Essays on Orthodox Christianity and Church History
Christian Philosophy in the Patristic and Byzantine Tradition
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"Sainthood;
a prayerful contact with the divine; the name (saint) signifies one who
is prudent and pure. One who is free from every stain and passion. Sainthood;
a high calling, indicating perfection and signifying the presence of all
virtue." (St Nektarios of Pentapolis)
Today, as never before, even though the opposite may appear to
be true, saintly life and asceticism are returning to their original form.
How many saintly ascetics has the twentieth century yet to show us? I
refer both to those who live in seclusion and those who live in the world
but who, with inner love for God were faithful and dedicated to the canons
and way of life of the great anchorites and ascetics of the desert. Unchanged
and unmodified, the original guidelines to perfection and deification
remain as immutable principles for all who wish to dedicate their lives
to the emulation of this angelic path. In this way, inspired by the example
and embracing the unique spiritual way of the anchorite's and fathers,
they are guided towards virtue and perfection. There is no new movement
in the Orthodox monastic life, which is why it does not require secular
modification and "updating." The great lions of the desert and
eagles of the peaks do not need to adapt to the ways of the world. The
monk decides to abandon the world and retreat to the mountains and caves
of the earth where he rediscovers the splendour and beauty of life in
Christ and discipleship. Or, as the Apostle Paul puts it, a life hidden
with Christ in God (Col 3:3).
It is in this way that the monk, through the ascetic and reclusive
experience, discovers the saintliness which dematerializes him and places
him at the highest boundaries of this God-given institution of the Church,
which has endured for as long as our Church itself.
The ascetic life as it was taught, lived and organized by the first
God-fearing Fathers of Egypt, is revealed in the words of St Anthony the
Great who said to his monks: "First of all, you must heed this: do
not give up what you have started, nor be overwhelmed by the exertion
of your task. This must not be said. We have lived the ascetic life for
so many years, but your willingness has grown, as if every day were a
new beginning. Because all human life, in comparison with eternal life
is very short, so short that all our time on earth is nothing when compared
to eternity."
Characteristically, Athanasios the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria,
tells us that the monasteries of Alexandria were few and far between,
and so anyone who wished to follow the ascetic life had to train himself.
And so the ascetic life, or anchoritism, finds its full expression in
the first ascetics of the Christian Church, such as Elias and John the
Forerunner. Others, the ascetics of the desert regions of Nitria and Thebes,
independent of the evangelical sayings, introduced the same ideal, inspired
by divine grace. Thousands of hermits and recluses flooded these areas,
living the splendour of God's glory on earth, as Ieronimos writes so beautifully,
" O desert adorned by the blooms of Jesus Christ! O solitude, which
relishes greater familiarity with God! What is accomplished in our time,
brother, by having a soul which is higher than the entire world? Believe
me, here I see more light. How long will you keep yourself in the shadow
of the roofs, imprisoned within the smoky towns?"
These lovers of the desert heard the voice of God commanding them
to "leave the noise, leave society and save yourself." The response
to this ideal way of life, which brought man so close to God and brought
the heavens to earth, was so great that from the very beginning, men and
women, not only of a humble and unworthy background, but of rich and well-bred
families, dignitaries, scientists and the elite of society, flooded the
monasteries. These souls became humble, and entering the realm of God,
were bathed in the grace of the Spirit and tasted the first fruits of
sainthood. As Saint Makarios of Egypt notes most correctly: "The
saintly souls are moved and guided by the driving power of Christ.. wherever
it wishes to take them. The Kingdom of Light and celestial icon, Jesus
Christ, mystically enlightens and reigns in the souls of the Saints."
The Holy Spirit becomes co-traveller and companion in the ascetic
life of monks and anchorites. This coupling and participation results
in the theosis of the human being, and so brings about the union of man
with God. This achievement, which equates with the Pearl of Great Price,
is attained by constant practice, fasting, prayer, sleepless vigil, obedience
and internal struggle. As a result, every virtue is acquired and the saintly
anchorite achieves the blessing of perfection; the mystery of the saintly
condition is established within him. St Anthony of the Desert gives this
characteristic definition.: "A saint is someone who is free of evil
and sin." This holy way of life was glorified by the saintly anchorites
and ascetics that we might sing in their processional hymn: "In you,
Father, the faithful image of God was preserved, for you carried your
cross and followed Christ. You taught by your deeds how to spurn the body,
for it passes away, and how to value the soul, for it is immortal. Wherefore
your soul is forever in happiness with the angels."
Arsenios the Great, who also contributed to the development of
the monastic ideal in Egypt, says: "Take care and make every effort
that your inner works are done according to God, and be victorious against
all external passions."
The motivation to withdraw from the world was a phenomenon which
appeared just prior to, and at the beginning of the Christian religion.
In the Old Testament there are references to people who chose quiet and
solitude. Even Christ Himself appears frequently to have withdrawn from
the world to rest in the desert, where man's communion with God becomes
more real, where love for perfection and the genuineness of man is discovered.
In this solitary state the anchorite is clothed in a superhuman and angelical
form in which he knows the uncharted and never-ending presence of God
within him. As Palladios, author of the "History of the Monks of
Egypt" writes: I have seen new prophets who lead a godly, admirable
and virtuous life, performing saintly deeds, as true servants
of God, not caring for earthly matters and unconcerned with temporal things;
while living on earth, they became citizens of heaven." He goes on
to explain the growth of Christian monasticism in Egypt "Even more
than the army that an earthly king can muster, there is not one village
or city in Egypt which is not surrounded like a fortress by monasteries,
and through their prayers to God the people are strengthened."
Saint Kassianos, the great ascetic and expert on coenobitic monastic
life in Egypt, talks of those who wish to live the angelical way: "Within
the communal life we must live with the form and the shape of the cross
upon which, for our sake the Master was nailed, as Our standard, and in
the same way it should be our prayer to God 'Nail down my flesh for fear
of you'. Just as he whose flesh is nailed to wood cannot move and cannot
act as he desires, so he whose thoughts are nailed to the fear of God
cannot move towards any carnal desire. He who is nailed to the cross does
not think of the present, he is not concerned by his wishes, he is not
troubled by any desires, he does not worry about how he will become rich,
he does not bloat himself with pride, he is not engrossed in disputes
and envy, he does not dwell on current humiliations, he does not contemplate
past insults because he is expecting to leave this life as soon as he
suffers death by crucifixion. And so he who has truly renounced the world
and has become nailed to the cross of the fear of God, as if it were a
cross of wood, and looks day by day to his escape from this life, holds
all his desires and bodily inclinations unmoving and inactive..."
Let the fact not escape us, that the life of the Alexandrians was
full of opulence and comforts. Sin and idolatry multiplied and heresies
distanced man from God. This is why the monastic ideal developed so quickly
in the deserts and inaccessible regions of Egypt. Few other cities or
communities could equal Alexandria for vileness and sin. "But where
sin was thus multiplied, grace immeasurably exceeded it" (Romans
5:20.). This was why the angelic way was consolidated so rapidly, according
to Isidoros Pilousiotis: "The Kingdom of God is not subject to anyone's
passions, rather it is the contemplation of things above and the achievement
of heavenly deeds." The saintly and ascetic life in the Church of
Alexandria was not only a response to corruption and sin but also to the
holy invitation which raised the enthusiastic motivation for the achievement
of a higher ideal in man's life, love and obedience to the will of God,
the renunciation of the world, freedom of the spirit and naturally, the
evangelical dictum: "He who is able to accept this.. let him accept
it" (Matthew 19:12).
One anchorite alone in the desert, or living a communal life with
others, "alone with God", laid the foundations and basis of
the ascetic canon. This blessed life fed the physical and spiritual being
of the ascetics, and so very soon, the way of life spread. Another supporter
of the monastic ideal from Egypt, Serapion Thmoueos, a close collaborator
with Athanasios the Great, says: "Your goodness is becoming universally
known; what town has heard of your Virtuous and apostolic life and would
not wish to know you?" And truly, "As God calls and multiplies,
other ascetics have gathered and the brothers have multiplied." The
life of those first ascetics of the desert was not yet charismatic or
like that of the angels, a sacrificial love. It was a virginal way of
life, which was its first "resurrection". This stage of sanctity
of the soul expresses man's direct apostolic quality, which is steeped
in the Holy Spirit; this quality displays and witnesses the great love
of God towards man. In this way, the anchorite of those early times in
the desert of Egypt tasted the fruits of this perfect new creation, and
so made himself worthy, transforming himself and being re-baptized, so
completing the cycle of his life, ascribing to him the necessary strength
and the expression of new life. Within this new state in which the ascetic
continues, there is also temptation, in particular by the devil protesting
against the denial of his values and rights. Anthony the Great, having
withdrawn from the world and living alone in the desert, caused an unusual
rebellion among the demons who cried, "Leave our place." They
complained because they saw the multitude of the saint's followers and
protested: "We have nowhere to go ... There are Christians everywhere,
and all the desert is full of monks." Indeed, these great ascetics
of the desert had the strength and the courage to be confronted by demons
without fear of their wicked intentions. Saint Kassianos, the lover of
the desert, dumbfounded them by saying: "Wishing passionately to
fight the demons and not hide from them, the monks do not fear to enter
the vast solitudes of the deserts.
This invisible but often tangible and lively battle with the demons
played on the ascetics' weaknesses, particularly the physical ones, but
they knew that, through prayer and will?power, they would not be seduced
and fall into the trap of temptation, and that the "hater of good"
would have to confess in humiliation, "We did not cease to tempt
him with immodest ideas and with wounds, and yet he appears even more
defiant of us; we must attack him by some other method."
How difficult it must be to confront evil in the solitary state
in which the recluse of Egypt lived. No matter how close one may appear
to come to perfection and true virtue, perhaps at least, towards the end
of life, even so, temptation and weaknesses nest in the soul and pester
constantly. How much faith does the ascetic need to be able to reach perfect
catharsis and blessedness? In retreat, Anthony the Great confronted the
devil and conquered him, despite the traps which were laid to lure him,
and yet he confessed his weakness at the end of his life — even though
he was thoroughly and gloriously enlightened — saying: "I have
not even begun my penance. " Clement the Alexandrian added: "Passions
are an abnormal motion of the soul. " Only by eradicating the ego
can the ascetic of the desert know God and keep Him close to him all the
days of his life. The Alexandrian way of dealing with passions and cultivating
the soul, using ascetic penance as much as possible as a form of catharsis,
was later used by all the spiritual fathers and wise teachers of the ecumenical
Christian Church. In this way man is set free, and in particular, the
ascetic is set free from evil passions which continuously come to try
to nest around and within his soul. Freedom from action and deeds of the
worldly environment strengthen the ascetic and create in him a stable
and abiding condition, which, in other words, strip him of the selfish
ego and everything concerned with his worldly existence. There is no comparable
condition to that in which the ascetic finds himself in the desert, because
it is a world which joins him to the reality of God; it is a world full
of "the resurrected crucified", a mystical life, a mystical
marriage - deification - to use the expression of Saint Mark of Egypt.
This is the life of the ascetics who preserve the same style and opinion
of the angelical way. Heilos the Ascetic notes charismatically: "Blessed
is the monk, who sees the salvation and the advancement of all joyfully,
as if it were his own. Blessed is the monk who considers as God does,
all men as God. A monk is someone who has withdrawn from all men, and
at the same time is united with all men.
With his saintliness, Anthony the Great honoured not only the ascetic
way of life, but also the newly-born Church of Alexandria. He was a model
of piety in his youth because, from his childhood in Egypt, he was close
and united with his most devout parents. How glad was the Church of Alexandria,
when a true son from the village of Koma in Upper Egypt decided to serve
the Church with a new and previously unknown way of life, which he himself
had introduced. Various biographers and students of his life, in particular
Saint Athanasios of Alexandria, elegantly refer to his life an8 thoughts
in order to stress the wonderful way in which he worked zealously in order
to win his struggle and achieve his efforts towards the perfection of
man through specific practices and holiness. The close relationship and
association with his parents, his perseverance in remaining with them
at home and in learning only the road to and from the church, gave the
young Anthony the necessary preparation for the great road which opened
up before him and which was to guide thousands of souls to their personal
salvation and penance.
One day when Anthony was in church - he must have been about 21
years old — the Gospel was being read in which the Lord said to a
rich man: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and
give to the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven" (Matthew
19.21). Anthony, assuming that this was the voice of God speaking to him,
rushed out of the church as soon as the service was over to share out
his possessions to the poor and those around him, because he realized
that this was the only way for him to get closer to God and become His
faithful and inseparable friend and companion. People marvelled at him
and he became an archetype of holiness and the ascetic life, adorned with
all virtues. He was the first who set the example, as Athanasios the Great
emphasized in his famous speech: "The life of Anthony is the standard
of practice for monks." Gregory the Theologian, who was expert on
the life of the great ascetics of the desert notes: "Anthony was
the law of the monastic life."
Let us here pause to examine just why Anthony the Great is considered
to be the patriarch and founder of anchoritism. When the saint lived in
Egypt, the Church was struggling against two bitter foes: her persecutors
on the one hand, and the heretics on the other. The situation was not
at all good. The persecution instigated by the Emperor Decius (249-251)
resulted in thousands of innocent Christians falling victim to his cruelty
and hatred of Christianity. Egypt was at that time filled with monks who
were drawn from every corner of that desolate land to practice the ascetic
life in prayer, abandoning worldly possessions and practicing abstinence.
The whole remote area of Nitria became flooded with people who, led by
Anthony the Great, had abandoned worldly things and given themselves to
the struggle for discipline and prayer. Thousands of faithful followers
of the monastic ideal inhabited the desert "and they did this either
for the kingdom to come, or on account of many sins, or because of their
love of God." Athanasios the Great, himself a supporter of this form
of anchoritism, notes "In Egypt there were not yet many monasteries,
so whoever wanted to exert special care ... he had to do his training
all by himself."
In the meantime, the persecutions continued. But even after they
had come to an end, the monks remained within their bastions in the remote
regions of the desert, practicing the virtues and struggling daily with
the strategems of the devil. The caves of the desert expanses of Nitria
and Thebes became home to God Himself, as the monks practiced piety, love
concord and justice. These dwellings of the monks of God seemed like heavenly
monasteries inhabited by the saints and angels of God. The monks' presence
there is similar to a heavenly worship, where the main point is not where
but how it is celebrated. The athletes of the deserts, mountains and caves
of the earth showed obedience and submitted themselves to the will of
God and the practices of asceticism in order to be able to resist the
temptations and assaults of the devil, who tried constantly to win them
over.
Anthony the Great, who first devised this form of anchoritism,
created then, a spiritual system which endures to the present day. The
system resists the secular tide which runs through the ages, and is radiant
in its teaching while making the souls of men pure and saintly. "This
holy fragrance, as a heavenly balm, is dispersed everywhere and fills
troubled souls with confidence and encourages them in the arena of virtue."
Anthony the Great advised the monks: "Let us try to embody the ascetic
life more and not be taken in by those whose works are carried out with
deception. Neither should we fear them, even as they appear to be attacking
us, or threaten to kill us, because they are weak, and they can do nothing
but threaten."
The originator and founder of the coenobitic communal system of
life was Pachomios the Great of Egypt, who worked to establish this system
which was born and developed in Thebes, Egypt. His parents were idol worshippers,
and he himself was a soldier, until he came to know Christianity,
abandoned worldly things, was baptised as a Christian and began to search
for a way to the deeper things of God. Early in his Christian life, Pachomios
turned to the monk Palamon, who initiated his monastic training.
From the start, Pachomios relished the monastic life with its practice
and worship of God, and he took to it with great zeal. Slowly, through
profound faith and complete devotion to God, he became a paragon of the
monastic ideal. His love for God and continuous communion with Him, his
humility, love, selflessness and his desire to show others this road which
he himself had travelled, led Pachomios to found, after seeing a divine
vision, the coenobitic system. He attracted new monks who held him in
great respect and who followed and obeyed him. They lived with him and
he revealed the mystery and splendour of the communal way. And so Pachomios
established the first coenobitic monastery. It was situated in Tavennisia,
Upper Thebes. His brother John was the first to follow him and expressed
his desire to follow with him the same difficult path. In order that the
life of the monk should be better organised, Pachomios drew up the rules
of monasticism which direct the coenobitic system of monastic activity.
According to Pachomios's contemporaries, his efforts were so successful
that very soon the number of monks under his jurisdiction reached seven
thousand (witness of Palladion). Hieronymos quotes an even greater number.
There is no doubt that the example of Saint Pachomios was quickly
imitated by many anchorites and ascetics in both East and West. Coenobitic
monasticism, soon acquired a universal character; the noble work of the
founder caused all to honour him as the pioneer of a wholly new and profoundly
significant branch of Christian piety.
Before his death in 346, Saint Pachomios had established nine monasteries
for men and one for women. Women were strictly excluded from the male
monasteries. Each monastery was fully coenobitical with every aspect of
its communal life being governed by detailed rules and regulations. The
founder favoured establishing them in isolated areas.
Men and women seeking the deeper life in Christ were enabled to
find it in communities which were governed by love, by lives lived in
the spirit of the gospels, and where the ultimate aim was the quest for
salvation.
St. Pachomios's monks and nuns followed the path of sacramental
living, discipline, obedience, silence, prayer, meditation and work. In
other words, comprehensive education in the ascetic life to ensure the
progressive growth in holiness of his spiritual children.
Among the thousands of monks and nuns who followed St Pachomios,
countless numbers attained to the highest levels of spiritual achievement,
becoming pillars of Orthodoxy, even during his lifetime. One such was
St Theodore of Alexandria, who was one of the most faithful and dedicated
of his disciples and imitators of St Pachomios.
Such was the influence of Pachomios that there was established
in his memory the so called Pachomian remembrance in the West as well
as in the East. His coenobitic principles directly influenced the monastic
rule of Saint Basil in the East as well as that of Saint Benedict of Nursia
in the West. From the Alexandrine Church and the deserts of Egypt there
arose the glory of coenobitic monasticism, which is also Pachomian monasticism.
Of this, the essential genius is Christocentric life and activity.
The impact of this new form of monastic ideal can be seen in the
number of anchorites who wished to follow Pachomios's model, in the inner
canons, but also in the liturgical and sacramental experience which it
offered for the creation of "a perfect society" of monks.
Pachomios so inspired the followers of his ideology that, in admiration,
they said "Listening to the words of our father Pachomios we benefit
greatly, we are stimulated with a desire for good works... He comes from
Greek parents, yet he became so devout and is vested with all the commandments
of God. Should then all of us not be able to follow him, as he follows
the saints?"
The renown of Pachomios's coenobitic system surpassed all
expectations. As God called and multiplied, other ascetics gathered and
the number of brothers and sisters multiplied until nine monasteries and
two nunneries had been established. The Superior of the convents was Pachomios's
sister Maria, who had followed him from the beginning. Speaking of Pachomios,
St Anthony remarked: Truly I tell you, he served God with a great service,
uniting all the multitudes of those who wished to attain perfection in
Christ. He walked the way of the apostles, imitating their conduct. He
was a luminary to all who were in darkness." When St Athanasios visited
the coenobitic monasteries after the death of Pachomios, he recorded experiencing
an overwhelming sense of joy in those sanctuaries of salvation and holiness.
A lesser known but no less eminent acetic of the Church of Alexandria
was Saint Arsenios the Great, from Al Kasir or Al Kosaiyer. At this place
there was a famous monastery near the White Port of the Ptolemies. A manuscript
in the Patriarchal Library notes that a House of Muslim dervishes had
been located on the site of the monastery of Saint Arsenios. "There
are deep caves Cut into the rock (an ancient quarry) which the dervishes
used as a cemetery."
The Church of Alexandria is proud of the existence of such an important
monastic centre which thrived, not only in Byzantine times, but even under
the Arab domination of Egypt. Both Saint Arsenios and his monastery received
protection and favour from the Islamic rulers in times which were difficult
for the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Mark.
What were the significant characteristics of Saint Arsenios which
relate directly to the Orthodox ascetic life in Egypt? He came from elder
Rome, where he had studied Greek and Latin learning and where, because
of his academic abilities and humble and virtuous life, he was ordained
deacon. On the recommendations of both the Roman emperor and the pope,
he became teacher to the sons of Theodosios the Great, Arkadios and Onorios.
When Arsenios left Byzantium and arrived in Egypt, he settled in the hermitage
of Nitria, where he received the angelic state and was supervised in spiritual
training by the then eminent monk, Ioannis Kolovos. It is said that Arsenios
lived in solitude in Nitria for forty years. After spending several years
on Mount Troy, near the eastern bank of the Nile, he came to the modern
day Abuquir, where he lived for three years before returning to Troy where
he fell asleep in the Lord. According to the accounts of biographers,
Saint Arsenios had around him a whole monastic community which followed
him on his occasional travels. The Byzantine emperor, according to the
writer Ephtychios, Patriarch of Alexandria, built a magnificent monastery
on the site of the grave of Saint Arsenios. It is noteworthy that this
monastery was still flourishing at the time of the Seventh Ecumenical
Council (787) when Egypt was under Arab rule. The Patriarch of Alexandria,
Politanos, was represented at the Council by the prior of the monastery,
who signed the minutes "Thomas, by the grace of God, presbyter and
prior to the holy Father Arsenios, located in Egypt, Upper Babylon, covering
the area of the holy Apostolic Thrones of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem."
Thomas later became Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. We are told that due
to the beautiful location where the monastery of Saint Arsenios was built,
various Patriarchs of Alexandria stayed there from time to time.
Because of the significance of this monastery, it became a centre
of worship with ten churches. The relies of Saint Arsenios were also kept
there. According to descriptions given by visitors to the monastery, the
number of Orthodox monks at one time reached six thousand. The last details
which we have about this renowned monastery, which was the property of
the Patriarchate of Alexandria, come from old monthly periodicals which
are* to be found in the Patriarchal Library of Alexandria. The monastery
subsisted until the sixteenth century. Many of its relics and icons may
have been transferred to the monastery of Saint George in the Old City
of Cairo, or to Saint Nicholas in Hamzawi.
A contemporary of Saint Anthony the Great was Saint Makarios the
Great of Egypt. Even though early in his life he was married, after the
death of his wife, and at the suggestion of his father, he abandoned the
world and retreated to the desert. For sixty years, he trained and cultivated
himself through discipline and fasting, so that soon he was known as a
saint and a miracle-worker, even in his lifetime. His wisdom and the charisma
which adorned him from early on, caused him to be called "paidagiogerontas",
which was an expression used at the time to describe a monk who stands
out early in his monastic life. Makarios left behind him an invaluable
spiritual work in his valuable writing of the textbook Fifty Spiritual
Lectures, which is a true treasure of the mystical theology of the Eastern
Orthodox Church. On three separate occasions during his lifetime Makarios
was blessed by God in raising people from the dead.
There were numerous saints and ascetics of Egypt who upheld Orthodoxy
and lived the angelic life in the deserts and isolated regions of Thebes
and Nitria. We refer in particular to Onoufrios the Great, Makarios of
Alexandria or Politikos, Paisios the Great, Abbot Apollos, Monk Serapion,
Ammonas or Ammonios, Theodoros, Orisios, Abbot Kassianos, Daniel of Skitiotis,
Palladios, Stephanos, Abbot Isidoros, Mark, friend of Saint Athanasios,
Saint Marinos of Egypt, Theonas the Ascetic, Dorotheos of Thebes and many
more, named and unnamed, who were martyred for their faith in Christ.
Here is how the life of those ascetics and saints of the monastic way
are described "The life of the ascetics in the deserts was a perennial
battle of the spirit against the flesh. Many of them practised strict
abstinence throughout their whole life, for fifty and sixty years, with
the object of destroying every impulse and physical need. The body had
to submit as a tool of the spirit. To do this it was subjected to various
harsh tortures, valiantly with stoic patience. Usually the ascetics would
eat once a day, some of them once a week and others were reported to fast
for forty days as Christ had done."
But in Egypt models of great ascetics and examples of saintliness
are not found only in Nitria and Thebes; there were also Patriarchs of
Alexandria who are examples of saintliness. Although they lived in the
cities, they lived as ascetics, and through their lives were an example
to the Christians around them. What the more recent of these ascetics
of the world experienced, often under tragic conditions, in no way differs
from the experience of the monks of the desert, and through their lives
they confirmed daily the words of Isaac of Syria; "The path of God
is a daily cross, for no one can enter heaven with ease."
There were also champions and witnesses of the faith, who far from
worldly comforts, tried to stress the importance of the spiritual battle
for perfection of the individual and his final theosis. But the driving
force which motivated those saints, Bishops of the Church of Alexandria,
is summed up in the following statement written by a Patriarch of the
seventeenth century, who says characteristically: ... and also the saintly,
glorious and renowned apostle and evangelist Mark, who planted and founded
this humble but holiest Patriarchate of Alexandria, and also those great
and saintly Hierarchs and Patriarchs who laboured in it, Such as Athanasios
and Kyrillos and John the Merciful..." In other words, the memory
and example of the saints and great teachers and ecumenical hierarchs
of all the ages, who lived their lives like true monks, to spread solace
to the heavy-hearted among the faithful. Their pure ascetic character
and holiness was an uplifting and vitalizing experience for all. Their
brilliant presence, lively within their isolation and submission ' spread
light and strength and brought about the metamorphosis and theosis of
man. In this way, the life of saintly father Gerasimos, Patriarch of Alexandria
(also called Palladas) who was from Crete, former Metropolitan of Kastoria,
projects an image of protest against worldliness and lays the foundation
of the extreme and superhuman theory which is, however, both creative
and dynamic. The account of this "foolish" and extreme form
of holiness of Saint Gerasimos, concludes thus: "It is obvious that
he excelled towards God, and through his life in Christ he multiplied
the evangelical talents he had received, by word and deed. For who, by
thinking differently and following a contrary way of life could accomplish
such laborious and difficult deeds? For hypocrisy is exposed through words.
But for him his speech becomes true by his life, and his life becomes
speech. Furthermore the godly and blessed ending of his life confirms
both of these facts; and not having any negative feelings he left and
settled in the holy mount of Athos when in a short time he departed for
the eternal and blessed abodes of the just, where he enjoys the heavenly
light, having been enlightened beforehand by the Holy Spirit, as he also
has taught us. . . "
Another saint and ascetic of the Church of Alexandria, who does
not differ in sanctity from the personalities of the founders of Christian
ascetic life and anchoritism, served in this holy place in which we find
ourselves today. He is the Saint of Our Century, our holy father Nektarios,
the miracle-worker, Bishop of Pentapolis. He conducted the Liturgy in
this very church and practised the ascetic life in this area while suffering
isolation and contempt. Although he lived in this centre, his life was
dedicated to the reassuring and wholehearted experience of the love of
God, in spite of the fact that the Patriarch under whom he served, misled
by human weakness, tormented Nektarios daily with his words and letters.
The saint knelt here and forgave his persecutors, wept and punished himself
with severe fasting and constant prayer. He knew the way of life of the
saintly fathers of the desert, the ascetics, patriarchs and teachers of
the demanding ascetic theory of the ideology of angelic form, which originated
in Egypt.
In the difficult course of the history of the ancient Throne of
Saint Mark, the presence of a contemporary ascetic and monk-saint emphasizes
the significant contribution of this monastic ideal to the development
and strengthening of, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. Saint Nektarios cultivated
in himself the way of the great ascetics of the desert, and although he
was still living and working in the world, his thought was apart from
the world in serenity and solitude. He lived in the world but always desired
peace in body and soul, far from the noise and futile speculation. He
desired and dreamt of a life of toil. Even though he was Dean of the Rizareios
School for fourteen years, he practiced the rules of the monastic life
with strict discipline and obedience, and he devoted his income to the
establishing of a female monastery of the Holy Trinity in Aegina. "He
was naturally attracted to the monastic way of life. That is why at the
end his irrefutable strength and love of solitude led him to the monastery."
Let it not escape us that he began his life alone and fell asleep in the
Lord a humble monk, and alone once again, even though he had borne the
title of Bishop.
One of the first sermons which the saint delivered in this church
in 1886, concludes thus:
"With these two commandments: the love for God and the love
for neighbour, man is led by the hand and guided to the perfection that
is possible for him, since he is the icon and likeness of God.
"Love for our neighbour is then the guide which leads our
steps toward the Love for God and develops ethical values and spiritualises
human beings. This is necessary if we wish to possess the ultimate good,
which our soul longs for and desires. In order to possess eternal life,
we must become ethical and moral by loving God and loving our neighbour.
'And the reason for this demand is the holiness and purity of the spiritual
and heavenly kingdom." Because the Kingdom of God, in which eternal
life exists, as a spiritual kingdom demands spiritual and in some way
perfect partaking of the love of God and of perfect human beings as well.
Because both are interconnected in such a way that the practice of expressing
one brings experiences of the other, and overstepping one brings forth
transgression against the other.
"It is then necessary, either to keep the Law intact in order
to be saved and have a chance for eternal life, or let no hope lull us.
Because there is no other side road. 'One way and at that a narrow and
saddened one. ' We must walk through it; otherwise we jump into a bottomless
pit.
"Already, the future choice is laid before us, A total life
choice that is, obviously, the one way between salvation and perdition,
Let us take care not to suffer deprivation of great and eternal gifts
for the sake of small corruptible things. Let LIS not for a small pleasure
beget eternal sorrow. Do not exchange things on earth for those which
are in heaven! Let us pay attention in our life contract not to substitute
the priceless with the paltry, because the loss is irreversible.
"The enjoinders of God to LIS are not heavy, nor unbearable.
They are the lightest and most natural. What is more natural than love?
What is more bearable than love? Who could ever defend the abolition of
such a law? What law founded upon love, dictated by love and commanding
love, cannot be considered kind? Our Lord Jesus Christ witnessed to the
kindness of this Law by saying,, "For my yoke is easy and my burden
light.' Let Lis pay attention, my brothers, not to be judged guilty and
lose eternal life for not keeping the command of love. The trespasser
of this most sacred, most noble of God's Laws will remain without defence
because he has no reason for setting it aside.
"The example of the exact execution of practising and expressing
this Law is given in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Let his act become
our practical paradigm that guides us to the fulfilment of the Law. Let
us imitate Him so that we can safely go on to eternal life. Our Saviour
confirms this: "Do this and you will live."
Let us work at the task of love, because the repetition of beneficence
has an influence upon the sensitivity of the heart, as we have come to
say, of the benefactor, rendering it more receptive to greater love. In
this way we come upon the perfect love that assures us of possessing eternal
life, and securing us in it.
"It is for this reason that God commanded us to observe this
Law as the only means for the salvation of man. Having now this knowledge,
let us keep the divine Law of Love and cultivate its work, so that we
can treasure life eternal, of which pray that we all become worthy."
Saint Nektarios, Saint of Our Century, Bishop of Pentapolis, the
Miracle-worker, without referring exactly to the mission of anchoritism
and the ascetic life, emphatically stresses, firstly, the love for God,
and then the love for our neighbour, in order to accomplish the monastic
ideal which, by the grace of God, he possesses. The virtue of the fear
of God is created in the soul of the monk. There is no other path for
him to take in order to forget all that is related to earthly life. He
is not even concerned with his blood relatives and others close to him,
who remind him of the world and worldly things. In this way the monk acquires
the humility which controls him, and thus he is guided, without his realising
it, to the heights of all virtues of love.
Let us return to the type of love which our Father, Saint Nektarios
of Aegina whom we now venerate and honour, describes. In the atmosphere
of that perfect condition, we walk towards the height of the heavens,
without reservations or hesitation. The application of the verse from
David: "but as for me, like a deaf man I beard them not, and I was
a speechless man who opened not his mouth. And I became a man who hears
not and has no reproofs in his Mouth" (Psalm 117:13,14) corresponds
perfectly with the Christological basis of the monastic life and practice.
The monk in this way is elevated to other planes which bear no
relation to the material world, but where the Holy Spirit resides, prevails
and enlightens, blesses and uplifts, raises to the angelic state and guides,
as the divine Paul, the Apostle of Love stresses: "If we live by
the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (Gal.5:25). Spirit (Gal.5:25).
A basic rule for the acquisition of these virtues and of the Holy Spirit
in the spiritual exercise is, as the Fathers tell us: "You must shed
blood to gain the Spirit." It is here that divine love for God is
created within the ascetic" — "The toils and struggles
of spiritual people — in this case, monks — are the labours
of people who love profoundly, and who have been led to this wonderful
conduct by the arrows of Christ and His appeal. " Without fear or
any other thought, the monk is inflamed in the spirit of ascetic love
— the divine love which burns within him, enraptures him, and with
inexplicable joy, communicates to him the holy light — he beholds
the glory, splendour and beauty of God: "I open my eyes and see the
unseeable in the depths of my heart. And I marvel and wonder at His unspeakable
beauty. And all the parts of my body are illuminated in the uncreated
holy light" writes a holy Father of our Church. This fair and beautiful
world is the ideal, which raises us up to those heights of ascetic sanctity
which Saint Nektarios, the Miracle-Worker, lived and envisioned. We invoke
his intercessions to help us to imitate him and be as much like him as
we can during our transient presence on earth. Amen.
Read
other writings by His Eminence Metropolitan Makarios in Adventures
in the Unseen
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