1. I deliver these
which the Lord spoke through my mouth, for those who want to take the heavy spirit of hermitage. They should obey these commands. Whoever violates even one of them will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mt 5:19)
I - External demeanor and external order of life
Withdrawal from the world and from living with people
2. Whoever wants to be saved (in a way of life outside this world) should not remain in his home and should not live in the city in which he sinned. Likewise, he should not visit his parents and relatives in the flesh, since this is harmful to the soul and destroys the fruits of life.
3. Do not return to the city where you once sinned against God.
4. Don't go to see how your relatives live, nor let them come to see how you live. Don't see them at all.
Choosing a place to live in the desert
5. Our spiritual fathers claim that the desert is the most suitable place to contemplate death and the most suitable refuge from worldly things that provide tranquility to the body.
6. He who lives in the desert in solitude is delivered from three struggles: from the struggle that comes through the sense of hearing, from the struggle that comes through the tongue, and from the struggle that comes from seeing that which can wound the heart.
7. Beware of being deceived by the thought that the desert is a place of shade, i.e., carelessness.
Room or cell loneliness
8. By withdrawing from the worldly bustle, you become alone, and you will become a stranger. For you, sitting in a room or cell will be the same as traveling to a foreign land.
9. Wherever you go, make sure to return to your solitude as soon as possible to devote yourself to your prayers.
10. When you go on a job, don't stay long, but return to your solitude as soon as possible.
11. When visiting your brother, don't stay in his room for long.
Occupations and order in the room
12. While staying in his room, he engages in these three occupations: working with his hands, reading the Psalms, and praying.
13. While staying in his room, he engages in reading the Scriptures, praying to God, and working with his hands.
14. Fast every day until the 9th hour (3 p.m.), except on Saturday and Sunday. When the 9th hour ( 1 ) arrives, enter your inner chamber and perform your prayer before eating. After eating, alternate between reading a little and praying a little.
Prayers and kneeling
15. Perform prayers at certain hours and do not miss a single one, lest you give an answer for it.
16. Say your nightly prayer before going to church.
17. Always pray in your room before going to church.
18. In general, before and after praying with the brothers, always pray in your own room. Never be lazy in doing so.
19. Fall on your knees often and do not be lazy in doing so, lest you die an evil death.
20. When you pray, do not be lazy, for the prayer of a lazy person is foolishness.
21. In prayer and remembrance of God, in accordance with the vow of monasticism and the meaning of your garment, be like a bird that soars easily and high.
Reading and thinking about God
22. Be diligent in reading the Scriptures. This will tear you away from impurity, that is, dispel impure thoughts.
23. God's mercy will be with you if you are earnestly interested in reading the Scriptures and keeping the commandments.
24. Think about the works of God and do not be lazy in prayer.
25. A monk who sits in his room or cell with his mouth closed and does not remember God is like a dilapidated house outside the city, which is always full of filth. Anyone who thinks of taking out the garbage from his house, without thinking, takes it there. That is, he is silent with his mouth and fancies with his mind. He gives in to evil thoughts and is carried away with his heart, which is all the sinful garbage that demons throw into the soul.
Manual labor and effort in general
26. The body must be mastered and fatigued with long effort.
27. Set yourself some moderate effort in your cell, and your heart will be calm.
28. Force yourself to labor with your hands, so that the fear of God may dwell in you.
29. Be diligent in the labor of your hands, and the fear of God will come upon you.
30. Sitting in a room or cell, apply yourself to the work of your hands, and do not let the name of the Lord depart from you, but keep it constantly in your mind. Instruct yourself in that name in your heart and praise it with your tongue, saying: My Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, or: My Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, send me your help, or: I praise you, my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Food
31. Set aside one and the same time for food and eat for the nourishment of your body, not for pleasure.
32. Use the simplest and cheapest food.
33. Eat your bread in silence and with restraint, making sure that your sitting at the table is modest.
34. Don't eat until you're full.
35. Do not be greedy and gluttonous, lest your former sins be renewed in you.
36. Do not break your fast on Wednesday and Friday.
37. Don't eat meat at all.
38. Do not approach the place where wine is poured.
39. At assemblies and feasts, i.e. general meals are not rushed.
40. If you come to a place where a common table has been prepared, eat in moderation and offer thanksgiving to God.
41. Do not drink more than three glasses of wine, except in times of great illness.
42. Don't immediately reach out for what is placed before you.
43. If you are young, do not extend your hands before others, because that is not modest.
Dream
44. Sleep little and in moderation, and the angels will visit you.
45. When you are healthy, do not take off your belt while sleeping.
46. When you lie down, do not put your hands between your legs, lest you unknowingly sin.
Apparel
47. Day and night be in your hood, in your mantle, and in all your garments, as if chained and imprisoned.
48. Don't wear a dress that you could be proud of and boast about.
49. Take care of your clothes so that you will not be found naked among others on the Day of Judgment.
g) The main feature of wealth should be poverty.
50. Do not acquire anything beyond what you need.
51. The poverty of a monk is moderation in everything or a state in which one is content with little.
52. He prefers rebuke to respect, weariness of the body to rest, and lack of necessary things to abundance.
Church service
53. Church duties (i.e., care of the church and worship) should be entrusted to a faithful man who fears God.
54. Don't be lazy and go to church as soon as the bell rings.
55. Do not leave worship, lest you stumble and fall into a trap.
56. He never speaks in church.
57. Do not be in church as in a place where many people gather, lest your soul be troubled and filled with thoughts.
58. Do not bury your dead in church, i.e. do not worry about how you will arrange your earthly affairs.
Mutual relations
First and foremost – the relationship towards the superior, the spiritual father, towards the elders and generally towards the experienced
59. Do not begin any work, no matter what it may be, until you have consulted with the abbot of the monastery.
60. He does not speak much before the superior and before those greater than himself.
61. Always keep in your heart that you should obey your father, and the fear of God will dwell within you.
62. The perfection of your feat consists in obedience. Blessed is the man who from his youth bears the burden of the Lord, serves and obeys.
63. Do not be disobedient, otherwise you will become the instrument and vessel of all evil and injustice.
64. With humility and weeping, beg your father to teach you what you do not yet know, so you will not be ashamed.
65. Always remember the one who feeds you with good teaching. Strive to learn from him the life-giving commandments, and you will successfully and successfully conduct your life according to the will of the Lord, as it is written by the blessed Apostle Paul: Study these things; continue in them, that your progress may be evident in all things. (1 Tim 4:15)
66. If you have sincerely bowed your neck under the burden of obedience, then listen carefully to what is said to you, and then conscientiously carry out what you are commanded.
67. Do not hide from your spiritual father the sin you have committed.
68. One learns good morality from one's elders every day.
69. Love your spiritual fathers more than your physical parents because they care for you for God's sake.
70. Live so that you may make the fathers of the monastery, who gave you spiritual birth, rejoice in your glory in the assembly of saints.
71. Take care that the blessing of the monastery elders rests upon you.
72. Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, but only to those who can heal your soul.
73. Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, lest you offend your brother.
74. Be friendly to everyone, but don't let everyone be your advisor.
Mutual relationship
75. Strive to have all people bless you.
76. Be sad with your brother and show him compassion in his pain.
77. If your brother asks you to help him, work with him all day.
78. Those with whom you hang out, try them first and find out what they are like. Don't trust everyone, because the world is full of tricks. Choose a brother who fears the Lord, and associate with him as a brother. And it will be best if you cling to God like a son to a father, because all people, with a small exception, have surrendered to cunning. The earth is full of vanity, trouble and torment.
The relationship of the elderly towards others
79. If you have ceased to serve sin, then speak in the name of the Lord, teaching those who blaspheme his name. Since they are dead and cut off from the living God, see that they abandon their dead works and are worthy to attain eternal glory.
80. Tirelessly correct and reform your spiritual children, for you will be held accountable for their condemnation, i.e. if they prove worthy of condemnation at the Last Judgment.
81. Reprove without partiality, but with the fear of God. Do not show partiality, but decide with words of truth.
82. If a brother comes and reveals his thoughts to you, be careful not to tell them to anyone, but pray for yourself and for him, that the Lord may save you both.
83. Do not reject one who seeks faith in Christ.
84. Do not teach lessons to those who do not receive them.
85. Do not set a rule for another that you yourself have not already fulfilled in practice.
86. It is extremely ugly to recommend to another something that you do not do yourself. Namely, we do not benefit from the actions of others.
Attitude towards the sick
87. Rising early every day, take care of the sick among you.
88. Visit the sick and fill their vessels with water.
89. Give everything you can, everything you have left over, to the sick in the monastery.
90. If the superior appoints you to serve the sick, strive with all your heart, and you will receive a double reward from God, i.e. for obedience performed with love.
Attitude towards foreigners
91. If a brother comes to visit you, even in bad weather, receive him joyfully so that he may thank God and not be offended.
92. If any brother comes to visit you, humble yourself before him in everything, show him a disposition for the Lord's sake, and be careful not to be lifted up with pride.
93. The look on your face should be sad, except when your traveling brothers come to you. Then put on a joyful look.( 2 )
Mutual communication
94. Be modest in all your activities.
95. In all your conduct among others, behave like a poor man: do not be arrogant when you speak to anyone, nor when you sing a hymn or a song of praise to God. When you meet in company, let your words be simple.
96. Do not talk to or associate with a boy or a young man. Do not accept such people into your life together, so as not to give room to the devil.
97. Don't talk to the boy at all, because he will be a stumbling block to you.
98. Do not take the hand of a brother standing next to you, nor touch his cheeks, whether he is older or younger than you.
99. With all your might, distance yourself from people who lack reason and advice.
100. If you like a peaceful life, don't join the circle of people who care only about vain things. If you happen to be in their company, behave as if you are not among them.
Conversation and in general, the use of language
101. Do not raise your voice, i.e. remain silent in the cell, except during prayers specified in the constitution.
102. Beware of quarreling with the tongue (control your tongue).
103. Do not speak too much, lest the Spirit of God depart from you.
104. It is a great deed to be silent, following the example of the Lord, who remained silent before Herod regardless of his calling.
105. When you meet with believers who are like you, listen more and pay attention to what they say with a readiness to fulfill what is salutary. That will be much better than getting involved in the conversation yourself.
106. When you go to visit someone, let the fear of God be in your heart and guard your mouth so that you may return to your cell in peace.
107. A wise man knows well how to control himself. He does not speak hastily, but measures well when to speak and when to listen. On the contrary, an ignorant man does not keep a secret, does not control his tongue, and does not bridle his tongue.
108. When you are among the brothers, do not talk too much. Let your questions be short and spoken with humility.
109. Let your words be gentle and instructive. Remember that from speech comes either glory or disgrace.
110. Speak not in a fit of anger, but let your words be clothed in wisdom and understanding, as also your silence. Let our wise fathers be your example, whose words were full of wisdom and understanding, as was their silence.
111. Let your tongue be subject to reason, for words contrary to reason are like barbed thorns and needles.
112. Stay away from lies, otherwise they will drive away the fear of God from you.
113. May your mouth always speak only the truth.
114. Let the subject of your conversation be the benefits of the Most High God. By doing so, you will become worthy of receiving even greater benefits from Him.
115. Do not inquire about evil deeds, but keep your attention away from them.
116. Do not start empty conversations and avoid those who lead them, so that your soul does not receive evil.
117. Despise idle talk about everything worldly.
118. Refrain as much as possible from jokes and amusing words.
119. Do not shout or speak too loudly or too quickly, for it is written: He who speaks much will not avoid sin. (Ecclesiastes 10:14)
120. Do not be stubborn and do not force your words, lest evil (maliciousness and quarreling) enter you.
121. Do not swear even in an undoubted matter, let alone in a doubtful matter.
In case of travel
122. When necessity forces you to go to town, don't go alone.
123. When you go to fetch water or travel, read the Psalms by heart and meditate.
124. While traveling with his brothers, he separated himself from them somewhat in order to maintain silence.
125. As you go along the road, do not turn to the right or to the left, but carefully contemplate your Psalms and pray to God in your mind. Do not fraternize with the inhabitants of the place in which you find yourself.
126. Do not go among the crowd of worldly people, but do not imitate the Pharisees either, because they did everything just to stand out.
127. Don't let a woman come near you. Don't let her enter your room, because a storm of thoughts follows her.
128. Never eat with a woman, and do not associate with a boy.
129. When the need arises to spend the night somewhere, be careful not to cover yourself with someone else under the same blanket.
130. Do not sleep in the same bed with someone younger than you.
131. Do not lie two on one bed, except in cases of extreme necessity, even if it concerns your father or brother. And even then with great fear.
132. He does not sit long in monastery inns.
II - The structure of the inner life
a) The initial principle of life – zeal
133. Be zealous in acquiring virtues or virtues, so that you do not get used to carelessness.
134. Beware lest you grow cold in your love for God.
135. Do not deviate from the good deeds you have begun.
136. Do not stray from the path of your loneliness.
137. Do not abandon the efforts you make for virtue, lest you become lazy and careless and make a mistake at the last moment, but love the Lord to the very end, and you will obtain grace.
138. Just as the ruins outside the city serve as a dumping ground for everyone's stinking filth, so the soul of one who lazily and sluggishly walks a solitary life becomes a dumping ground for all passions and sinful filth.
b) Rule of life – the will of God in the commandments
139. If you have truly given yourself to God, keep all his commandments and do everything that is commanded you diligently, leaving nothing out. For if you omit anything, your past sins will not be forgiven you. But if you firmly resolve to do everything until you die, be assured that all your past sins have already been forgiven.
140. Your thoughts should constantly be occupied with the commandments of the Lord, and you should strive to fulfill them with all your might. You should not leave any of them out, lest your soul become a dumping ground for all impurities.
141. If you have started a job and see that it is not according to God's will, leave it immediately.
c) Goal – the glory of God
42. Always be concerned that your Father who is in heaven may be glorified through you (Mt 5:16).
č) Reminders - incentives and a driver of zeal
About the vow and the original passion
143. Do not depart from God for corruptible things, but remember what you promised when the fervor of striving to please God burned within you.
144. Take care not to forget the meaning of the clothes you wore at the beginning. Remember the tears of repentance you shed then, and quickly flee from the evil thoughts that secretly steal upon you, lest you be drawn into your actions.( 3 )
145. Repent constantly and sincerely and do not give in to carelessness and laziness for even a minute.
About appropriate zealots
146. Do not imitate those who are weaker than you, but those who are better than you.
147. Let those who love God with all their hearts and constantly do good deeds be your model and example. Do not be ashamed to ask them for advice on life, since they are perfect in virtue.
148. Keep away from worldly people, who think worldly and speak only of earthly things.
About the promised goods
149. If you do all that is commanded, you will receive an inheritance that eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and human heart has not conceived (1 Cor 2:9).
150. Use the light of knowledge to merit the lineage of the righteous, while there is still time.
On Death and Judgment
151. Remember that your youth is past (that your strength has been spent), and that your infirmities have increased, and that the time of your end is near, when you will have to give an account for all your deeds. Know that there neither brother can redeem brother, nor father deliver his son.
152. Always remember the departure from the body and do not let go of the thought of eternal condemnation. If you act in this way, you will never sin.
153. Think within yourself and say: "It may be that this day will be my last in this world," and you will never sin before God.
154. Assume each day as your last in this world, and you will be protected from sin.
155. Turn your cell into a prison, thinking that everything is already over for you and that the hour of your liberation from this world will soon strike.
156. Take heed to yourself lest you be rejected in the age to come. Woe to the heedless, for their end is drawing near, and they have no hope of salvation, nor is there anyone to help them.
c) Causes of success – God's gracious help and personal zeal and feat
Help from on high attracted by prayer
157. May our Lord Jesus Christ help us to do all that is pleasing to Him.
158. Above all, pour out constant prayer and always thank God for everything that happens to you.
159. Try to pour out constant prayers with tears so that God will have mercy on you and take off the old man from you.
160. Do not cease shedding (prayer) tears and God will have mercy on you, relieving you of the troubles that sadden your soul.
161. If you want to please God, surrender yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ and He will deliver and protect you.
Personal exploits and zeal in general
162. Strive to go through the feats that I propose to you: labor, poverty, a hidden life, deprivation (not acquisition) and silence. They will make you humble, and this will bring you forgiveness of sins. Humility consists in a man considering himself a great sinner and thinking that he does nothing good before God, loving silence and counting on nothing, not being persistent before anyone and not trying to use his words, putting aside his will, lowering his face, having death before his eyes, guarding against lies, not speaking empty words, not complaining to an elder, patiently bearing insults and forcing himself to devoutly endure all the difficulties and inconveniences of life. Take care, brother, to fulfill these rules so that your life will not be fruitless.
163. Let us reject everything that gives rest to our body. Let us not condemn this life in order to live in God who will ask us on the day of Judgment whether we have hungered for His sake, whether we have thirsted and suffered want, whether we have been contrite, groaned from the depths of our hearts and examined ourselves as to whether we are worthy of God. And so, let us adhere to contriteness and sorrow for sin in order to meet God. Let us despise the body in order to save our souls.
164. Choose labor, and it, together with fasting, prayer, and vigil, will deliver you from all impurity. For physical labor brings purity of heart, and this makes the soul bear fruit.
165. Love zeal, clothe yourself with faith, do not allow your heart to think evil, but urge it to return evil with good, and seek meekness and be zealous for all wonderful works.
d) The constitution of the soul that brings success
Abiding in God with fear, earnest attention, and distancing oneself from sin and the world
166. May your soul be with the Lord at all times, and may your body on earth be like a statue and an idol, i.e. lifeless.
167. Always stand before the face of the Lord with righteousness.
168. May the fear of God always be before our eyes, as well as the remembrance of death and turning away from the world and everything worldly.
169. Keep quiet every day to live. For whoever fears God will live forever.
170. Be diligent at all times, so as not to fall into laziness and negligence.
171. Hate and separate everything worldly from yourself. Otherwise, it will distance you from God.
172. Hate everything that is harmful to your soul.
Suffering
173. Whatever you undertake, be patient, and God will help you in all your deeds, in everything that happens to you.
174. Be careful not to be discouraged.
175. Be well-intentioned in everything you do according to the will of God.
176. Do not grieve over the evil thoughts that assail you in your cell, for the Lord will not forget any effort made for His sake. This will serve your progress and the grace of God will help you.
177. Courage is nothing but fearlessness in the truth and opposition to enemies. If you do not retreat, they will retreat and not show themselves again.
Contrition and weeping
178. Both day and night, grieve for your sins.
179. Light your candlestick with the oil of tears.
180. Constantly cry over your sins, as if you had a dead person in your cell.
181. Let your face always be sad, so that the fear of God may dwell within you.
182. Do not consider yourself to be anything significant, but give yourself over to weeping for your sins.
Humility
183. Love humility and it will cover all your sins.
184. Be humble all the days of your life and reach out for everything beautiful.
185. Consider him who is weaker than you in good deeds as your equal, and consider him who is equal to you as more perfect.
186. Do not envy those who are making progress, but consider all people better than yourself, so that God himself may be with you.
187. Do not associate with the proud, but with the humble.
188. Be humble in everything: in your posture, in your clothing, in your sitting, in your standing, in your walking, in your bed, in your cell and in all its furnishings.
189. Do not rejoice or be delighted if people praise you for your good deeds. Hide your good deeds as much as you can. Do not allow yourself to reveal them to anyone, and in general, try not to let people praise you.
190. Be afraid of becoming famous because of some deed of yours.
191. If an innocent person rebukes you for some sin, humble yourself and you will receive a crown.
192. Accustom your tongue to say: "Forgive me," and humility will come into you.
193. Accustom your tongue to say in all cases, at all times, and to every brother: "Forgive me." If you always say: "Forgive me," you will soon attain humility.
194. Be ready to say, "Forgive me" at every word of offense you hear, because such humility destroys all the snares of the devil.
195. Know that humility is nothing else than considering all men better than yourself. Hold firmly in your mind the thought that you are guilty of many sins. Let your head be bowed, and let your tongue be ready to say to the offender: "Forgive me, my lord." Let death be the constant object of your thoughts.
196. Love toil, be submissive to all, keep your mouth shut, and you will attain humility. Humility, in turn, will attract the forgiveness of all your sins.
197. Above all, do not consider yourself important. This will give birth to humility in you. Humility will give birth to knowledge, i.e. experience and sound thoughts, and knowledge to faith. Faith will give birth to hope, hope to love, and love to obedience. Obedience will give birth to unchanging steadfastness, i.e. firmness in good.
đ) The feat of fighting sin
First of all, with thoughts
198. Drive away bad thoughts far from yourself, surrendering yourself to God, and He will cover you with His right hand.
199. Don't follow your every thought.
200. Do not fulfill your thoughts and desires.
201. Be careful not to let your mind dwell on the memory of past sins. Otherwise, they may be revived in you.
202. Do not revive in your mind your former sins, lest they return to you. Be assured that they were forgiven you at the time of your surrender to God and repentance, and do not doubt it at all.
203. Cease to remember and speak of the pleasures and enjoyments to which you indulged in the time of your carelessness. Even do not say: "I did that," or: "I violated that," for this may cause you to stumble.
204. Do not remember the passions you indulged in in the world, lest the lust they arouse arise again and offend you.
With various vicious desires
205. The Apostle John summarizes all human lusts in three things: everything in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). The lust of the flesh is the filling of the belly with a multitude of various foods, after which fornication and impurity appear. The lust of the eyes refers to material goods. The eye of a person who acquires them becomes haughty and impure images creep into his heart. The pride of life is the love of worldly glory (a high opinion of oneself, self-praise, and a thirst for praise from others), which is enthroned in our mind due to vain and fleeting external dignities.
206. Beware of greed and disobedience, and especially overeating, so as not to get entangled in the traps of your lusts. Namely, they expel the fear of God from their hearts and remove shame from their faces, and they give their lover over to low and shameful acts that alienate them from God.
207. Put off anger and clothe yourself with meekness. Cast away from yourself the lustful eye and take the simple, pure eye of a child.
208. Stay away from anger and guard yourself against lust, as indeed from all sinful desires.
Especially with love of pleasure or lust
209. A man who loves pleasure or lust, who seeks only pleasures, is not fit for any work.
210. Do not love pleasure or lust, because God does not listen to those who love pleasure.
211. Hate the body and its comforts because they are full of evil.
212. Exhaust your body so that it becomes like a body lying on a sickbed.
With anger and its birth
213. If anger attacks you, immediately drive it away from you, and you will rejoice throughout your entire life.
214. Don't be angry with anyone and forgive everyone.
215. If someone wrongly rebukes you, don't get angry.
216. Be wise and shut the mouths of those who speak ill of you with silence.
217. Do not be surprised if someone speaks ill of you, because this is one of the tricks of our greatest enemies, with which they try to hinder man from knowing the truth.
218. Do not be quick to anger and do not remember the evil of the one who provoked you to anger.
219. If you experience an insult, do not give birth to enmity towards the one who inflicted it on you, but say: "I am worthy to be despised by all my brothers."
220. Don't mumble or insult anyone.
221. Do not return evil for evil, nor insult for insult, since the Lord humbles you, seeing that you do not humble yourself.
222. Let the young and the old pray that they will not be allowed to fall under the tyranny of anger.
223. He who turns the other cheek to him who strikes him on the one cheek, is already rejoicing in the insult. The Lord Jesus Christ will never abandon him, for He is gentle and helps the souls who suffer for His sake and who pray to Him. He gives them strength and virtue until they are established in peace from passion. And so, rejoice when troubles and troubles come upon you, for after them come sweet fruits.
224. Don't be afraid of insults from people.
With other vicious movements of the heart that undermine success - with judgment
225. Do not despise your brother who has sinned, do not loathe him or condemn him, for otherwise you yourself will fall into the hands of your enemies.
226. Do no harm to anyone or judge anyone.
227. Do not incline your ear to hear evil (about another), but be tolerant and compassionate towards people and you will live.
228. Do not judge anyone, for therein lies the fall.
229. Do not rebuke your brother, even if you see him violating all the commandments, for otherwise you yourself will fall into the hands of your enemies.
230. Do not judge any mortal, lest God abhor your prayers.
231. He does not point out any shortcomings to anyone or for anything.
232. Do not reproach anyone for their weaknesses.
With vanity and conceit
233. Do not advertise when you give alms.
234. Do not brag if you indulge in spiritual feats.
235. Do not tell anyone in advance about the good deed you intend to do, but do it in silence.
236. Having done some virtuous deed, do not be puffed up and do not say within yourself: "I did this and that." For if you do this, you will not be wise.
237. Do not be ambitious and do not harbor in your heart self-boasting thoughts that say, "I did this and that. I have progressed in this and that." Such thoughts breathe vanity. Whoever is filled with them has become a dwelling place for unclean spirits.
With man-pleasing and hypocrisy
238. Do not abandon the will of God for the sake of fulfilling the will of man.
239. Do not violate the commandments out of respect for human friendship.
240. Do not be a hypocrite, two-faced, and even less a liar.
241. Take care to be just not only before people, but also within yourself be wise, meek, benevolent, patient, zealous, and philanthropic.
With arrogance
242. Do not be proud of your actions, whatever they may be.
243. Do not be arrogant and do not boast.
244. Drive away arrogance far from yourself. Consider your neighbors and all people better than you.
245. There is no greater impiety than to grieve another and to exalt oneself above others.
246. Do not consider yourself wise, otherwise your soul will become haughty and you will fall into the hands of your enemies.
247. Do not consider yourself to be all-knowing and wise, i.e. do not say: "I know myself. I can do it myself," otherwise your efforts will be in vain and your ship will sail in vain.
Conclusion
248. Whoever does not keep all that is prescribed will provoke God to anger. I, Antony, tell you the truth. Therefore, listen to these words of mine, hide them in your heart and know that with these commandments I am handing you over to the Creator. If you keep them, you will rejoice with the angels, and you will wound all the evil spirits with sorrow. Keep these commandments, and God will be with you, and the angels will accompany you. Your soul will be filled with the fragrance of the saints, and your face will shine with the light of the blessed. You will become a sanctuary for God, like all the saints, and at last you will meet the Lord with joy and gladness. You will hear that voice saying: Good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your master. (Mt 25:21)
249. Do not deviate from any of these instructions and our Lord Jesus Christ will satisfy you and in peace complete the work you have undertaken. Our perfect fathers and those who follow them became perfect by carrying them out.
250. If you wish to add any good deeds to what has been said, add them, and always offer thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.
251. Every night, water your bed with tears and soak your couch, humble yourself before Christ the Lord so that He may blot out your sins and renew you, so that He may give you help in doing good works and in inheriting His eternal Kingdom. To Him be praise, honor, glory and worship with the all-good Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen!
NOTES:
1. That is, until three in the afternoon, according to our time calculation.
2. That is, even if you have guests coming, don't leave your fast on the water until the ninth hour (3pm).
3. It is implied that one should live in accordance with the meaning of the clothing, i.e., to die to this world.
SAYS OF SAINT ANTHONY AND STORIES ABOUT HIM
1. On renunciation of the world
1. Whoever wants to successfully walk the path of monasticism must completely separate himself from the world, abandon all his possessions, step out of it at the very act, and cut off all partiality towards things. This truth was strikingly conveyed by Saint Anthony to a brother who had renounced the world. He distributed everything he had to the poor, except for a small amount that he had kept for a time of need. Saint Anthony knew what the old man who came to him had done, and he said to him: "If you want to be a monk, go to that village, buy some meat, cut it into small pieces, and, taking off your clothes, hang it on your chest and arms. Then come here." The brother did as the old man ordered. And immediately dogs, birds, and hornets attacked him and covered his body with wounds. When he returned, the old man asked him if he had done what he had been ordered to do. He showed his wounds, complaining. Then Saint Anthony said to him: "This is what happens to those who, leaving the world, retain even the smallest part of their possessions: demons cover them with wounds and they, wounded, fall in battle."
2. The following narration, preserved by Cassian (Conversations, 24,11), also touches on the same subject. A brother who considered that there was no benefit in leaving the world came to Saint Anthony. And he began to say: "He is more worthy who performs a feat in the city or the country and who fulfills all that is necessary for spiritual perfection." Saint Anthony asked him: "Where and how do you live?" He replied: "I live in the home of my parents, who provide for me. This frees me from all cares and worries, and I constantly occupy myself only with reading and prayer, not distracting my mind with anything extraneous." Saint Anthony asked him again: "Tell me, my son, do you grieve in their griefs and rejoice in their joys?" He admitted that he felt both. Then the old man said to him: "Know that in the world to come you will share with those with whom you shared joy and sorrow in this life. The path you have chosen is harmful for you not only because, due to the almost daily change of life's coincidences, your mind is immersed in constant thoughts about earthly things, but also because it deprives you of the fruit that you would gain if you worked with your own hands to feed yourself, following the example of the Apostle Paul, who, even in the midst of the labor of preaching the Gospel, provided for himself and those with him with his own hands, as he says to the Ephesians: You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and those with me. (Acts 20:34) He did this for our edification, to set an example for us, as he wrote to the Thessalonians: For when we were with you, we did not live disorderly. We did not eat anyone's bread for nothing, but worked with labor and toil night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you. Not because we do not have the right, but to give you an example to follow. (2 Thess 3:8-9) That is why we, although we have the opportunity to use the help of our relatives, assume that we support ourselves by the sweat of our brow. If this help were more useful, we would gladly accept it. Moreover, know that you eat the bread of the poor and the weak if you are healthy, and live at the expense of others.
2. General answers to the question: ''What to do?''
He who leaves the world enters a completely new realm of life which, although not entirely unknown, nevertheless raises in many of its aspects the question: "What is to be done? How is one to live?" Saint Anthony was often addressed with this question. Here are his answers:
3. Father Pamvo asked him about this and he replied: "Do not trust in your own righteousness, truly repent for your past sins, control your tongue, heart and stomach."
4. Here is what he said to Father Poemen after that question: "The most glorious deed that a man can perform is to confess his sins before God and his elders, to condemn himself, and to be ready to face the onslaught of all kinds of temptations until his last breath."
5. Someone else asked: "What should I do to please God?" Saint Anthony answered him: "Wherever you go, always keep God before your eyes; whatever you do, have confirmation in the Holy Scriptures; and do not quickly leave the place where you live. Keep these three commandments and you will be saved."
6. To another disciple he advised: "Abhor your belly and the demands of this world, evil lusts and human honor, so that you may not be in this world, and you will find peace."
7. According to the writings of Saint Athanasius, Father Anthony said to the brothers who came to him: "Always keep fear before your eyes. Remember Him who kills and gives life (1 Kings 2:6). Hate the world and everything in it. Hate every bodily rest, renounce this life in order to live for God, remember what you have promised God, for He will require it of you on the day of Judgment. Hungry, thirsty, watch, weep, wail, sigh in your hearts, examine whether you are worthy of God, despise the body in order to save your souls."
8. A similar extensive indication of what a monk should do is given by St. Cassian. “From ancient times,” he says, “there has been a wonderful teaching of the blessed Anthony that a monk, striving for greater perfection, is not obliged to limit himself to following only one of the advanced fathers, because in no one can all kinds of virtues be found in perfection. On the contrary, one is endowed with knowledge, another is strong in sound judgment, another is fearless in patience; one is distinguished by humility, another by abstinence, another again by the gracious simplicity of heart; one surpasses the others in generosity, another by charity, some by vigilance, another by silence or sacrifice. Therefore, a monk who wants to build a spiritual honeycomb is obliged, like a wise bee, to borrow each virtue from the one who has mastered it the most. He should place it in the container of his heart, not paying attention to what someone lacks, but taking care to adopt their virtues.
3. The force that encourages and supports the feat
If all of the above is listed, a sufficiently wide field for feats will appear. The question arises as to what is the force that moves the bearer of feats and supports them in their labors. This force is zeal for salvation, for the glory of the name of God, which is ready for anything. If a monk has this force, feats are also present; if it is not there, everything stops.
9. Therefore, he replied to a brother who lacked zeal and who asked him to pray to God for him: "Neither I nor God will have mercy on you unless you take care of yourself and pray to God."
10. For this reason he advised that the monk should constantly dwell in the remembrance of God and in prudence, praising as a great virtue the strong and constant lifelong service to the Lord, and standing on guard against every temptation until the last breath.
11. Therefore, he advised the monks not to give in to themselves in anything, but to always maintain the same spirit of zeal with patience: "A monk who performs a feat for a few days and then pleases himself, then performs a feat again and again is negligent, as if he were doing nothing. He never reaches the perfection of life due to the lack of constancy of zeal and patience."
12. He said of the one who seeks concessions that he does not understand his calling and his goal. He explained the failure of monks by the lack of charity for the feat. "We do not achieve success," he said, "because we do not know our calling, because we do not understand what the work we have undertaken requires, and because we want to acquire virtues without effort. Therefore, as soon as we encounter temptation in our place, we move on to another, thinking that somewhere there is a place without the devil. However, he who has come to know what struggle is does not give himself vent, but constantly fights with God's help."
13. There is a famous saying on this subject of Saint Anthony addressed to those who do not want to do one thing and cannot do the other. Once some brothers came to Saint Anthony and said to him: "Give us instruction on how to be saved." The elder answered them: "Have you listened to the Scriptures? That is enough for you." However, they said: "We would also like to hear something from you, father." Then the elder said to them: "It is said in the Gospel: On the contrary, if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. " (Mt 5:39) They answered him: "We cannot do that." The elder said: "If you cannot turn the other cheek, at least endure a blow on one." "We cannot do that either," they replied. "If you cannot do that either," said the old man, "at the very least, do not return blow for blow." The brothers said: "We cannot do that either." Then Saint Anthony said to his disciple: "Prepare some stew for them. They are sick. If you cannot do one thing and will not do the other, what can I do for you?" Prayer (either theirs or that of others) is needed to awaken in them the spirit of zeal, i.e. moral energy.
4. Zealous leaders
Zeal in itself is sometimes blind, so that it can take a direction that is not in accordance with the goal of the life begun. That is why it should be surrounded by managers. Who are these managers? St. Anthony points to two: your own judgment and the advice of the experienced.
a) Own judgment
14. Once the fathers gathered around Saint Anthony to examine which virtue was the most perfect, that is, which could protect a monk from all the snares of the devil. Each of them said what seemed best to him. Some praised fasting and vigil, since they concentrate thoughts, contribute to lightness of spirit, and facilitate man's approach to God. Others valued poverty and contempt for worldly things more, because by them the spirit becomes calmer, purer, and freer from worldly cares, as a result of which approach to God becomes easier. Some again wanted to give priority to mercy, because the Lord will say to the merciful: Come, you blessed of my Father! Receive as an inheritance the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! (Mt 25:34) There were other suggestions. And Saint Anthony said: "All the virtues that you have mentioned are very salutary and very necessary for those who seek God and who burn with the desire to draw near to Him. However, we have seen that many have exhausted their bodies by excessive fasting, vigils, and solitude in the desert, that they have been zealously engaged in labor, have loved poverty, and have despised worldly comforts to the point of not leaving for themselves even what is necessary for a day, but have distributed everything to the poor. And yet it has happened that after all this they have turned to evil and fallen, and have deprived themselves of the fruit of all virtues, and have become worthy of condemnation. The cause of this is none other than the absence of the virtue of judgment or prudence. They have not been able to avail themselves of its help. For it is precisely this virtue that teaches and urges a person to follow the right path, and not to stray into the wilderness. If we walk the royal road, our detractors will never entice us, neither on the right to excessive abstinence, nor on the left to negligence, carelessness, and laziness. Reasoning is the eye of the soul and its lampstand, just as the eyes are the lampstand of the body: if the eye is light, then our whole body (works) will be light; but if it is dark, our whole body will be dark, as the Lord said in the Holy Gospel (Mt 6:22-23). With the help of reasoning, a person understands his desires, words and deeds, and renounces those that distance him from God. With reasoning, he destroys and destroys all the traps that the devil has prepared against him, clearly distinguishing between good and evil.
15. The following proverb also applies to the same subject: Taking a piece of iron, the blacksmith sees in advance what he can make of it, i.e. a scythe, a sword or an axe. So we too should reason about what virtue to approach so that we do not labor in vain.
b) Advice from the experienced
16. Saint Anthony speaks in this sense: "I know monks who, after many efforts, fell and succumbed to insanity because they relied on their own works and despised the commandment of the One who said: Ask your Father, and he will teach you, ask the elders , so they will tell you. (Deuteronomy 32:7)
17. And again: "The Holy Scripture says: Those who have no guidance fall like a leaf (Prov. 11:14) and commands that nothing be done without consultation. It does not even allow the spiritual drink that gladdens the heart of man to be drunk without consultation, saying: Do nothing without consultation. (Sir 32:21) And even: Drink wine with consultation. A man who does his work without consultation is like an unwalled city into which whoever wants to enters and plunders its treasures."
18. Asking others was considered by Saint Anthony to be such a salutary act that even as a teacher of all, he often turned to his own, albeit advanced, student with a question. And as the student would say, so the saint would act. For, it is said that Father Anthony received a written invitation from Emperor Constantine to come to Constantinople. Then he turned to Paul the Simple with the question: "Should I go?" The latter replied: "If you go, you will be Anthony, and if you do not go, you will be Father Anthony." Because of such disapproval of the journey, he calmly remained in his place.
19. And so he advised all others to do, saying: "If possible, a monk is obliged to ask the elders about every step he takes in his cell and every drop of water he drinks. I know several monks who fell because they thought they could please God on their own."
20. In this way, Saint Anthony did not approve of trusting one's own judgment. Did he not therefore praise Father Joseph who, to a question from Scripture, answered: "I do not know," thereby expressing, in addition to humility, also distrust of his own mind? It was as follows:
The elders came to Saint Anthony, with Father Joseph. Wishing to test them, the elder proposed to them a saying from Scripture and, starting with the younger ones, began to inquire about its meaning. Each spoke according to his own ability, but the elder replied: "No, you do not understand." After all, he said to Father Joseph: "What do you say about that saying?" "I do not know," Joseph replied. Then Father Anthony said: Father Joseph found the way by saying: "I do not know."
21. Moreover, he did not advise that one should have unlimited trust in others. First, one must be convinced of the orthodoxy and experience of the elder, and then accept his word with trust and accept his advice without words. The sign by which this can be known is the agreement of his words with the Word of God. One must pay attention, he says, to what is commanded. Whatever someone tells you in accordance with the commandments of our Lord, accept with obedience, so that the word of the apostle may be fulfilled in us too: Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ! (Eph 5:21) On the contrary, to the counselor who directs you to something contrary to the commandments of God, say: Judge for yourself whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. (Acts 4:19) One must obey God rather than men! (Acts 5:29) Let us also remember the words of the Lord: And when he has finished all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They certainly do not follow a stranger, but flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. (John 10:4-5) In the same way, the blessed Paul assures, saying: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed! (Gal 1:8)
The reason for such a restriction was certainly given by the Arians who attracted others under the guise of piety, and then infused them with the poison of their false teaching. Another reason could have been that some took it upon themselves to lead others without personal experience. On the occasion of such a case he was accustomed to say: "The ancient fathers went into the desert and with their great effort healed their own souls. In this way they learned how to heal the souls of others. Therefore, returning from there, they became saving physicians for others. If one of us goes into the desert, he takes upon himself the care of others before he is healed. Because of this, our former weakness returns and our latter condition becomes worse than the first. That is why the words apply to us: Physician, heal yourself! (Luke 4:23)
5. What can be used to fuel zeal?
Nothing in man is maintained at a single measure, but sometimes it grows stronger, sometimes it weakens. And zeal sometimes burns, sometimes it cools. In the latter case it needs to be heated up, so that it does not completely go out. With what and how? First, by remembering death. Saint Anthony tried many times to impress upon the minds and hearts of all the thought that the day we live is our last day.
22. Secondly, by returning to the thought of what will happen after death. In order to impress this thought on the souls of his disciples, he told them about what had been revealed to him himself, as Athanasius the Great relates in his biography.
Once, before lunch, around nine o'clock, or three o'clock in the afternoon, having risen to pray, Saint Anthony felt within himself that he was ascending in his mind, and what was most strange, he saw himself as if outside his body, and as if someone was lifting him up through the air. Some dark and terrible faces stood in the air, trying to block his ascending path. Anthony's guides opposed them, but they approached as if they were right, demanding an answer and asking whether Anthony was subject to their authority in anything. It was necessary to give in, and they were preparing to give an account. Their intention to examine the deeds of Anthony from his birth was opposed by his companions, saying: "What was from birth, the Lord smoothed out when Anthony took the monastic vow. Examine from the day he became a monk and made a vow to God." However, under this condition, the accusers could not distort him in anything. Therefore, they stepped aside and the path for Anthony's ascent became free and without obstacles. After that, Saint Anthony felt that he was returning to his body again, and that he had become the former Anthony again. However, by then he had already forgotten about eating and spent the rest of the day and the whole night in prayer and sighing, wondering with how many enemies we have to fight and with what effort a man has to go through the air. Then he remembered the words of the Apostle Paul about the Prince of the power of the air. (Eph 2:2) For the devil has power to fight against those who travel through the air, trying to block their way? That is why the Apostle advises us: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and, having done all, to stand (Eph 6:13), so that the devil may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. (Titus 2:8)
23. This is what Saint Athanasius says. And although it has not been noticed that St. Anthony somewhere talked about it, there is no reason to doubt it, since the knowledge of what was seen was more necessary for others than for him. He also communicated to others about another sighting concerning the same subject. St. Athanasius writes: Once, St. Anthony had a conversation with the brothers who visited him about the state of the soul after death, and about its future abode. The next night, someone called him from above, saying: "Get up, go out and look around." Antonius went out, because he knew who had ordered him, looked up and saw a colossus or giant, ugly and terrible, whose head was touching the clouds. Some winged creatures took off from the ground. For some, a colossus or a giant blocked the way, and others flew through it, and passing it, calmly ascended upwards. The colossus or giant gnashed his teeth at them, and rejoiced because of the first ones. An invisible voice remarked: "Antony, understand what you have seen." Then his mind opened and he understood that it was about the departure of the soul from the earth. The terrible colossus or giant is our primordial enemy, who stops the lazy and those who obeyed his persuasions. However, he cannot keep the zealous and disobedient to him: they go beyond him. Saint Anthony understood this vision as a warning and began to devote even greater care to exploits of opposition to everything hostile. With this goal, i.e., in order to arouse With greater zeal for a pure life, he told others about this vision.
Father Kronius says that once Saint Anthony spoke about this vision in front of a large congregation. In addition, he noted that before the apparition, St. Anthony prayed for a whole year to reveal to him what happens after death to the souls of the righteous and sinners. He added that the hands of the colossus or giant were spread across the sky and that under it was a lake the size of the sea into which the birds that he struck with his hand fell. In the Latin paternik (father) in the above story, the thought is added that the colossus or giant hit the birds and that they fell into the lake only when they remained in the air under his hands, not having the strength to rise up. On the other hand, those who had the strength to rise above his hands and head, he just gnashed his teeth, watching them rise to heaven and be received by the angels.
24. What thrilling fear filled the souls as they heard about it! But here is also a consoling vision that arouses zeal with hope for a brighter state. This is the vision of Saint Ammon, not so much a disciple as a friend and companion of Saint Anthony. Saint Athanasius writes that Saint Anthony, sitting on a mountain, once looked up to heaven and saw someone ascending to heaven in a fiery ray, while a choir of joyful angelic figures descended to meet him from above. Marveling at what he saw, he began to pray to the Lord to reveal its meaning to him. And he heard a voice: "This is the soul of Ammon, the monk of Nitria." This Ammon lived in strict asceticism until his old age. He was with Saint Anthony just as Saint Anthony was with him. The distance from the Nitrian mountains to the mountain of Saint Anthony is 13 days' walk. When the brothers who were with him asked why he was so surprised, he explained what he had seen and heard about Amon. When the brothers from Nitria arrived 30 days later, they asked them about Amon and learned that he had reposed on the day and hour in which the elder saw his soul ascending to heaven.
25. And the next vision, which Saint Anthony himself related, also has the power to dispel laziness and to arouse zeal. “I prayed to God,” he said, “to show me what the covering and protection of a monk consists of! And I saw a monk surrounded by fiery lamps and a multitude of angels guarding him like an eye in his head, fencing him off with their swords. Then I sighed and said: ‘Behold, all that is given to a monk! And yet the devil overcomes him, and he falls!’ And a voice came to me from the merciful Lord and I heard: ‘The devil cannot overthrow anyone. After I took on human nature and overthrew his power, he no longer has any power. However, a man falls of himself when he gives in to laziness and when he gives in to his lusts and passions.’ I then asked: ‘Is such a covering given to every monk?’ And I was shown a multitude of monks surrounded by such protection. Then I exclaimed: 'Blessed is the human race, and especially the religious army, that has such a merciful and loving Lord!' Let us be zealous for our salvation, let us drive away all negligence, let us endure the efforts earnestly, so that we may be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.''
26. On another occasion, Saint Anthony revealed to his disciples that the decline of zeal would weaken monasticism and darken its glory. Seeing many monks in the desert adorned with great virtues, zealous for perfection in the holy hermit life, some of his disciples asked him: "Father, will this ardor of zeal and this love of solitude, poverty, humility, abstinence and all the other virtues, which many monks now adhere to so ardently, last long?" The man of God replied with sighs and tears: "The time will come, my beloved children, when monks will leave the desert and go to great cities, where, instead of hermit caves and cramped cells, they will build haughty palaces, comparable to royal palaces; instead of poverty, the love of accumulating wealth will increase; pride will replace humility; many will be exalted by mere knowledge without the good works that correspond to knowledge; love will grow cold; In the place of sustenance, the indulgence of the stomach will prevail; many of them will care for sumptuous meals, like the worldly people themselves, from whom they will be distinguished only by their clothes and caps; and although they will live mixed with the world, they will call themselves hermits (monk means hermit). Moreover, they will boast, saying: I am of Paul, and I of Apollos (1 Cor 1:12), as if the whole strength of their monasticism consisted in the dignity of their predecessors: they will boast of their fathers as the Israelites boast of their father Abraham. However, at that time there will also be those who will prove to be much better and more perfect than us. For, more blessed is he who could have sinned and did not sin, and he who could have done evil and did not do it (Sir 31:11), than he who was drawn to good by a multitude of zealous bearers of feats. This is why Noah, Abraham, and Lot, who led a virtuous life among wicked people, are rightly so glorified in Scripture.
27. These and other remarks, i.e. about death and what will happen after death, fuel the fear of God, which is the third awakener of zeal. Saint Anthony, as we have already seen, called for the fear of God with a very meaningful saying: "Always keep fear before your eyes. Remember Him who kills and gives life." In another short saying, he emphasizes the fear of God as the source of readiness and ability for all virtues. "The fear of God," he says, "is the beginning of all virtues and the beginning of wisdom. Just as light dispels darkness and illuminates the dark house it enters, so too the fear of God, having entered the heart of man, dispels darkness and incites zeal for all virtues."
28. Therefore, he fought against the loss of this fear in every way. "Do not leave," he said, "your cell, for you will lose the fear of God. For, just as a fish dies when it is taken out of water, so the fear of God dies in the heart of a monk who leaves his cell and wanders."
29. However, all these incentives to zeal have a coercive effect, pulling from the outside, although they are also formed inside. It is necessary to acquire internal drivers of zeal so that it springs from the heart like a spring of water. The heart leads to this:
1) feeling the sweetness of life according to God. Until this feeling is formed in us, there is little hope for our zeal. To the question of a brother: "God promises the soul higher goods throughout Scripture. Why is it not steadfast in seeking them, but inclines to the transient, corrupt, and impure?", Saint Anthony replied: "He who has not yet tasted the sweetness of heavenly goods has not clung to God with all his heart. That is why he returns to the corrupt. Until he reaches such perfection, man should serve God out of obedience to His holy will, so that he can say with the prophet: I was foolish and without understanding, like a beast before you (Ps 73:22), i.e. I served You like a beast of burden."
30. Therefore:
2) love for God is an even stronger incentive for zeal. St. Anthony himself knew that love is stronger than fear, since he said: "I no longer fear God, but love him" (ie love, not fear, arouses me to a pious attitude). Because there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; because fear is torment and whoever is afraid is not perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
31. He also persuaded others to cultivate in themselves above all things love for God, which is an invincible and ineradicable force. Once, when the brothers asked him: "By what is it easiest to please God?", he replied: "The most pleasing work in the sight of God is the work of love. It is performed by one who constantly praises God in his pure thoughts, supported by the remembrance of God, the remembrance of the promised good things and all that He has deigned to do for us. From this remembrance is born the perfect love of which it is written: " Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength!" (Deut. 6:5) and again: " As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Ps. 42:2) These are the works by which we should please God, so that the words of the apostle Paul may be fulfilled in us: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble? Anxieties? Persecution? Hunger? Nakedness? Perdition? The sword? '' (Rom 8:35)
32. From it or together with it comes: 3) the joy of virtue and of dwelling in the order of God, which in turn becomes an incentive to zeal. The following saying of St. Anthony refers to this. He was asked: "What is joy in the Lord?" He replied: "To fulfill a commandment with joy in action for the glory of God is joy in the Lord. For when we fulfill His commandments with joy of heart, we should rejoice, and when we do not fulfill them, we should grieve. Therefore, let us take care to fulfill the commandments with joy of heart, so that we may console one another in the Lord. Only, in doing so, let us be careful in every way that joy does not lead us to pride, but let us place all our hope in the Lord."
6. Individual feats and virtues
Thus directed and fueled, zeal strives for physical and mental feats and for every virtue.
33. To what extent it is necessary to exhaust one's body; Saint Anthony indicated in the general instruction on the asceticisms and in enumerating the causes of bodily movements. Among these causes is also providing the body with as much food as it requires. As a means against such bodily movements, thinning the body by fasting is mentioned. Saint Anthony commanded that one should be very strict with the body, rebuking any indulgence. He did not treat those who went to the bathhouse with favor. "Our fathers," he said, "never even washed their faces, and we go to worldly baths."
34. After the humiliation of the body, he attached great importance to the restraint of the tongue. He placed this feat on the same level as imprisonment, saying: "Our imprisonment consists in keeping our mouths closed."
35. Those who say whatever comes to their mind are like a yard without a gate, into which anyone enters, approaches the stable and unties the donkey. Saint Anthony did not express this thought, but he approved it.
36. He attached even greater importance to sitting in the cell. "Just as fish," he said, "that remain long on dry land die, so monks who are long outside their cell and dwell with worldly people lose their love of peace and quiet. Therefore, we too should rush to the cell like a fish rushing to the sea, so that while remaining outside we may not forget our inner vigilance."
37. In general, he advised that one should live in a cell so strictly that it would become for the monk a Babylonian furnace that burns up all impurity.
38. Nevertheless, he sometimes allowed himself a certain indulgence in strenuous labors, as is evident from one of his answers to a hunter. It is said that a hunter, hunting wild beasts in the desert, saw Father Anthony joking with his brothers and was offended. Wishing to convince him that it was sometimes necessary to relieve the brothers, the elder said to him: "Take the bow and draw it." He did so. The elder said to him: "Draw it more." He drew it. He said to him again: "Draw it more." The hunter answered him: "If I draw the bow too much, it will break." Then the elder said to him: "So it is in the work of God: the strength of the brothers will be disrupted if we strain them too much. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to give the brothers a break." Hearing this, the hunter gained favor and went away, having been instructed by the elder. Having been strengthened, the brothers returned to their place.
After all, sayings and stories that refer to mental feats or moods of the heart that lead to success are better preserved. Such are:
39. Patience. It is so necessary to the ascetic or the ascetic that without it he has no value. Thus the brothers once praised a monk to Saint Anthony. During his visit, Saint Anthony wanted to see if he would endure an insult. Seeing that he could not bear it, he said to him: "You resemble a village that is beautiful in front, but robbed by robbers in the back."
40. Suffering is necessary because temptations are also necessary. And Saint Anthony said: "No one without temptation can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Without temptation no one would be saved."
41. Prayer. He made it an example, because everyone knew how long he prayed. "We know," said his disciples, "that the blessed old man sometimes became so absorbed in prayer that he would stop for a whole night. When the rising sun interrupted this fervent prayer of his with an ecstatic mind, we would hear him say: "Why do you, sun, bother me? As if that was why you rise, to distract me from the divine light of the mind."
42. Tears. When asked by his brother: "What shall I do with my sins?", Saint Anthony replied: "He who wants to be free from sin must weep and sigh. And he who wants to succeed in virtue must adopt weeping and tears. The very singing of psalms is weeping. Remember Hezekiah, the king of Judah, who, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah (chap. 38), received not only healing from his illness, but also 15 years of life through weeping. The power of God, because of the tears he shed, mortally defeated 185,000 of the enemy army that attacked him. The holy apostle Peter received forgiveness for the sin of renouncing Christ through weeping. And Mary, because she sprinkled the feet of the Savior with her tears, was deigned to hear that this would be proclaimed together with the preaching of the Gospel."
43. Saint Anthony did not find a place for laughter in the life of a monk. When his disciples asked him: "Can we sometimes laugh?" he replied: "Our Lord condemns those who laugh, saying: Woe to you who laugh now! You will weep and weep!" (Luke 6:25) Therefore, a faithful monk should not laugh. Rather, we should weep for those who blaspheme the name of God, because they transgress the law of God and spend their whole lives immersed in sins. Let us weep and weep, constantly praying to God not to allow them to become established in their sins and for death to overtake them before they repent."
44. Humility , which attracts the covering from on high and protects against all attacks. "I once saw," said Saint Anthony, "all the snares of the devil spread out on the earth, and with a sigh I said: 'Who will escape them?' Then I heard a voice that said to me: 'Humility.'"
45. Therefore, he later advised: "In performing a good and righteous feat, we should humble ourselves to the utmost before the Lord so that He, knowing our weakness, may cover us with His right hand and protect us. For if we exalt ourselves with pride, He will withdraw His covering from us and we will perish."
46. Another time he said: "Just as arrogance and loftiness of mind from the height of heaven threw the devil into the abyss, so humility and meekness elevate a man from earth to heaven."
47. So that the feat would not lead to arrogance, he advised that we give it a humiliating meaning. "If anyone," he said, "takes the feat of silence, let him not think that he is doing virtue, but let him consider in his heart that he is silent because he is not worthy to speak."
48. Saint Anthony also noted that the Lord Himself guides us internally by hiding our good from us, so that we may maintain a humble opinion of ourselves. He said: "If the miller did not cover the eyes of the animal, his work would not be successful. The animal would fall from dizziness, losing the ability to work." So we, according to God's organization, are given a covering so that we do not see our good deeds and so that, boasting about them, we do not become arrogant and destroy the fruit of all our efforts. This happens when we are given over to the attacks of impure thoughts, for the presence of which we will certainly condemn ourselves. In such a situation, the thought of our good has no place. Therefore, our little good is covered and becomes invisible due to impure thoughts.
49. How disastrous self-exaltation is, was shown by the fall of the young monk after the miracle he had performed. By the place where the young monk was performing his feat, some old men who were going to Saint Anthony were passing by and were extremely tired. He called wild donkeys and ordered them to carry the old men on them to Saint Anthony. The old men told Saint Anthony about this, and he replied: "It seems to me that this monk is a ship full of cargo, although I do not know whether he will reach the pier." And indeed, falling into high spirits, he fell after a while. Seeing this, Saint Anthony said to his disciples: "Now the young monk has fallen. Go and see." They went and saw him sitting on the rushes, weeping for the sin he had committed.
50. As much as self-exaltation is destructive, self-reproach is, on the contrary, salutary. This is seen in the example of the shoemaker, about whom Saint Anthony had a vision from on high. Saint Anthony was praying in his cell when he heard a voice saying to him: "Anthony, you have not yet reached the measure of the shoemaker of Alexandria." Saint Anthony went to Alexandria, found the shoemaker and persuaded him to reveal to him what was so special about his life. The latter said: "I do not know that I have ever done anything good in my life. When I get up from bed in the morning and before I sit down to work, I say: 'Everyone in this city, from the least to the greatest, will enter the Kingdom of God because of my good deeds, and I alone will be condemned to eternal torment because of my sins.' I repeat the same thing with all the sincerity of my heart at night before I go to sleep." Hearing this, Saint Anthony realized that he had indeed not reached such a measure.
51. Wasn't this the reason for his later frequent repetition of the following teaching: "We should always and in everything rebuke and condemn ourselves, and do so quite honestly. For he who rebukes himself is justified and glorified by God."
52. Mutual service and help. The brothers asked Saint Anthony: "Is it good if someone says: 'I will not take anything from the brothers, nor will I give anything to them. Mine is enough for me'?" Saint Anthony replied: "My children, such a one is fierce in heart and has the soul of a lion. He should be considered a stranger to the assembly of good people."
53. The second time they asked him: "How should one serve the brothers?" He replied: "Let the brothers who want to serve the brothers render services as servants serve their masters, and as the Lord served Peter, to whom He rendered the ultimate service, although He was his creator. By this the Lord showed that even those who refuse service deserve reproach, let alone those who consider it low to serve the brothers. If the first will not have honor before God, as the Lord said to Peter, what shall be said of the last?"
54. In general, he said: "From our neighbor comes both life and death. For if we win our brother, we have met God, but if we offend our brother, we sin against Christ."
55. Compassion and exaltation for those who fall. In the family of Father Elias, a brother was tempted. He was driven out and he went to Mount Gora to Father Antonius. After keeping him with him for a while, Father Antonius sent him back to the family from which he had come. However, the brothers drove him out again. He went back to Father Antonius and said to him: "The brothers did not want to receive me, father!" Then the old man sent him away with these words: "A storm has struck the ship at sea. He lost his cargo and with difficulty saved himself. And you want to sink what has reached the shore." Hearing that Father Antonius had sent the brother, the brothers immediately received him.
56. In a certain family, a brother was slandered for fornication, and he went to Father Antony. The brothers also came to heal him and take him back to their home. They began to disfigure him for what he had done. In his defense, the brother said that he had done nothing of the sort. It so happened that Father Paphnutius Cephalus was also there. He told them the following story: "On the bank of the river I saw a man who had fallen into the mud up to his knees. Some came to help him and immersed him up to his neck." Father Antony said to this: "Here is truly a man who can heal and save souls." Moved by the words of the elder, the brothers bowed down to their brother and, on the advice of the fathers, received him back into their home.
57. St. Anthony's thought about who has true brotherly love is significant. He said: "A man can never be truly good, no matter how much he wants to be, unless God dwells within him. For no one is good except God."
7. The ultimate goal and pinnacle of perfection
58. The indwelling of God or life in God is the ultimate goal of all ascetic efforts, and the pinnacle of perfection. God Himself showed this to Saint Anthony. He was granted this vision in the desert: There is a man in the city who is like you. He is a doctor by profession. He gives to the needy everything he has left, and daily sings the Trisagion with the angels (i.e., he lives in God and walks before God with perfect love for his neighbor).
8. The perfection of Saint Anthony and his glory in heaven
59. It is said that Father Antonius was a clairvoyant. However, to avoid the crowds, he did not speak about it. Both present and future events of the world were revealed to him.
60. A holy elder prayed to God to see his fathers in heavenly glory. And he saw them all, except Father Anthony. He asked the one who was leading him: "And where is Father Anthony?" He answered him: "Anthony is where God is."
EXPLANATION OF SOME SAYINGS OF SAINT ANTHONY WHICH WERE MADE BY AN OLD MAN AFTER HIS DEATH
1. Question of the monks: How should we understand the words of the holy father Anthony addressed to the disciple Paul, who, having left the world, asked to live by his side: "If you want to be a monk, go to a monastery where there are many brothers who can support your weakness?"
The elder's answer: From this we learn that we are obliged to receive into the monastery also the infirm, the sick, the blind, and the weakened, and to love them when they devote themselves with joy and zeal to the acquisition of virtues, although due to their infirmities they cannot bear all the efforts. Therefore, the superiors of monasteries are worthy of great reproach who do not receive infirm elders, even those who are known for their good nature, while they gladly receive strong young men for the performance of various services in the monastery and for external affairs, although they are insolent and shameless. The blessed commentator[1] in his book On the Perfection of Monastery Management severely disparages such elders, saying: "They allow their disciples to remain negligent in the works of virtue, while they constantly encourage them to bodily and worldly works. To those who have accepted monasticism to strive for virtues, they do not give rest and respite from worldly works, constantly forcing them to work. They admonish, scold, ridicule and condemn them if they sometimes, whether due to weakness or due to weakened zeal, do not particularly hurry to fulfill the work assigned to them, although they are diligent and zealous for spiritual works. On the contrary, they shower great praise on those who devote all their effort and care to worldly works, while they are lazy in acquiring virtues. This sacrifice in them does not arise from the virtue of obedience, but from the fact that they love to be interested in worldly things. And what is worse, whether they are lazy or diligent, they keep them as slaves.'' Father Pimen said: ''All three monks of the monastery, one of whom dwells beautifully in silence, the other thanks God in illness, and the third gladly fulfills obedience, perform the same feat.'' With these words, this saint shows that in a monastery, where many monks are gathered, not only those who are strong in body to perform various obediences are needed, but also weak brothers who surrender to a constant life in silence. Otherwise, all their efforts are in vain, i.e. empty.
2. Question: Why did Father Antonius say to his disciple Paul: "Go, sit in solitude to learn the battle that comes from demons?"
Answer: Wishing him perfection. For the perfection of a monk consists in the habit of governing everything within himself by the spirit. Such self-governance by the spirit comes together with purity of heart. The heart is pure when it is governed by the mind, and the mind by constant prayer. The fight against demons takes place through thoughts and visions, which are stronger in solitude and silence.
(Note: The meaning of the answer. Solitude constantly provides opportunities for struggle with the most subtle thoughts sown by demons. The permanence of this spiritual feat, along with the variety of experiences of struggle, teaches spiritual self-management and forms a habit in it. In it, in turn, is all the spiritual perfection of a monk and every Christian).
3. Question: What is the meaning of Father Anthony's saying: "Just as a fish dies out of water, so a monk who stays out of his cell for a long time is in danger?"
Answer: The life of the soul consists in the constant loving contemplation of God. It is truly worthy to be called the life of the soul, uniting in itself and uniting the mind and heart. And so, a monk who walks around the cities will be distracted by sights and conversations, and will deprive himself of spiritual life and die. For he distances himself from God and forgets Him, and expels from his heart the love for Christ that he acquired with many efforts hidden in his cell. In addition, his love for deprivations and hardships weakens in him, and he gives himself over to pleasing the body and pleasures. The purity of his heart is clouded by the images that pass before his eyes, which enter and exit through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. In a word, all this leads him to fornication and other passions that are the true death and ruin of a monk. And so, blessed Anthony said well: "Just as fish die when they are pulled ashore, so does a monk who, leaving his cell, spends his time in cities and towns."
4. Question: Father Anthony says: "He who lives in solitude is free from three struggles, that is, from the trials of the tongue, sight, and hearing. For him, only the struggle of the heart remains." Explain to us the words of the blessed one.
Answer: He did not say this to show that the struggle in silence and solitude is less than the struggle that exists among the brothers who are tempted by sight, hearing, and speech. He shows by these words that those who live in solitude do not have the struggle that comes from the senses, by which others are tempted more than they do by the struggle of the heart, which is stirred up in them by demons. Our fathers went into solitude so that the struggle of the heart would not be intensified by temptations from the side of sight, tongue, and hearing. For, just as brothers in monasteries who now go out, now come in, now are outside the monastery, now are in the monastery, easily fall, because in them the struggle of the heart is united with the struggle that comes from the bodily senses, so monks who live in silence or solitude and who are disturbed only by the struggle of the heart fall easily, if they too are approached by the struggle from the bodily senses. This was shown in those brothers (monks) to whom, while they were living in solitude, women came for some reason. Then, in their case, the sight of the body and the beauty of the face were united with the struggle of the heart, and they, defeated by the strengthened struggle of the heart, fell. That precisely in those who live in solitude the struggle of the heart is stronger and fiercer than the struggle on the part of the bodily senses, can be seen from the words of the blessed Evagrius, who says that with monks who live in solitude the demons themselves wage war, directly, while against those who live in families and are zealous for progress in virtue, they arouse and raise dissolute monks, of whom there is none more fierce, more tedious, and more cunning.
5. Question: What does the following saying of the holy father Anthony signify: "The cell of a monk is the furnace of Babylon, the place of the three young men among whom was the Son of God, and the pillar of fire from which God spoke to Moses?"
Answer: Just as fire has two properties, one of which is painful heat and the other joyful light, so patient residence in a cell has two effects, one of which burdens and disturbs beginners in solitude (sometimes with extreme exhaustion, sometimes with struggle), and the other rejoices with success, making serene those who have transcended passions, become perfect in purity and have been granted bright visions. The meaning of the mention of the three young men who saw the Son of God is as follows: just as Ananias, Azariah, and Mishael, being thrown into a fiery furnace in Babylon, were not burned, or even scorched, because an angel of God was sent to them to remove their chains and protect them from the destructive effects of the fire, so also the brothers who live in solitude and initially endure a difficult struggle with the passions raised by demons, the gracious help of our Lord Jesus Christ never leaves them, but clearly visits them and abides with them, so that, after they have conquered their passions and enemies, it may merit them the grace of perfect love and the bright glory of God.
6. Question: What is the meaning of the following saying of Father Anthony: "One should not return evil for evil. And if a monk has not yet reached that stage, he should keep to silence and solitude?" How can this (i.e., not being angry) be achieved through solitude?
Answer: The weak brother who insults his brother with his tongue and harbors hatred for him in his heart, who remains in his cell and abstains from conversation with people, suppressing evil thoughts and constantly approaching prayers and the reading of Scripture, will finally be visited by the grace of peace, his heart will be enlightened and his spirit will rejoice in the Lord, having gained freedom from passion. Looking at the cross of the Lord, he will be inflamed with love for Him, and, kissing it, he will stop to think about how God, according to the Scripture, so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for it (John 3:16), that God showed his love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). If God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up to death, and that to a shameful death on the cross, how could he not with him freely give us all things (Rom 8:32), or how could he deny us anything? The great love and grace of Christ prompts us not only to think that we should not live for our own desires, but for Him who died for us (2 Cor 5:14-15), but also to look to Jesus as the principle and model of suffering, since He endured death on the cross for us and endured such shame, in order to sit down again at the right hand of God on high. So if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17), and if we suffer with Him, we will also be enriched with Him (2 Tim 2:12).
That is why the apostle Paul advises us, saying: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2) See how much He endured for sinners who were enemies of their souls. Do not be discouraged and do not lose heart in your souls because you suffer anguish, insults, reproaches, and death for love of Him. Ask in your prayers for forgiveness from those who do you harm, just as the Lord prayed for those who crucified him, saying: Father, forgive them; they know not what they do! (Lk 23:34), and just as Saint Stephen asked our Lord for forgiveness from those who stoned him, saying: Lord, do not hold this sin against them! (Acts 7:60) A monk who, sitting alone in his cell, will reason in this way will be strengthened in spirit and in the Lord will master all his passions. He will not only not offend anyone or be angry with anyone, nor return evil for evil, but will rejoice with great joy and consider it an honor when he happens to suffer insult and disgrace. This is the kind of moral strength that a monk acquires in his cell as a result of solitude, attention to himself and patient fulfillment of the commandments of Christ, such as fasting, prayer, contemplation of God and other virtues that are characteristic of solitude. Therefore, the blessed father Anthony said very well: "If a monk cannot restrain his tongue from insults, murmuring and talkativeness, and if he is not able to keep his heart from such falls, let him, as a last resort, resort to solitude and silence."
7. Question: Once the brothers came to Father Anthony and said to him: "Give us a commandment that we can fulfill." He answered them: " It is written in the Gospel: On the contrary, if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. " (Mt 5:39) They answered him: "We cannot fulfill that at all." The elder said to them: "If you cannot turn the other cheek, at least patiently endure a blow on one cheek." They said: "We cannot do that either." He also said to them: "If you cannot do that either, at least do not strike back at the one who strikes you." They said: "We cannot do that either." Then the great elder said to his disciple: "Prepare some food for the brothers, since they are sick." What do these words of the holy father mean?
Answer: He wanted to say that nothing could be done with them, except to feed them and let them go. However, since the elder concluded by saying that they needed prayer, it can be thought that by food he meant the prayers of the elders. He seemed to say: "If you cannot do either one or the other, you need prayer. Just as the sick need special food because of the weakness of their stomachs, which cannot accept a variety of food, so you, who have such a weak mind that you cannot fulfill even the smallest part of the Lord's commandments, need healing and healing of the soul. You need the prayers of the fathers who will be able to obtain them for you."
8. Question: The holy father Anthony said: "Seeing the snares of the devil spread out on the earth, I groaned and said: 'Woe to the human race! Who can escape from them!' And they said to me: 'Humility saves from them. They cannot restrain it.'" How did the saint see these snares: sensually or mentally? And who were those who said to him: 'Humility saves from them. They cannot restrain it?'"
Answer: Father Macarius of Egypt, a disciple of Father Antony, also saw all the traps of the devil in the inner Scythian desert at the same time as Father Antony, only in a different form. Saint Macarius saw demons in the form of two men, one of whom was dressed in tattered clothes with patches of different colors. The body of the other was covered with worn clothes over which a kind of trap of empty gourds was draped. Next to them was someone else who was covered with wings in the form of a blanket. Father Makarije saw them with his physical eyes. Saint Anthony, on the other hand, with the eye of the mind, as seen in vision, saw all the traps of the devil, which he always prepares for the monks, taking care to entangle them, catch them and hinder them from successfully completing their walk on the path of virtues, as it is written: Arrogant they secretly continue the trap, they weave a net with ropes, they set traps for me along the way. (Ps 140:6) And so, he saw that the devil's traps were spread across the earth just as hunters prepare theirs. He was amazed and terrified by what he saw. There were so many traps and nets, snares and chains that not even a beast could escape. she would not be able to get out if she fell into them. Under such a vision, all the bodily and mental passions with which demons tempt monks were shown to Saint Anthony. He saw holy angels who indicated to him by name the trap of every passion: the trap of indulging the stomach or overeating, the trap of avarice, the trap of fornication, vanity, pride, and others. In addition, they showed him all the cunning and cunning with which the devil prepares traps and ambushes to trip the brothers, entangle them, and stop their progress on the great path of God's love. When, Overcome with terror at all these traps, he groaned and said: ''Woe to us monks! How can we escape and be saved from these traps? How can we not get entangled in them?" and the angels told him: "Humility saves from all of them. Whoever acquires it will never get entangled or fall." However, They did not say that only through humility can passions and demons be conquered. It is necessary to have other works and feats along with humility. Humility alone will not bring any benefit, just as works without humility mean nothing. Works without humility are like flesh sprinkled earth and not salt, which easily spoils and decays. And so, physical labor, inner struggle of the mind, solitude and constant prayer with perfect humility overcome all passions and demons. The angels told Father Anthony that the demons cannot even approach.
9. Question: Father Anthony said: "If we perform a feat as a good feat, we should constantly fear and constantly humble ourselves before God, so that, knowing our weakness, He may cover us with His right hand and protect us. For if we become arrogant, He will remove His covering and we will perish." What is the meaning of this saying of the blessed one?
Answer: We should always humble ourselves, both in times of anxiety, suffering and struggle, and in times of peace and tranquility from struggle. We need humility at all times: in times of struggle it attracts help and gives us strength to bear the weight of suffering, and in times of peace and rest from struggle it protects us from pride and keeps us from falling. We should also humble ourselves because we give in to laziness and fall into forgetfulness of God. Our obvious powerlessness in this will of itself lead us to humility and force us to reject all pride. God does not want us to always find ourselves in dangers and difficulties. By His gentleness and love for mankind, He covers us and interrupts the attacks of passions and the cruelty of demons. And so, if in times of struggle and exploit we resort to humility because of danger and hardship, and in times of peace and security from the struggle we forget God and become puffed up with pride, it is certain that He will remove His covering, and we will perish defeated and despairing. Therefore, humility is necessary at all times. In every place and in every activity we have need of it in every way.
10. Question: One of the fathers prayed to God to show him all the fathers. He was given the opportunity to see all of them except the holy father Anthony. The one who showed them to him said: "Father Anthony is where God is." How did he see all the fathers and why did he not see Father Anthony?
Answer: Either the old man's mind was taken to heaven, and he saw the fathers there, or the fathers themselves came to him, or Antonius showed them to him through a vision. Father, on the other hand, he did not see Anthony for two reasons: to show the greatness of the glory of Saint Anthony, and because of that, that old man would be humbled, i.e. so that he would not be puffed up with pride because he had seen all the fathers. By fulfilling his request and giving him a vision, God obliged him to follow his fathers. The fact that he did not deign to see Saint Anthony meant that the old man did not have enough strength to follow him. And with that he encouraged himself to trample on pride and humble himself.
11. Question: Once Father Ammon the Immaculate came to Father Anthony and said to him: "I see that I have more deeds than you. How is it that your name is more celebrated among people than mine?" Saint Anthony answered him: "It is because I love God more than you." With what intention was this said to him?
Answer: Neither Father Ammon boasted of his works, nor Father Anthony of his love. The purpose of their words was this: As the first founders of monasticism and the originators of the hermit life, these saints had in mind to establish by mutual agreement and to show to all monks that the internal constitution of the mind is more important than bodily feats. For this internal attitude of the mind directs and inspires the soul of the monk to perfect love for God, which makes him worthy of seeing and revealing the glory of God. Bodily feats free the monk from bodily passions, establish him in virtue, give strength to reject lust, and deliver purity to the body. The feat of the mind, on the other hand, arms the soul against demons and the thoughts they sow, and gives purity of the heart. The heart itself gains strength from love, becoming worthy to be guided by the Spirit. It is not necessary that the glory of everyone who advances in virtue and loves the Lord be spread among people. Thus, father Paul, the founder of hermit life and the first-born among the monks (whom father Antonije sometimes called the prophet Elijah, sometimes John the Baptist, and sometimes the apostle Paul) was completely unknown among people during his lifetime. However, as I have already said, both fathers wanted to strengthen us and teach us which way of asceticism or performing feats is more priority, i.e. physical or spiritual. Having reached perfection, the spiritual feat (consisting of the inner hidden struggle of the mind, constant prayer and thoughts of God) elevates the monk's mind into a spiritual constitution consisting of spiritual prayer, admiration of God, contemplation of God and seeing the glory of the Lord our God, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen!
12. Question: The Holy Father Anthony said that God does not allow the devil to cause a great battle against this race, because he is powerless. How is that?
Answer: God has pity on this generation and does not allow it to be too oppressed by the devil, since we do not have much fervor for love of God and zeal for good works. And so, the devil attacks us less because of our weakness and laziness.
13. Question: What do the following words of Father Anthony mean: "If the miller did not cover the eyes of the mule, he would not be able to gain anything, since the mule would fall from dizziness and the work would be interrupted. Similarly, we are covered by God's action. We also do good at first without seeing it, so that we do not begin to consider ourselves blessed and so that our efforts would not be in vain. Because of this, we sometimes fall into shameful thoughts so that, seeing them, we would reproach ourselves. These shameful thoughts are the cover for the little good we do. Will the man who reproaches himself not lose his reward?" Explain to us what is useful in this saying.
Answer: Not all saints are deigned to see visions. They do not even see the good they do, nor the promises that are prepared for them, although they are full of good deeds and virtues. And this is not because God does not rejoice in their virtues or is not consoled by their good deeds. God will not diminish anything from the reward prepared for the good - not at all! However, He does this so that virtuous people will not be carried away by pride, which would destroy the value of their virtues, so that they would not be deprived of the goods prepared for them and would not become strangers to the grace of God. God protects them because they are good workers and are diligent in virtues, although sometimes He allows demons to mock them by sowing shameful thoughts in them, instilling fear in them, or inflicting wounds on them, all so that they will know their weakness and be always careful and attentive. For as long as they are in this world, their life is changeable and fickle. Just as the thought of the treasures prepared for them for good works supports them in zeal and constant doing of good, so too the awareness of their shortcomings and weakness distances them from pride and makes them ready for every form of humility and to be careful not to lose their virtue at the moment when they are to receive double joy from our Lord Jesus Christ in the infinite Kingdom of Heaven.
14. Question: Father Elenius from Syria came to Father Antonius. Seeing him, Father Antonius said: "Welcome, Dawn, who rises in the morning." Father Elenius replied to him: "Hello, bright pillar, who adorns the earth." Who is this Elenius? And why did the blessed one call him that?
Answer: This Elenius lived in the time of Father Antonius and was equal to him in the degree of perfection and in deeds. The emperor Constantine the Victorious praised him, saying: "I thank the Lord Jesus Christ that in my days there are three divine lights: the blessed Father Antonius, Father Elenius and Father Evchinus." He said this because they far surpassed all the monks who lived and were known at that time. Father Antonius called him the Daystar because he surpassed all the monks of his time in the light of grace, just as the Daystar surpasses all other stars in size and brightness. For his part, he also called Father Antonius a bright pillar that adorns the earth, wanting to show that he was not unaware of the height of perfection and the greatness of the light of grace given to him.
15. Question: Father Anthony said: "We fail because we do not know our measure and our duty, because we do not know what the work we are undertaking requires, but we want to achieve virtue without effort. Therefore, as soon as we encounter temptation in the place where we live, we move on to another, thinking that somewhere there is a place where the devil is not. However, he who has known what battle is, perseveres (everywhere) in battle with God's help, since our Lord said: For behold, the kingdom of God is among you!" (Luke 17:21) What does he indicate with these words?
Answer: The meaning of his words is this: Monks move from one place to another, expecting to find a place where the devil is not. However, encountering temptations even where they have moved, they move away to another place. The meaning of what our Lord said: For behold, the kingdom of God is among you, is that we monks, who have left the world and, at the command of our Lord, have taken up our cross, following Him, should remain in one place, caring only for the salvation of our souls, enduring all kinds of struggles that meet us. For the sake of love for God and for the sake of fulfilling His will (which consists in keeping His commandments), we should patiently endure all the struggles and temptations that come from passions, demons, and people. They, however, as inexperienced in combat and unaccustomed to any burden, rush to other places, expecting to find peace from combat and refuge from thoughts. That is why they move from place to place and from one country to another. But let us remain in our places. If a battle or a temptation befall us, let us resort to fasting, prayer, let us bow our knees, beating our breasts before the cross of our Lord, with tears and heartfelt cries asking for help and salvation from Him, since He is always near and dwells in us, as it is written: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (Ps 34:19), and as the Lord Himself said: For behold, the kingdom of God is among you! (Lk 17:21) i.e. I dwell in you. For the kingdom of God is Christ, who always dwells in us. Blessed Paul also says: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you. (1 Cor 3:16)
And not only does He live in us, but we also live in Him, as He Himself said: Abide in Me, and I in you. (John 15:4) And so, if we abide in God and if we are His dwelling place, let us not leave our Lord in times of temptation, tribulation, and struggle, and let us not move, seeking help and refuge in places and countries, but let us endure in our places, praying to the Lord who dwells in us to give us help and deliver us. At the same time, let us reveal our thoughts to our fathers, asking for their prayers as help. Suffering in our places, let us always resort to the cover of our Savior, and He will undoubtedly make us victors in all our struggles.
SAINT ANTHONY THE HERMIT
A few words about the life and writings of St. Anthony the Hermit
Having laid the foundation for the solitary hermit's feat, St. Anthony represents with his life the ideal of pleasing God and at the same time the path that every willing soul should take towards the Christian perfection that is available to people on earth. The life of St. Anthony was described by St. Athanasius. Here we will only point out its general features. God's choice of St. Anthony for the work that he later accomplished appeared in his childhood. His quiet, sensitive nature, prone to loneliness, distanced him from the children's mischief and jokes of his friends, keeping him at home in front of the eyes of his parents who guarded him like the apple of their eye. He grew up in such separation from people, leaving the house only to go to church. With such a development and order in life, the grace of God received at baptism freely acted on the building of the spirit and without any special effort on his part. It is natural that he early felt the sweetness of life according to God and that he was inflamed with divine desire, as St. Athanasius says. Finding no obstacle to such a life at home, since his parents were of the same spirit, Saint Anthony showed no intention of separating from them, as long as his parents were alive and delivered him from the inevitable worries of life. However, when they went to God, as an older man, he was obliged to take over the care of managing the house and supporting his sister. The new circumstances immediately gave him the opportunity to feel the difference between a life according to God and a full-hearted care for earthly things, which quickly gave rise in him the desire to leave everything and live only for God. With such a development, having heard in church the word of the Lord: If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. (Mt 19:21), and then another: Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow. (Mt 6:34), his desire was sealed with God's seal. In these words he heard God's answer to the questions of his conscience, and at the same time God's command and blessing for the fulfillment of the hidden desires and aspirations of his heart. He made a firm decision and, having given up everything, began to live only for God. The first years of his life after renouncing the world, Saint Anthony spent the same as other then-famous ascetics. He learned everything from them. It is known that asceticism, which consisted in renouncing the world and all life's worries and zeal only for how to please the Lord, was established in the Church of God from its very foundation as an indispensable necessity of its organization. It received its first fundamental laws from the holy apostles. In the beginning, ascetics or hermits, as people who dedicated themselves to this form of life were called, separating themselves from the world, stayed in their homes, secluding themselves in some side corner and giving themselves over to prayer, the thought of God, fasting, vigils and all kinds of feats. Over time, as Christianity spread spatially and numerically, many hermits began to leave their families and move away from cities and villages, spending their lives in solitude. They used natural caves, abandoned graves, or specially made small cells. In the time of Saint Anthony, the most zealous hermits lived in exactly this way. And he wanted to imitate them. The basis of the ascetic or hermitic life is obedience. Saint Anthony adhered to it, imitating other hermits. The essence of obedience consists in strengthening the heart with Christian virtues and in adopting the rules of the ascetic life under the guidance of experienced elders. Saint Anthony adopted Christian virtues through home upbringing. It remained for him to learn what feats were necessary for one who had resolved to be zealous in life according to God, and how to perform them. For this purpose he went to the then famous ascetics. Having learned what and how to do, he would return to his solitary abode as if with some gain. In this way, as Saint Athanasius notes, he, like a wise bee, gathered spiritual honey from all sides, arranging it in his heart as in a hive. From one he received strictness in renouncing food, sleeping on the bare ground and long vigils, from another he learned tireless prayer, attentiveness to thoughts and thoughts about God, the third was an example for him of sacrifice, fidelity to the rules and suffering, while from all of them he borrowed one and the same spirit of firm faith in Christ the Lord and brotherly love for all. He took care to gather in himself everything in which each of the fathers he saw distinguished himself individually. Without checking his life with the lives of others and without outside guidance, no one has reached a higher level of ascetic life. Saint Anthony entrusted his life to the aforementioned elders. Under their guidance, he was guided on the unwavering path of perfection. In this obedient upbringing, he spent fifteen years, living outside the village in a tomb, first nearby, and then a little further away, where a friend, a peasant, would come to him and bring him bread,the unique food he used. The peasant would then take his handiwork, since Saint Anthony supported himself by the labor of his own hands. He divided all his time between handiwork, prayer, and contemplation of the divine truths of the Holy Scriptures. He was also strengthened in such activity by the angel of God who appeared to him when he was once tormented by the spirit of despair. How his life then flowed can be seen from the testimony given by Sozomen (Church History, book 1, chapter 13): ''Realizing that a good life can become pleasant when it turns into a habit, although it is initially difficult, he invented increasingly strict forms of ascetic experiment, becoming more and more restrained every day. He seemed to always be just beginning, adding a new force of zeal. He restrained bodily pleasures with effort, while he armed himself against spiritual passions with divine hatred. His food was bread with salt, his drink - water, and the time for meals - sunset. He would often go without food for two or more days. It can be said that he spent the whole night in vigil and that he met the day in prayer. If he did sleep, it was for minutes. He mostly slept on the bare ground, which served as his bed. He did not allow himself to be anointed with oil, bathed, or other comforts so that his body would not become soft. He could not bear laziness, so that work did not leave his hands almost the whole day.'' Saint Anthony walked such a narrow path. As is known, however, such a life cannot pass without a struggle, just as there is no light without a shadow. If there were no sin in us and if we had no enemies, only good would develop and grow unhindered. However, since both exist, a struggle is necessary. It is necessary to make them powerless and defeat them, so that they can move on freely. Until then, they will tie the hands and feet of anyone who wants to go straight, no matter who he is. Dwelling in the spirit of Saint Anthony, the grace of God allowed a struggle to develop within him in order to test him like gold in the fire and to establish his moral powers, giving them space to operate. The enemy was given access, and the ascetic was supported by hidden help.drink – water, and meal time – sunset. He would often go without food for two or more days. It can be said that he spent the whole night in vigil and that he met the day in prayer. If he did sleep, it was for minutes. He mostly slept on the bare ground, which served as his bed. He did not allow himself to be anointed with oil, bathed, and other comforts so that his body would not become soft. He could not tolerate laziness, so that work did not leave his hands almost the whole day.'' Saint Anthony walked such a narrow path. As is known, however, such a life cannot pass without a struggle, just as there is no light without a shadow. If there were no sin in us and if we did not have enemies, only good would develop and grow unhindered. However, since both exist, a struggle is necessary. It is necessary to render them powerless and defeat them, so that we can move on freely. Until then, they will bind the hands and feet of anyone who wants to go straight, whoever he may be. Dwelling in the spirit of Saint Anthony, the grace of God allowed a struggle to develop within him in order to test him like gold in the fire and to establish his moral powers, giving them space to operate. The enemy was given access, and the ascetic was supported by hidden help.drink – water, and meal time – sunset. He would often go without food for two or more days. It can be said that he spent the whole night in vigil and that he met the day in prayer. If he did sleep, it was for minutes. He mostly slept on the bare ground, which served as his bed. He did not allow himself to be anointed with oil, bathed, and other comforts so that his body would not become soft. He could not tolerate laziness, so that work did not leave his hands almost the whole day.'' Saint Anthony walked such a narrow path. As is known, however, such a life cannot pass without a struggle, just as there is no light without a shadow. If there were no sin in us and if we had no enemies, only good would develop and grow unhindered. However, since both exist, a struggle is necessary. It is necessary to render them powerless and defeat them, so that we can move on freely. Until then, they will bind the hands and feet of anyone who wants to go straight, whoever he may be. Dwelling in the spirit of Saint Anthony, the grace of God allowed a struggle to develop within him in order to test him like gold in the fire and to establish his moral powers, giving them space to operate. The enemy was given access, and the ascetic was supported by hidden help.
Saint Athanasius described this struggle at length. The devil's arrows, he says, were very noticeable. The brave fighter, however, repelled them, not wavering at all. First, the devil tried to sway him with sorrow for leaving the world, bringing to his mind on the one hand - neglect of noble lineage, vain abandonment of considerable wealth and useless rejection of all the comforts of life, and especially an abandoned sister without support, care and comfort, and on the other hand - the heaviness and cruelty of the inconsolable life that had begun, the unaccustomedness and insufferability of the body, which, supposedly, would not endure such deprivations and the long duration of such a life with no end in sight, distance from people, the absence of all comforts and constant self-mortification. With these reminders, the enemy caused a great storm of thoughts. However, he was not only repelled by the determination of Saint Anthony, who held fast to his intention and his resolution, but also overthrown by his great faith that all he had left and suffered was nothing compared to the infinite treasures that God had prepared for the ascetics. The saint knew that it was easiest to please God if a man was free from all the cares of life and the flesh. By his incessant prayers, which drew into his heart the sweetest spiritual consolations, the enemy was cast into the dust. Defeated on this side, the devil attacked the young warrior from another, with which he was accustomed to overthrow youth: he began to tempt him with carnal lust, disturbing him at night and disturbing him by day. The struggle was so fierce and prolonged that he could not hide it from others. The devil planted impure thoughts, and Saint Anthony repelled them with prayer; The first inflamed the limbs, and the second cooled them by fasting, vigils, and all kinds of fatigue; the first assumed a female form at night, striving in every way to provoke sinful temptation, and the second ascended to heaven in thought, contemplated the beauties there, and by recalling the lordship with which the Lord Jesus Christ had deigned to defile our nature, dispelled the deceptive deception; the wicked one was provoked to a feeling of sweetness that comes from pleasure, and the blessed one opposed it with the terrible bitterness of torment in eternal fire and remained unharmed by the memory of the sleepless worm. The persistence and ugliness of the attack finally formed in the attacked one such aversion to all impure movements and such anger with strong irritation, that the enemy was deprived of the opportunity even to approach him or to tempt and disturb him from afar from that side. For the feeling of hatred and aversion to passionate movements are fiery arrows that fire at the enemy. In this way, too, the all-wise man was defeated by the youth who bore the passionate body. He retreated in shame because the servant of God was helped by the Lord Himself, who for our sake bore the body and destroyed in it all the power of the devil. Every true ascetic or ascetic therefore confesses with the apostle: Yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Cor 15:10) However, the misanthropist had not yet exhausted all his strength. Seeing the protection of God over the young warrior, and knowing that he overshadows only the humble, the enemy conceived the idea of depriving him of heavenly help by inducing him to arrogance and pride. Therefore, he appeared in the form of a little black boy, and with feigned humiliation said to Saint Anthony: "You have conquered me." By this he meant to lead the saint to the idea of attributing the victory to himself, thereby falling into arrogance and rejecting God who had helped him. However, Saint Anthony asked him: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am the spirit of fornication that arouses carnal lust and incites to carnal sin. I have deceived many of those who have taken a vow of chastity. I have led to the fall of many of those who have long mortified their bodies. You, however, have broken all my traps and broken all my arrows, so that I have been cast down.” Then Saint Anthony, thanking God his Savior, exclaimed: The Lord is with me, my help, and I see my enemies in confusion. (Ps 118:7) Then, looking without fear at the enemy, he said: “God has allowed you to appear to me black in order to expose the darkness of your evil thoughts, and as a boy in order to distort your weakness. For this reason you are worthy of all contempt.” At these words, that unclean spirit fled as if burned by fire and no longer approached blessed Anthony. Victory over passions brings one closer to perfection. To the extent that it is established, perfection also brings with it peace of mind. Peace of mind, however, together with sweet feelings that come with prayer and thoughts about God, gives birth to spiritual warmth in the heart which, gathering in itself all the powers of the spirit, soul and body, leads a person into himself. Then he felt a strong need to be alone with God alone. This irresistible inner aspiration towards God represents the second stage on the path of spiritual progress. Saint Anthony had just stepped onto it. And until then, he had been mostly lonely. A friend from his village rarely came to visit him, and he himself would sometimes go to the elders or to the village church for worship - especially for the liturgy. All of this was connected with a kind of dispersion, no matter how much he otherwise guarded himself. Striving towards the interior, Saint Anthony's spirit required complete solitude, without any visions or encounters.
As has been indicated, the soul comes to this desire on its own, walking the true path of asceticism. However, this upheaval is accelerated and given a decisive impetus by a certain strong urge for self-denial. The opportunity to express such an urge was provided to Saint Anthony by the case of an open attack by demons. Deprived of the opportunity to act on the soul that had been purified through thought, the demons began to appear in dreams, to appear visibly and to tempt the ascetic, hoping to harm him and to shake his good intentions. The grace of God permitted such attacks for the sake of the ascetic's progress, for his elevation to a higher level of spiritual life, providing him at the same time with power over the tempter spirits (demons) themselves. The most important moment in which the saint's determination was manifested was in his desire to be returned to his solitary abode, despite the fierce struggle with the demons. Namely, by God's permission, the demons beat him to the point that he lost consciousness. In this state, his friend found him and brought him to the church chapel. When he came to himself, he said to him: "Carry me again to my lonely place." In this way, he expressed that he had surrendered himself to death for the sake of living according to God. This meant in effect dying for the Lord. His readiness was obvious. The readiness to die for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of pleasing Him is a victorious weapon for Him. Nothing can tempt or frighten the one who possesses it. It is considered the initial principle of asceticism and the strength that sustains Him throughout its duration. Throughout all the days of His earthly life, our Lord and Savior, seeing death before Him, finally overcame it with His human nature in the Garden of Gethsemane, during the prayer struggle. The suffering and death on the cross fulfilled in action what was said there. This was followed by a three-day deathly rest before the glorious resurrection. All souls who follow the Lord pass the same path. The first step on this path is self-denial. However slight, it always possesses a certain degree of readiness for death. Then self-denial grows, and this readiness also grows. In fact, this readiness is the soul of self-denial. To one who reaches the measure of readiness that the Savior had in the garden, the ascent to the cross soon awaits him, and then spiritual death rest, followed by spiritual resurrection in the glory of the Lord Jesus. All this was realized in the spirit of Saint Anthony. By his words to his friend to return him to where he was tortured, he showed that in his spirit it was the same as in the spirit of the Savior at the moment when he said to his disciples in the garden: Arise, let us go! Behold, my betrayer has drawn near. (Mt 26:46) This was followed by his retreat into the farthest desert and a twenty-year stay in silence – like a kind of crucifixion and deathly silence in the spirit. As soon as he had recovered from the suffering inflicted on him by the demons, the saint set out for the desert, two or three days' journey from inhabited places. There he settled in an abandoned idol dwelling where there was a well of water. His friend brought him bread twice a year. What feats and what labors he endured there and what happened to him, no one knows. However, judging by how he came out of that prison, it must be concluded that this was a time of his being built up by the Holy Spirit. Something similar to what happens to a caterpillar when it curls up into a larva was happening: no one sees it and it seems to have died. However, the life-giving force of nature is at work in it and in due time a beautiful, multi-colored butterfly emerges from the larva. So it was with Saint Anthony. No one saw what was happening to him. However, the Spirit of God, largely unnoticed even by himself, built a new man in him, in the image of the one who created him. After the time of building was over, he was commanded to go out to serve those who believe. And he went out, clothed with the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. Just as Christ rose from the dead in the glory of the Father, so now Saint Anthony came out to life renewed by the Spirit.
This completed the formation of the spirit of Saint Anthony. The rest of his life was nothing more than the fruition of the first two periods of his asceticism. The third period of his life is his service to the Church, his apostolate. Anyone who reads his biography by Saint Athanasius can see how fruitful this service was. He served with all the gifts of grace. And which of them did he not have? He had the gift of miracles, the gift of power over demons, over the forces of nature and over animals, the gift of discerning thoughts, the gift of seeing what is happening in the distance, the gift of revelation and vision. However, the most fruitful and most applied was certainly the gift of the word. With it he served his little brothers most abundantly. Saint Athanasius writes that God gave Saint Anthony a powerful word, which penetrates to the depths of the heart. He knew how to speak with such power to benefit everyone that many of the notable people – nobles and citizens, people with considerable wealth – cast off all the worries of life and became monks. Who among those who came to him with sorrow did not return joyful? Who among those who came to him with tears in their eyes because of the death of a neighbor did not immediately stop crying? Who among those who came to him with anger did not transform their anger into meekness? Which of the negligent monks did not, upon visiting him, become zealous and determined in their asceticism? Which of the young men who saw Saint Anthony did not renounce comfort and who did not love chastity? How many girls, who already had their fiancés, passed into the ranks of brides of Christ simply because they saw Saint Anthony from afar? From this testimony it is obvious that Saint Anthony did not close the source of his God-given knowledge. They came to him mainly to hear and receive the word of truth and to find the necessary guidance. According to the apostle, he taught, explained, and prayed for everything. Sometimes his words poured out like a plentiful stream (as can be seen in the biography of Saint Athanasius), and sometimes he uttered shorter teachings (as we see in his 20 short teachings). However, most often he limited himself to short sayings, full of meaning and power. These short sayings were then passed on in large numbers from mouth to mouth, forming a certain mobile ascetic constitution, and finally entered the collections of pearls of the holy fathers. Sometimes Saint Anthony wrote epistles to his spiritual children, monks of various families, and in them he outlined the general features of life in Christ Jesus or healed the individual weaknesses of the brothers. Everything that came out of the mouth of Saint Anthony and that has been written down will provide rich food for the soul seeking instruction. Amen!
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