procreation to God. Nowadays, many families are subjected to such a test as infertility. The elder believed that there could be many reasons for this. Sometimes infertility befalls those women who, when they were in good health to give birth, were picky and did not want to get married. And having got married already in old age, they could not conceive and give birth to a child. But infertility is not always a consequence of a sinful, wrong life. The Lord has his own plan of salvation for each person. Therefore, God immediately gives a child to someone, and hesitates to give to someone. The Will of God is for everything. “Spouses should always be ready to accept the will of God into their lives. God does not leave a person who entrusts himself to Him with confidence ”... A married couple should be very humble about the fact that they have no children, because God, "Seeing that spouses experiencing difficulties in having children have humility ... can not only give them a child, but also make them large" .
For those who do not have their own children, it is necessary, for example, to help some child in need of help when the opportunity arises. The elder was very sorry for childless women, because the love that the Lord laid in their hearts does not find a way out. He taught that one must derive spiritual benefit from the current situation. For example, doing charity work, helping those in need. A woman's heart must necessarily direct the love that is embedded in it to some business.“A husband must love his wife. This love must be so strong and complete that it can overflow and be passed on to everyone around. "
In general, the family needs to be content with little and give alms to those in need. Elder Paisios said: "By giving alms to those in need, a person helps both himself and his family." .
In addition, a prayer rule should be performed daily in the family. It is good for parents to pray together for a while. Children also need to be present at prayer, but they should not be pressured - the duration of a child's prayer depends on age. In a family, it is very important for everyone to sit down at the table together; before eating, it is imperative to read a prayer. If the spouses have different spiritual development, they should adjust to each other and together strive for perfection with reasoning.
Father Paisy himself, by prayer, helped people most of all, both families and monastics, but at the same time he instructed those who came to him. And the words of the reverend elder are of great help to many people to this day.
Paisiy Svyatorets, elder. Pilgrims testimony. Moscow: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2011. - P. 81.
Paisiy Svyatorets, elder. A word about parents and their responsibilities. M .: Svyataya Gora, 2011 .-- P. 14.
In the same place. - S. 15.
Paisiy Svyatorets, elder. Words. T. IV. Family life. M .: Svyataya Gora, 2001 .-- p. 165.
