Evangelical Monasticism...

  

by Abbot George Kapsanis of Gregoriou, Mount Athos

 

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is glad tidings [Gospel= gōd ‘good’ + spel news], because it brings into the world not only a new teaching, but a new life to replace the old one. The old life was dominated by sin, passions, corruption and death, and ruled by the devil. Despite its ‘natural’ joys, it leaves a bitter taste, because it’s not the real life that people were made for, but a life corrupted and diseased, which is why it’s marked with the feeling of absurdity, emptiness and anxiety.

The new life is offered to people by our theanthropic Christ as a gift and a potential for everyone. The faithful are united with Jesus Christ and so they partake in His divine and immortal life, that is eternal= real life.

A prerequisite for people to be united with Christ and to be resuscitated is that they should first die, through repentance, as regards the people they formerly were. People have first to crucify and bury their former selves (i.e. egotism, passions and selfish will) on the Cross and in the Grave of Christ, so that they can arise with Him and ‘walk in the newness of life’ (Rom. 6, 4). This is the work of repentance and the acceptance of the Cross of Christ. Without repentance, that is the continuous crucifying on one’s former self,  it’s impossible for the faithful to believe in a Gospel manner, that is to give up the whole of themselves to God and to love ‘the Lord God with all their heart and with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength’ (Mark 12, 30).

The Woman who Dwelt in a Cave...

A saintly hermit told the brothers the following story:

One day, as I was sitting in the desert, I began to feel worried and sad. A thought came to me: “Get up and go for a walk in the desert”. So I walked and came to a water-course and gazing into the distance in the moonlight- night had fallen already- I saw something hirsute sitting on a rock. At first I thought it was a lion and stopped walking in that direction. But then I thought it over and realized that, even if it were a lion, I shouldn’t be afraid, but rather should take courage and believe in the grace of Christ. So I started off again, heading towards the rock. Near the rock there was a small hole. No sooner did the figure see me approaching in the distance than it sprang up and disappeared into the cave.

When I got to the rock, I found a basket with some beans and a pitcher full of water, so I realized that the figure must have been a person, rather than a lion. So I went up to the opening of the cave and shouted: “Servant of God, please, do me a favour and come out and bless me”. No answer. I insisted that whoever it was should come out and give me a blessing, but the reply came: “Forgive me, Elder, but I can’t come out”. When I asked why, I received the answer: “Forgive me, but I’m a woman and quite naked”. When I heard this, I immediately took off the cloak I was wearing, wrapped it up and threw it into the cave. “Take this clothing, put it on and come out, please”. She did so. As soon as she came out, we said the usual prayer and sat down. Then I implored her: “Do me the favour, mother Elder, of telling me how you came to this place, how you spend your time here and how you found this cave”.

            Then she began to tell me her life story:

            “I was a ‘canonical’, she said [that is a woman dedicated to the Church but not tonsured as a nun], ‘and had dedicated my life to the church of the Resurrection of Christ. But where I used to perform this duty, there was a monk, who had his cell near the gate. This monk started to become familiar and seemed very pleased to be in my company or to speak with me. On one occasion I overheard him weeping and confessing this sinful inclination to God. I knocked on the door, and, when he realized it was me, he didn’t open it. Instead, he continued weeping and confessing to God. When I saw this, I said to myself: ‘Here’s this man repenting his own sin, but I’m unrepentant. He’s repenting and bewailing his transgression, so how can I remain like this, without the attire of mourning within me’.

So I immediately took the decision. I went back to my cell, put on an old and worn piece of clothing, filled my basket with beans and my jar with water. I went into the church of the Resurrection and made a prayer: ‘You, Lord, Who are our great and wonderful God, you Who came to earth to save the lost and raise the fallen, You who hearken to all those who sincerely ask Your assistance, show Your compassion and mercy to me, too, sinner that I am. And if it’s your good pleasure to accept my return and the repentance of my soul, bless these beans and this water, so that they’ll suffice for all the years of my life, so that I won’t be distracted- with the excuse of seeing to the needs of the flesh and the body- from continuous worship’.

Then I went to Golgotha and made the same prayer. I embraced the holy rock and the sacred vessels and again called upon the holy name of God. Then, in total secrecy, I left and, with complete confidence, gave myself into the hands of God. I went down to Jerusalem, crossed the Jordan and took the road that led to the bank of the Dead Sea. I’d never seen the sea-level so high. So I went up into the mountains and wandered in the desert until I came to this water-course. I climbed up onto the rock and found this cave. Since then I’ve come to love this place very much. I like to think that God gave it to me so that I could truly repent. I’ve lived here for thirty years and have never set eyes on another person, apart from you today.

And the beans in my basket and the water in my jar have never run out to this day, even though I’ve eaten and drunk as much as necessary. Of course, as time passed, my first clothes wore out and fell to pieces, but as my hair grew and got longer, I covered myself with it as if it were clothing. And so, by the grace of Christ, neither the cold nor the heat, even the furnace of the summer, do me any harm’.

She finished her story here and invited to me to eat some of the beans she had in her basket, because she’d been told “from the outside”, that I was very hungry. We ate and drank until I was full. But I saw that both the basket and the pitcher were still full, so I gave glory to God.

When it was time for me to go, I wanted to leave her my outer raso [habit], but she wouldn’t take it and said: “Bring me new clothes when you next come”.

I was filled with joy when she said this and begged her to wait for me and to welcome me again. We prayed again, I bade her farewell and left, imprinting the location on my mind so that I’d be sure to find it next time I came. I left and went to the church in the neighbouring village and told the priest what I’d seen and heard. He gathered the faithful and in a speech he made to them said: “Not far from our church, there are some saintly hermits whose clothes have fallen apart and they’re going about the desert completely naked. Anyone who’s got clothes to spare, bring them here and we’ll hand them out”.

Immediately, the Christians brought in a good many clothes. I took what I needed and, full of joy, started out again, hoping to see once more the blessed face of this spiritual mother, in the cave. I went back to the place, and tired myself out looking, but I couldn’t find the cave. When eventually I did find it, the God-bearing woman wasn’t there any more, and that upset me.

I went away, saddened. A few days later, some hermits came to visit me and two of them said: “We two were wandering around the desert on the other side of the sea when we suddenly saw, at night, sitting on a rock, a hermit with long hair. When we quickened our steps to meet up with him and take his blessing, he avoided us and went into the entrance of a nearby cave. We wanted to go in ourselves, but as we approached the doorway, a voice came from out of the depths of the cave, saying: ‘Servants of God, please don’t disturb me. On the rock next to you there’s a basket of beans and a pitcher of water. If you want, you can eat and drink’.

The voice gave us its blessing and we went to the rock as we’d been told to do. There on the rock were the basket of beans and the jar of water. We ate and drank and rested for the remainder of the night.

When we woke up in the morning we went to get the blessing of the cave-dwelling hermit, but saw that the person had already fallen asleep in the Lord. We wanted to prepare him for burial, but realized that it was a woman, covered with her own very long hair. We blessed ourselves with her holy relics and rolled a large rock across the entrance to the cave. Once we’d prayed, we started out on the road back”.

I then realized that it was the same ‘canonical’ who had lived as a hermit and had become a holy mother. So I told them what I had heard from her mouth and, all together we glorified God, to Whom, indeed, glory is due unto the ages of ages. Amen.

P.V. Paskhos, Αγγελοτόκος έρημος, Armos Publications, pp. 137-42.

The Monk's Mission by Elder Paisios the Athonite (+1994)

                    Elder Paisios The Athonite

Before I refer to my limited experience with beginner monks, it would be good to offer some counsel for their edification while they are, for one reason or the other, still found in the world. Perhaps this meagre assistance will strengthen them for their monastic journey.

It is most important for a beginner, while still in the world, to find a spiritual Father who will be a friend of Monasticism, because most of the spiritual Fathers in our times are monachomachoi ("monk-fighters"); and war against Monasticism in many different ways. In waging their war they even make use of Fathers of the Church who were involved in important social work, such as Saint Basil the Great and his Vasileiada. [6]

I don't wish to refer to the life of Saint Basil the Great before he began the Vasileiada, but simply express my thought: What would Saint Basil the Great do if he lived in our era? I am of the opinion that he would again retreat to a cave with his komboskini [7] watching the flame of love (of the social work of other holy fathers) being spread everywhere; not only to the faithful but even to the unfaithful, who all together constitute Social Providence, which also looks after members of the Spiritual Charity Associations (although only by granting a certificate of pauperism). In other words, social welfare is shouting every day: "Holy Fathers of our times, leave charity to us, the lay people, who are not in a position to do something else, and look to concern yourselves with something more spiritual".

Unfortunately, however, some clergymen not only do not follow this exhortation, since they do not understand it, but they also prevent those who do understand it and want to dedicate themselves entirely to Christ, feeling intensely the inclination to depart from the world. That is to say, as if it weren't enough that a beginner monk has to hear this from laymen; he has to hear plenty from the clergymen as well, who even make the unreasonable demand that monks leave the desert and come to the world to take up the social work and philanthropy. It is good to also mention some of the crowns which they weave for monks: "slackers, self-seekers, cowards", etc., considering themselves heroes because they struggle in the sinful society and monks cowards because they depart to save only their own soul.

I wonder why they are unable to understand the great mission of the monk! The monk departs far from the world not because he hates it, but because he loves it. In this way he will, through his prayer, help the world more in those matters that are, being humanly impossible, only possible by God's intervention. This is how God saves the world. The monk never says: "I will save the world". Instead, he prays for the salvation of the whole world, along with his own. When the Good God hears his prayer and helps the world, he does not say: "I saved the world", but "God saved the world".

In a few words, monks are the "radio operators" of Mother Church, and therefore, if they depart far from the world, they do it out of love, departing from the distractions of this world in order to be in better contact with God and help people more effectively.

Of course, when their unit is in danger, some mindless soldiers also share the irrational demand of certain clergymen (i.e. that monks should return to the world). They say that the radio operator should leave the radio aside and grab his rifle, as if by adding one more gun to the two hundred others he will salvage the situation. While the radio operator clamours to make contact, yelling "calling headquarters, come in, come in" etc., the others think that he calls pointlessly into the wind. However, astute radio operators pay no attention, even if they are reviled. They struggle until they make contact and then ask for immediate help from Headquarters and the air forces arrive, as well as the armed forces, the navy etc. Thus, in this way, and not with their meagre rifles, the unit is saved. The same applies to monks who advance with divine power, with their prayer, and not with their negligible individual powers. It is especially the case in our age, when evil is so widespread, that we are in need of God's intervention.

It is another matter if a monk, on account of some need, is found in the world for a short or even long period of time; then he assists also with his personal spiritual strength, which God has granted him. This activity, however, he considers as a secondary work, prayer always being his main work. He does this, of course, when in his cell as well, where he employs his handiwork as a secondary task, and if he sees anyone suffering next to him, he helps with whatever he has. Furthermore, when a person with problems visits him, he lays everything aside and tries to assist him humanly as well, in whatever he can.

All of this is to say that, the aim of the monk is not to be engaged in much handiwork and collect money to help the poor, as this translates into spiritual decline. Rather, through his prayer the monk could help, not by pounds, but by tons the needs of others (when, for instance, there exists a drought, by his prayer he could replenish the world's storehouses). Therefore, God "raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill" [8]. Let us not forget what the Prophet Elijah [9] did.

Monks, therefore, don't leave the desert in order 'to go to the world to help a poor person, nor to visit someone ill in the hospital to give him an orange or some consolation (that which is usually done by lay people, and is the sort of thing that God will ask from them). Monks pray for all the sick to receive a twofold health (physical and spiritual), and the Good God has mercy on His creatures and helps them recover, so that they, in their turn, working as good Christians, will also help others.

Furthermore, neither do monks visit those in prison, for they themselves are voluntarily imprisoned due to their great philotimo [10] towards Christ, their Benefactor and Saviour; Christ gives His love in abundance to His children who have philotimo, the monks. Thus, while they are within the castle (the monastery), the presence and love of Christ transforms it into Paradise. This heavenly joy that the monks feel, they pray and ask that Christ give it to all our incarcerated brothers in the world's prisons. In this way, the Good God is moved by the love of His good children and spreads consolation to the souls of prisoners, many times even setting them free.

Besides these prisoners, monks help other more serious cases of those who are not imprisoned for just ten or twenty years, but eternally, and are in need of much greater help. These are our brothers awaiting trial, who have fallen asleep, whom the monks visit in their own way, offering many spiritual refreshments. The Good God helps the reposed, and, at the same time, acquaints the monks, after their pained prayers for their departed brothers, with an inexpressible rejoicing, as if saying: "Don't worry, my children, I have helped the departed as well".

Someone might ask: "Should we beseech God for His help?". Certainly we should beseech Him. Particularly, God is greatly moved when we sympathize with our brother and ask Him to help, because then He intervenes without transgressing our free will. Here, one observes the great spiritual nobility of God in that He does not even give the devil the right to protest. That is why He wants us to beseech Him so He can intervene—and He wants to intervene immediately to help His creatures. Of course, if God wants to, even now He can wind the devil into a ball and throw him into hell. However, for our own good He does not do it, because the devil, by beating us with his ill will, removes the dust from our soul.

In all that I have said and will mention further down, I want to stress the great mission of the monk, which is of greater importance than human philanthropy. For, even before someone becomes a monk, he has done his charitable work by giving everything away, as well as his own self to Christ (his rich Father), as Christ said to the young man [11]. So now, being His child (as a poor monk), he has a share in God's fortune and asks anything he wants from his Merciful Father. Then, his Father gives His mercy in abundance when it does not spiritually injure His unfortunate children.

A beginner monk hears a great deal from certain clergymen, as well as from many laymen, in their effort to dissuade him from the grandeur of Monasticism. Apart from that which is shameful to say (things, of course, that are not said by serious people), they also say that the monk is a dead entity, who doesn't have children, etc.

I don't want to examine those who say these things and ask them if they themselves have children, for this is the purpose of marriage and, thus, their life has meaning. The monk's aim, however, is different: virginity, "another life" [12]. But I would also like to ask those who have children: "Have they helped their children to secure Paradise, or do they only assist them materially?". Monks, who are concerned with the salvation of men's souls, become more affectionate fathers than fathers according to the flesh, have more children than that of the largest family, considering as their own children and brethren all of God's creatures, and with pain they pray that we might all reach our destination, close to God.

Since it is not easy for certain people to understand the spiritual regeneration that monks bring about in the people, I will mention how they also contribute to physical childbearing. Remaining chaste themselves and pure even from thoughts, they undo the sterility of many mothers on account of their boldness before God, both while still found in this life and also after they have fallen asleep. Therefore, when they are saints, monks "give birth" even after they have fallen asleep. Naturally, monks do not help in the pulpit with the preaching of the Gospel in order to enlighten the young and old, for their life is the Gospel. Thus, the Gospel is preached by example, which is the most positive way, something today's world especially thirsts after. As everyone is, more or less, educated in our day, they can speak of great truths about which they have read, which, however, have no relation whatsoever with the lives of most preachers. Hence, these preachers are constantly carrying about on their back the "woe" [13] Christ directed toward the Pharisees.

In short, monks are not merely lanterns that illumine city streets that people not stumble, but they are remote lighthouses on the rocks directing the ships of this world with their flashes, and upon the open seas the ships are orientated in order to reach their destination.

For this reason, not even parents should prevent their children from becoming monks (the radio operators of the Church), when, according to their inclination, God calls them. This mission is very significant and superior to what they themselves offer to God through their own mission. Lay people go regularly to church and make a promise to light a small or large candle. A monk, however, keeps vigil in church every day and has dedicated his entire self to Christ and, burning out of love for Him, he praises Him and thanks Him for himself and for the whole world.

Yet, I cannot understand why some clergymen and lay people fight Monasticism. Just as the army considers the signal corps an artery of the whole army, so too does our Church regard Monasticism. I would like to know: these blessed people who fight Monasticism, to which Church do they belong?

Endnotes

6. Vasileiada was the name given by Saint Basil (Vasileios) the Great's successors to his social and philanthropic work.

7. Komboskini (pl. komboskinia): The black woollen rope with 33, 50, 100 or 300 knots used by the Orthodox to count the number of times the Jesus Prayer is repeated.

8. 1 Sam. 2:8.

9. Cf. 1 Kg. 18:41-46.

10. Philotimo, according to Elder Paisios, is the reverent distillation of goodness, the love shown by humble people, from which every trace of self has been filtered out. Their hearts are full of gratitude towards God and to their fellow men, and out of spiritual sensitivity, they try to repay the slightest good which others do them.

11. Cf. Mt. 19:21,Mk. lO:21,Lk. 18:22.

12. From the Paschal Canon.

13. Cf. Mt. 23:13, Lk. 11:42-44.

From Epistles, by Elder Paisios of Mount Athos (Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece: Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", 2002), pp. 31-38.

ANONYMOUS DESERT FATHER - Satan's Worst Enemy

One of the old men of the Thebaid used to tell the following story: "I was the son of a pagan priest. When I was small I would sit and watch my father who often went to sacrifice to the idol. Once, going in behind him in secret, I saw Satan and all his army standing beside him; and behold one of the chief devils came to bow before him. Satan said, 'Where have you come from?' He answered, 'I was in a certain place and made much blood flow, and I have come to tell you about it.' Satan asked, 'How long did it take you to do this?' He replied, 'Thirty days.' Then Satan commanded him to be flogged, saying, 'In so long a time have you done only that?'
And behold, another demon came to bow before him. Satan asked him, 'And you, where have you come from?' The demon replied, 'I was on the sea, and I made the waves rise, and small craft foundered, and I have killed many people, and I have come to inform you of it.' He said to him, 'How long did it take you to do this?' and the demon said, 'Twenty days.' Satan commanded that he also should be flogged, saying, 'That is because in such a long time you have only done this.'
Now, a third demon came to bow before him. he asked, 'And where have you come from?' The demon replied, 'There was a marriage in a certain village, and I stirred up a riot, and I have made much blood flow, killing the4 bride and bridegroom, and I have come to inform you.' He asked him, 'How long have you taken to do this?' and he replied, 'Ten days.' Satan commanded that he also should be flogged because he had taken too long.
After this, another demon came to bow before him. He asked, 'And where have you come from?' He said, 'I was in the desert forty years fighting against a monk, and this night I made him fall into fornication.' When he heard this, Satan arose, embraced him, and put the crown he was wearing on his head and made him sit on his throne, saying, 'You have been able to do a very great deed!'
The old man said, 'Seeing this, I said to myself, "Truly it is a great contest, this contest of the monks," and with God assisting me for my salvation, I went away and became a monk.'"

from "The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers," by Benedicta Ward, (Oxford: SLG Press, 1986)

ST. JOHN CASSIAN - On The Spirituality of Monastic Clothing

Great Schema Monk

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THE GARB OF THE MONKS

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-- As we start to speak of the institutes and rules of monasteries, where could we better begin, with God's help, than with the very garb of the monks? After having exposed their outward appearance to view we shall then be able to discuss, in logical sequence, their inner worship. And so, it is proper for a monk always to dress like a soldier of Christ, ever ready for battle, his loins girded.

The monk's garment should only be such that it covers the body, countering the shame of nakedness, and prevents the cold from doing harm, not such that it nurtures seeds of vanity or pride. In the words of the same Apostle: "having food and covering, let them be satisfied with these" (I Timothy 6:8). He says "covering" and not "vesture," which some Latin editions say incorrectly. This means only what may cover the body, not what may flatter it by its splendid style. Thus it should be commonplace, so as to be indistinguishable in terms of novelty of color and cut from what is worn by other men of this chosen orientation; in no respect should it be self-consciously meticulous, but neither, on the other hand, should it be grimy with filth accumulated by neglect; finally, it should be different from the apparel of this world in that it is kept completely in common for the use of the servants of God.

-- There are some other things in the garb of the Egyptians that pertain not so much to the well-being of the body as to the regulation of behavior, so that the observance of simplicity and innocence may be maintained even in the very character of their clothing. Thus, day and night they always wear small hoods that extend to the neck and the shoulders and that only cover the head. In this way they are reminded to hold constantly to the innocence and simplicity of small children even by imitating their dress itself. Those who have returned to their infancy repeat to Christ at every moment with warmth and vigor: "Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lifted up. Neither have I walked in great things nor in marvels beyond me. If I thought not humbly but exalted my soul, like a weaned child upon its mother" (Psalms 131:1-2).

-- They also wear linen colobia that barely reach the elbows and, for the rest, leave the hands free. The cutting off of their sleeves is to suggest that they have cut off the deeds and works of this world, and the wearing of linen clothing is to teach them that they have utterly died to a worldly way of life, that thus they may hear the Apostle addressing them daily: "Put to death your members that are on earth" (Colossians 3:5). Their very dress proclaims this as well: "You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians3:3). And: "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). And: "The world has been crucified to me and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).

-- They wear thin ropes, too, which are braided with a double thickness of wool. . . . They descend from the top of the neck, separate on either side of the neck, go around the folds at the armpits, and are tucked on both sides, so that when they are tightened the garment's fullness may be gathered close to the body. Thus their arms are freed, and they are unimpeded and ready for any activity as they strive wholeheartedly to fulfill the Apostle's precept: "These hands have labored not only for me but also for those who are with me" (Acts 20:34). "Nor do we eat anyone's bread for free, but we worked night and day in labor and weariness, lest we burden any of you" (II Thessalonians 3:8). And: "If anyone does not wish to work, neither should he eat" (II Thessalonians 3:10).

-- After this they cover their necks and also their shoulders with a short cape, striving after both modest style and cheapness and economy. In this way, they avoid the cost of coats and cloaks as well as any showiness. These are called "mafortes" in both our language and theirs.

-- The last pieces of their outfit are a goatskin, which is called a "melotis" or a "pera," and a staff. These they carry in imitation of those who already in the Old Testament prefigured the thrust of this profession. Of them the Apostle says: "They went about in melotis and goatskin, needy, in distress, afflicted, the world unworthy of them, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and caverns of the earth" (Hebrews 11:37-38). This garment of goatskin signifies that, once all the turbulence of their carnal passions has been put to death, they must abide in the most elevated virtue and no willfulness or wantonness of their youth and of former fickleness must remain in their bodies.

-- But they refuse shoes as being forbidden by gospel precept (Matthew 10:10), even when bodily infirmity or a winter morning's chill or the intense midday heat demands them, and they only put sandals on their feet. They understand that this use of them, with the Lord's permission, means that if, once having been placed in this world, we cannot be utterly removed from the care and worry of this flesh and are unable to be completely rid of it, we should at least provide for the necessities of the body with a minimum of preoccupation and involvement. Thus we should not allow the feet of our soul, which must always be ready for the spiritual race and for preaching the peace of the Gospel . . . to be entangled in the deadly cares of this world -- namely, by thinking of what caters not to the needs of nature but to superfluous and harmful pleasure.

-- This we shall accomplish if, in the words of the Apostle, "we do not make provision for the flesh in its desires" (Romans 13:14). But although they legitimately use sandals, since they were conceded by the Lord's decree, they nonetheless do not allow them on their feet when they approach to celebrate or to receive the most holy mysteries, considering that they must keep literally what was said to Moses and to Joshua the son of Nun: "Undo the strap of your sandal, for the place on which you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5 and Joshua 5:15).

-- We have said all of this so that it might not seem that we have left out anything concerning the Egyptians' garb. But we ourselves should keep only those things that the situation of the place and the custom of the region permit. For the harshness of the winter does not allow us to be satisfied with sandals or colobia or a single tunic, and wearing a little hood and having a "melotis" would evoke derision rather than edification in the beholder. Hence we are of the opinion that, of the things we have mentioned above, we should wear only what is in keeping with the humility of our profession and the character of the climate, so that the whole point of our clothing may not consist in strangeness of apparel, which might be offensive to persons of this world, but in decent simplicity. 

from Boniface Ramsey, O.P. (trans), "John Cassian: The Institutes," (New York: The Newman Press, 2000), pp. 21 - 26

St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite-On Stasidia

St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite 1749-1809

 

Compunction and tears are engendered by the outwards postures of the body; that is, when one prays with head uncovered; when he has the attitude of a condemned man standing before the judge; when he smites his breast like the Publican; when he keeps his eyes inclined downwards; when he gathers his thoughts in his heart; when he stands upright in his Stasidion. Indeed, Stasidia were designed for this very purpose, to support the arms of Christians and to maintain them in the posture of one praying throughout the time that they are standing in Church. This would be impossible if there were no Stasidia, since the arms of those at prayer would become weary if held up to God for a long period of time. That lifting the hands in prayer was a custom of the Prophets and Apostles is attested, on the one hand, by the Divine David, who says, “Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice,” (Ps. 140:2) and, on the other hand, by the great Paul, who says, “I desire therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing” (1 Tim. 2:8). To put it briefly, Stasidia sustain Christians in Church in the form of one crucified, and through such a form of the Cross Christians overcome the passions and the demons, invoking the help of the crucified Savior. In this way, Moses, held up by Hur and Aaron in the form of a Cross, overcame the Amalekites (Exo. 17:11-12). These outward and venerable postures, I say, give rise to compunction and tears in prayer. For the soul within conforms to the outward postures of the body, according to St. John the Ladder, who says: “The soul imitates the activities of the body, is molded in accordance with what the whole body does, and is made to conform thereto” (Ladder, 25). (Christian Morality pg. 492)

A Tale of Falling and Repentance

By Abba John of Lycus (from “The Lausiac History,” by St. Palladius)

There was a monk who lived in the desert, conducting himself properly and scrupulously for many years. When he was already getting to be quite elderly, he was severely tested by the wiles of the demons. His usual practice consisted of passing his days in silence, with many prayers and psalms and periods of contemplation. He had clear insights into many divine visions, sometimes waking, and sometimes even when asleep, although he actually slept hardly at all, living a life apart from the body. He did not till the ground, he took no thought for the necessities of life, and he cultivated no garden to supply his bodily needs. Nor did he catch birds or hunt any other animal, but full of the faith in which he had abandoned human community, he cared nothing for whether or not his body would be nourished. Forgetful of all else, he was sustained solely by his desire for God, waiting for his call to depart from this world, feeding above all on these things which cannot be perceived with the senses.

Throughout all this time, his body did not waste or show any ill effects, nor was he gloomy in spirit, but he continued to appear his normal attractive self. And God truly honored him indeed, for after a due interval of time He supplied his table with bread for two or three days, not just apparently but actually, for him to use. He would go into his inner room when he felt the pangs of hunger and find this food there. And having praised God and taken some food, he would again sing psalms, persevering in prayers and contemplation, growing daily, giving himself to the pursuit of virtue in hope of the future. He went on progressing more and more, until he almost got to the stage of putting his trust in his own powers of improvement and thereby came to his downfall, almost perishing in the temptations which then came upon him.

His thoughts had arrived at such a pass that he was little by little imprudently beginning to think more of himself than anyone else, and that he possessed much more than other men, and for this reason he began to put his trust solely in himself. Not long after he first thought like this, his vigilance relaxed slightly, but so little that he did not even notice that there had been any relaxation. But his negligence grew until it progressed to the extent that he could not fail but notice it. He was late in waking up to sing psalms, his prayers became shorter, his psalm singing did not last so long, his soul said to him that he needed to rest (and his mind agreed with that), his thoughts wandered and scattered, his secret meditations were spiritless.

But the impetus of his earlier routine still motivated him, and kept him safe for a while, so that when he went in after his usual prayers of an evening, he still found the bread supplied by God on his table and refreshed himself accordingly. But he still did not cut off his unworthy thoughts, he despised the idea that his soul was being damaged; he made no attempt to seek a remedy for these evils. Little by little he fell into omitting many of the things which he ought to have been doing. In thought he began to develop a desire for human company.

The next day he put a temporary restraint on himself, and returned to his usual exercises, but after he had prayed and sung his psalms, he went into the storeroom and found that the bread placed there was not so well baked or wholesome as usual, but was dirty and polluted. He wondered about this and was very sad about it, but nevertheless picked it up and ate it.

Came the third night and with it a third evil. For thoughts suddenly erupted in his mind, activating his memory so much that he imagined there was a woman lying with him. This image persisted in front of his eyes, and he actively encouraged it. But on this third day he went out to his work and his prayers and his psalms, although his mind was not clean anymore, and strayed frequently. He lifted up his eyes to the heavens, turning them this way and that, but the images in his memory prevented his work from being unspoiled. In the evening when he returned feeling hungry, he found that the bread looked as if it had been chewed by mice or dogs, and the scraps left over were dried up as if left outside.

He began to groan and weep, but not so much as to make him want to correct his faults. Having eaten less than he would have wished, he prepared himself for rest, but at once his thoughts went wild, dancing around in every direction, battling for possession of his mind, and taking it captive into uncleanness. He got up and began to walk towards the inhabited regions, walking through the desert by night. Daylight came and he was still a long way off from any habitation. He began to be overcome by the heat and felt very tired. He gazed around him in a complete circle, and saw at some distance what appeared to be a monastery where he might go in and get some refreshment. And so it was. He was accepted in by some good and faithful brothers, who treated him as a real father and washed his face and his feet. They prayed with him, put food before him, and invited him most kindly to partake of what they were offering him.

After he had eaten, the brothers asked him for a word of salvation, and what means there were of being able to be safe from the wiles of the devil, and how to overcome unclean thoughts. Like a father admonishing his sons, he urged them to be strong and constant in their labors in order to arrive quickly to a state of being at peace. He discussed many other aspects of their discipline with them and helped them greatly.

When he had finished he thought for a while and marveled at how he was giving advice to others without looking to himself and trying to amend. He acknowledged he was beaten and straightaway went back to the desert, weeping for himself, and saying, “Unless the Lord had been my helper my soul had remained in hell. (Pss 94:17). I have almost been overcome by evil. They have brought me back to earth.” Thus were fulfilled in him the words, A brother who is helped by a brother is like a city built up on high, whose wall cannot be breached. (Prov 18:19). Whereas before he used to spend all his time without doing any physical work, now he was deprived of the bread provided by the Lord and labored for his daily bread. And when he had shut himself up in his inner room and covered himself in sackcloth and ashes, he did not get up from the ground or cease from weeping until he had heard the voice of the angel saying to him in a dream, The Lord has accepted your repentance and has had mercy on you. From now on live in such a way that you will not be deceived. The brothers you gave advice to will come to you and will show the high opinion they have of you. Accept them, live with them, and give thanks to God always.

I have told you these things, my sons, that you may always cultivate humility and be seen to do so in small things as in great. This was the first of the Savior’s precepts, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3). And do not be deceived by the demons, stirring you up with visions and fantasies. If anyone approaches you, whether brother, friend, woman, father, teacher, mother or sister, first lift up your hands in prayer. If they are fantasies, they will flee. And if either demons or human beings would deceive you by agreeing with you and flattering you, don’t listen to them or get carried away by them. For the demons would often try to deceive me at night also, preventing me from praying, disturbing my peace, presenting fantasies to me the whole night through, and mockingly prostrating themselves in the morning, saying, “Forgive us, abba, for giving you such hard work all night.” I just say to them, Depart from me, all you who work evil, do not put the servant of the Lord to the test. (Pss 6:8).

Do likewise, O my sons, seek peace. Direct your whole self always towards contemplation, begging God that your mind may be purified. Anyone practicing his faith in the world may also be a good workman, engaged in doing good, showing humanity and pity, hospitality and charity, giving alms, blessing those who come to him, helping those in difficulties and avoiding giving offence to anyone.

Such a person is to be commended, for he keeps the commandments and gets things done, even while busy with earthly affairs. But a greater and more excellent thing is to be turned towards contemplation, given not to action but to thought, leaving to others the production of material goods. Denying himself he will contemplate heavenly things, completely forgetful of self, standing before the God of all completely free and unencumbered, turning away for no other consideration whatsoever. Someone like this may not yet enjoy God yet turns always towards God in eager songs of praise.

I know someone in the desert who never tasted earthly food for a space of ten years. An angel fed him every third day with heavenly food, placing it directly into his mouth. To him it was as good as food and drink. I know also that the demons came to this man in the form of fantasies, showing him heavenly armies, chariots of fire, a crowd of followers, as if some king were coming, and saying, “You have done all things well and virtuously, O Man. All you need now is to worship me and I will take you up like Elias.” But the monk replied, “Daily I worship my King and Savior, but if he were here now that is not a demand that he would make of me.” From the bottom of his heart he then cried, “God is my Lord and King whom I ever adore. My king you are not.” And the vision vanished immediately. Unlike some, he strove to keep secret his way of life and the things he did. It was the fathers with him who said that he had seen these things.

These and many other things the blessed John told us, nourishing our souls up to the ninth hour for three days. And as he blessed us, bidding us go in peace, he also gave us a prophecy. “It has been announced today in Alexandria,” he said, “that the most devout Theodosius has won a victory over the tyrant Eugenius, [in the year 394] who has died his own well-deserved death”, which came to pass exactly as he had said.

We were also aware of a great number of monks who were with him in the church, like a great choir of the righteous, dressed in white robes, glorifying God in fervent psalms. After we saw many other fathers some brothers came and told us that the blessed John had died a wonderful death. For he had given orders that no one should visit him for three days, during which he passed away as he knelt in prayer into the presence of God, to whom be glory for ever.

The Analavos of the Great Schema Explained

The Great Schema in the Orthodox Church requires the traditional monastic vows, plus special spiritual feats. According to Archpriest G. S. Debolsky: "In the understanding of the Church, the Great Schema is nothing less than the supreme vow of the Cross and death; it is the image of complete isolation from the earth, the image of transformation and transfiguration of life, the image of death and the beginning of another, higher, existence."

As a monastic dignity, the Great Schema has been known since the 4th century. According to an ancient legend, this dignity was inaugurated by St. Pachomios the Great. However, as a form of monastic life, the Great Schema goes back to the origin of Christianity. Those who followed Christ's teachings on supreme spiritual perfection by voluntarily taking the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty were called ascetics to distinguish them from other Christians. They led a harsh and secluded hermit's life like St. John the Baptist, or like our Lord Jesus Christ Himself during his forty days in the desert.

According to the Rule of St. Pachomios, the act of acceptance into a monastery had three steps and consisted of (a) "temptation" (trial), (b) clothing, and (c) presentation to the starets for spiritual guidance. Each of the three steps undoubtedly had its own significance. They marked the beginning of the three stages in monasticism which have become deeply embedded in the life of the Eastern Church: first, the novice (or rasoforos); the second, the monk (known as a monk of the Lesser Schema); and the third, the monk of the Great Schema.

The Church historians Sozomen, Bishop Palladios of Helenopolis and Hieromonk Nicephoros maintain that St. Pachomios was the first to invest monks with the full monastic dignity of the schema.

It should be noted that not all the fathers and ascetics of the Church divided monasticism into the greater and lesser angelic schema. For instance, St. Theodore of Studios did not agree with this division, considering that there should be only one form of monasticism, just as there was one Mystery of Baptism.

However, the custom of dividing monasticism into two became widespread in the practice of the Church. The Lesser Schema thus became a kind of preparatory step to the Great Schema. Cenobitism came to be known as a "betrothal", and seclusion within a monastery as actual "matrimony". In accordance with the Rule the difference between the Lesser and Greater Schema began to be reflected in the habit. Those of the latter had embroidered crosses on their habit, while the former did not(7).

Those who take the Great Schema vows must be like an angel in the flesh; they must attain that degree of spiritual perfection which is possible for man. Constant contemplation of God, life in Him, and silence is their vocation.

The analavos of the Great Schema monks are the signs of perfect monasticism, symbols not only of humble wisdom and gentleness, but also of the Cross, of suffering, of Christ's wounds, of constant dying with Christ.

 The άνάλαβος (analavos) is the distinctive garment of a monk or a nun tonsured into the highest grade of Orthodox monasticism, the Great Schema, and is adorned with the instruments of the Passion of Christ. It takes its name from the Greek αναλαμβάνω (“to take up”), serving as a constant reminder to the one who wears it that he or she must “take up his cross daily” (Luke 9:23). The ornately-plaited Crosses that cover the analavos, the polystavrion (πολυσταύριον, from πολύς, “many,” and σταυρός, “Cross”) — a name often, though less accurately, also applied to the analavos — reminds the monastic that he or she is “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20).

With regard to each image on the analavos, the rooster represents “the cock [that] crowed” (Matthew 26:74; Mark 14:68 Luke 22:60; John 18:27) after Saint Peter had “denied thrice” His Master and Lord (John 13:38).

The pillar represents the column to which Pilate bound Christ “when he scourged Him” (Mark 15:15) “by Whose stripes we were healed” (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24).

The wreath garlanding the Cross represents the “crown of thorns” (Matthew 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2) that “the soldiers platted” (John 19:2) and “put upon the head” (Matthew 27:29) of “God our King of old” (Psalm 73:13), Who freed man from having to contend against “thorns and thistles in the sweat of his brow” (Genesis 3:18-19).

The upright post and the traverse beam represent the stipes and the patibulum that formed “the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14), upon which “all day long He stretched forth His hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Isaiah 65:2; Romans 10:21).

The four spikes at the center of the Cross and the hammer beneath its base represent the “nails” (John 20:25) and hammer with which “they pierced” (Psalm 21:16; John 19:37) “His hands and His feet” (Luke 24:40). when they “lifted up from the earth” (John 12:32) Him Who “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us by nailing it to His Cross” (Colossians 2:14).

The base upon which the Cross stands represents “the place, which is called 'Calvary' (Luke 23:33), or 'Golgotha', that is to say, the Place of the Skull” (Matthew 27:33), “where they crucified Him” (John 19:18) Who “wrought salvation in the midst of the earth” (Psalm 73:13).

The skull and crossbones represent “the first man Adam” (I Corinthians 15:45), who by tradition “returned unto the ground” (Genesis 3:19) at this very spot, the reason that this place of execution, “full of dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23:27) became the place where “the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (I Corinthians 15:45).

The plaque on top of the Cross represents the titulus, the “title” (John 19:19-20), with “the superscription of His accusation” (Mark 15:26), which “Pilate wrote” (John 19:19) “and set up over His head” (Matthew 27:37); however, instead of “Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews” (John 19:19), which “was written over Him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew” (Luke 23:38), the three languages being an allusion to the Three Hypostases “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), this titulus reads, “The King of Glory” (Psalm 23:7-10), “for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:8).

The reed represents the “hyssop” (John 19:29) upon which was put “a sponge full of vinegar” (Mark 15:36), which was then “put to His mouth” (John 19:29) when in His “thirst they gave Him vinegar to drink” (Psalm 68:21), Him of Whom it was said that “all wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth” (Luke 4:22).

The lance represents the “spear [that] pierced His side”; “and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34) from Him Who “took one of Adam's ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof" (Genesis 2:21) and Who “washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).

The plaque at the bottom of the Cross represents the suppedaneum of Christ, “His footstool” (Psalm 98:5), “the place where His feet have stood” (Psalm 131:7). It is slanted because, according to one tradition, at the moment when “Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit” (Mark 15:37), He allowed a violent death spasm to convulse His legs, dislodging His footrest in such a manner that one end pointed upwards, indicating that the soul of the penitent thief, Saint Dismas, “the one on His right hand” (Mark 15:27) would be “carried up into Heaven” (Luke 24:51), while the other end, pointed downwards, indicated that the soul of the impenitent thief, Gestas, “the other on His left” (Mark 15:27), would “be thrust down to Hell” (Luke 10:15), showing that all of us, “the evil and the good, the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), “are weighed in the balance” (Ecclesiasticus 21:25) of the Cross of Christ.

The ladder and the pincers beneath the base of the Cross represent the means of deposition by which Saint Joseph of Arimathea, “a rich man” (Matthew 27:57) who “begged for the body of Jesus” (Matthew 27:58; Luke 23:52), “took it down” (Luke 23:53), so that as in body He descended from the Cross, so in soul “He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth” (Ephesians 4:9), “by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison” (I Peter 3:19).

Through these instruments, “the Cross of Christ” (I Corinthians 1:17: Galatians 6:12; Philippians 3:18) became the “Tree of Life” (Genesis 2:9; 3:22, 24; Proverbs 3:18, 11:30; 13:12; 15:4; Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14), by which the Lord Jesus reified His words that, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

The Greek letters that appear on the analavos are abbreviations of phrases that extol the Cross as “the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18). From top to bottom:

• ΟΒΤΔ - Ό Βασιλεύς της Δόξης - “The King of Glory”

• ΙC XC NIKΑ - Ιησούς Χριστός νικά - ”Jesus Christ conquers”

• ΤΤΔΦ - Τετιμημένον τρόπαιον δαιμόνων φρίκη - "Honored trophy, the dread of demons”

• ΡΡΔΡ - Ρητορικοτέρα ρητόρων δακρύων ροή - "A flow of tears more eloquent than orators” (or, more likely: Ρητορικοτέρα ρημάτων δακρύων ροή)

• ΧΧΧΧ - Χριστός Χριστιανοίς Χαρίζει Χάριν - "Christ bestoweth Grace upon Christians”

• ΞΓΘΗ - Ξύλου γεύσις θάνατον ηγαγεν - "The tasting of the tree brought about death”

• CΞΖΕ - Σταυρού Ξύλω ζωήν εύρομεν - "Through the Tree of the Cross have we found life"

• ΕΕΕΕ - Ελένης εύρημα εύρηκεν Εδέμ - "The discovery of Helen hath uncovered Eden”

• ΦΧΦΠ - Φως Χριστού φαίνοι πάσι - “The light of Christ shines upon all”

• ΘΘΘΘ - Θεού Θέα Θείον Θαύμα - "The vision of God, a Divine wonder”

• ΤCΔΦ - Τύπον Σταυρού δαίμονες φρίττουσιν - "Demons dread the sign of the Cross”

• ΑΔΑΜ - Αδάμ - "Adam"

• ΤΚΠΓ - Τόπος Κρανίου Παράδεισος γέγονε - "The Place of the Skull hath become Paradise”

• ΞΖ - Ξύλον Ζωής - “Tree of life”

There are other items and abbreviations that may appear on the analavos, but these are sufficient to demonstrate that this holy garment silently proclaims “the preaching of the Cross” (I Corinthians 1:18) through its mystical symbolism, declaring for its wearer, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).