What is nourishment in Orthodoxy. Spiritual guidance in monasteries
- FEEDING in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
- FEEDING in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
nourishment,… - FEEDING in the Spelling Dictionary:
feeding, ... - JAPANESE COMPOUND OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
open orthodox encyclopedia"TREE". Compound of the Russian Orthodox Church in Japan. Address: Metochy of the Moscow Patriarchate in Tokyo, 2-12-17, … - SOUTHERN-USSURIAN MOTHER OF GOD-CHRISTMAS MONASTERY in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". South Ussuri convent in honor of Christmas Holy Mother of God near the village of Linevichi (Vladivostok diocese). The address: … - YUVENALY (POYARKOV) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Yuvenaly (Poyarkov) (born 1935), Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna, patriarchal vicar of the Moscow diocese, permanent ... - ELUA NOYON in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Elua (Eloi), or Eligius (588 - c. 660), Bishop of Noyon, saint. Memory 1... - SERGIY (CHASHIN) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
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Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Seraphim (Shahmut) (1901 - c. 1946), Archimandrite Zhirovitsky, venerable martyr. Commemorated on August 24, ... - SERAPHIM (CHICHAGOV) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Seraphim (Chichagov) (1856 - 1937), Metropolitan, Hieromartyr. Commemorated on December 11, in ... - RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ABROAD in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is a self-governing Church within the Russian Orthodox Church. Synod of Bishops: 75 ... - PAUL (YAZIGI) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Pavel (Yazigi) (born 1959), Metropolitan of Aleppo and Iskanderon. In the world of Yazigi Rami, was born ... - DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL CHURCH RELATIONS in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, a synodal institution. Address: Russia, 115191, … - NIKODIM (ROTOV) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Nikodim (Rotov) (1929 - 1978), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod. In the world, Boris Georgievich ... - NIZHNETAGIL KAZAN MONASTERY in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Nizhny Tagil Monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Ekaterinburg diocese) Address: 622022 Sverdlovsk … - MITROFAN (NIKITIN) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Mitrofan (Nikitin) (born 1976), Bishop of Gorlovsky and Slavyansky. In the world Nikitin Andrey Viktorovich, was born ... - MACARIUS (WHISTER) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Macarius (Svistun) (1938 - 2007), Metropolitan of Vinnitsa and Mogilev-Podolsky. In the world Whistler Leonid ... - MAYKOP DIOCESE in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Maykop and Adyghe diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. Address: Russia, 385000, Republic of Adygea, … - KRYUCHKOV DMITRY IVANOVICH in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Kryuchkov Dmitry Ivanovich (1874 - 1952), priest, clergyman. Commemorated 27 August. … - KOVALEVSKY GENNADY VITALIEVICH in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
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Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Isaac (Antimonov) Optina I (or "senior") (1810 - 1894), schiarchimandrite, rector of Optina Hermitage ... - IOASAPH II MOSCOW in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Joasaph II (+ 1672), Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1667 -1672). From 1654 - ...
Spiritual nourishment- pastoral care for salvation, which consists in spiritual guidance and prayer.
Spiritual nourishment is a special form of pastoral service, consisting both in the humble teaching action of the pastor and in the assisting action of the grace of God. “The essential Agent in the pastoral ministry is the Holy Spirit, and the pastor is only the mediator of the outpouring of grace on the faithful,” says Bishop Benjamin (Milov).
Spiritual nourishment is inextricably linked with the idea of shepherding as a grace-filled mediation in the rebirth of people. The essence of shepherding is expressed by mediation not human, but gracious. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (cf. Rom. 8:9). “In the first four chapters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul defends the idea of the Divine, grace-filled mediation of shepherds against the false view of some Corinthian Christians, who are attached to the human advantages of their spiritual fathers.
In this regard, the essence of the pastoral ministry of the Lord is most correctly seen in grace-filled mediation (see John 10; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Heb. 13:20). About the successors of His ministry - the Apostles and their successors, shepherds, the Savior said: As the Father sent Me, so I send you (John 20:21). According to the expression of the Apostle Paul, pastors are co-workers, companions, servants of Christ, messengers of God, on behalf of Christ, that is, the same mediators and continuers of the work of Christ (see: 1 Cor. 3, 9-10; 4, 1-2, 9 ; 2 Corinthians 5:20). Everything is from God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us<Апостолам>ministry of reconciliation…” Bishop Benjamin (Milov). Pastoral theology with asceticism.
Archimandrite Savva (Fateev) and Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov).
Pastoral care, spiritual guidance in monasteries has always been a subject special attention Churches. In spiritual guidance, its succession, coming from the grace-filled patristic wisdom, monasticism drew strength on the only possible narrow path for itself to evangelical perfection. Now the problem of spiritual nourishment in monasteries- one of the sharpest. The discussion about the draft regulation on monasteries and monasticism clearly showed that this topic requires an informal attitude and should be developed more carefully. We are publishing today the text of the section on clergy, which we jointly prepared for Abbot of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Stauropegial Monastery, Archimandrite Savva (Fateev) and Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov) of the Stavropegic Holy Vvedensky Monastery of Optina Pustyn.
spiritual nourishment in monasteries Unlike convents requires greater attention and greater rigor, and especially because from among the brethren those capable of ordination to the holy order are selected. Naturally, this requires both a special calling of God and constant zeal for the fulfillment of monastic vows. And on the part of the abbot, there should be the most serious and careful attention to the fact that the brethren constantly exercise both in prayer and in a deep heartfelt assimilation of the word of God, without which neither the sanctification of a person, nor the birth from above (John 3:3) is possible, for the Lord Himself testifies in prayer to His Father: “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth” (John 17:17) and the Apostle Peter explains: “... love one another ... as you have been reborn not from a corruptible seed, but from an incorruptible from the living word and abiding forever” (1 Peter 1:22-23).
In ancient times, those wishing to become monks required a deep knowledge of the Gospel and the Psalter by heart (Bars. 142, Ladder. To the Shepherd. 14:5, Rule of St. Pachomius the Great, 55, 56, 99, 168). However, just one teaching in the law of God, even "day and night" (Ps. 1, 2), is not enough. The unclean spirits, although they know the whole law, nevertheless remain in sins. But since the word of God requires a correct understanding and assimilation in the spirit and love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10), then in the matter of spiritual nourishment for the spiritual success of the brethren, in addition to daily reading of the Holy Scriptures, it is also necessary to read the works of the Holy Fathers of the Church and to interpret the Holy Scriptures according to advice and under the control of the hegumen and the elder, to whom the brother was handed over from the Gospel.
For spiritual progress, it is extremely important to find in your soul the most powerful sins and vices, and with the help of prayer, the word of God and the advice of the holy fathers, make every effort to expel these main passions and vices from your soul. This is narrated in many patristic teachings, for example: “In spiritual achievement, one should primarily arm oneself against the initial passions: their consequences will be destroyed by themselves” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Ascetic Experiences, Vol. 1); “Eradicating a great passion, together with it you eradicate others, smaller ones” (Paisius the Holy Mountaineer, vol. 5, p. 10), - and this is practically the case with all the holy fathers (Ladder 15, 41; and others). In the patristic experience of spiritual progress and struggle with passions, we find some very important external material aids. For exercise in prayer, a rosary is used. And in the Ladder (4, 39) it is said that many brothers had little books behind their belts, in which the sins committed were recorded daily; others had small weekly tablets in which major sins (up to forty or more) were inscribed (or engraved); in a tablet at any time of the day it was possible to note with a pencil about some kind of error. This is very convenient for finding your main sins and constant control over yourself.
If correct spiritual guidance is established in the monastery and adherence to the commandments and teachings of Christ and His St. Church, then all the brethren and the monastery will be under the protection of God and will enjoy "serene tranquility and many spiritual fruits in holy love and unanimity" (Zosima (Verkhovsky), (St.) Rev. Teaching on obedience. Word 2 / / Zosima (Verkhovsky ) (St.) Rev. Creations. STS / 1, 2006. P. 247-248)
The general spiritual guidance of the inhabitants of the monastery is carried out by the hegumen. The abbot receives those who enter the monastery, during tonsures he is the recipient of the newly tonsured from the Holy Gospel and therefore bears responsibility for the spiritual success of the brethren. The abbot should, as often as possible, turn to the brethren with edification, inspiring them to zealously follow the monastic path and instructing everyone with a wise and soul-saving word. The brethren should be able to turn to the abbot with their difficulties, bewilderment and embarrassment.
The hegumen assigns to each brother, according to his inner dispensation and bodily strength, a prayer rule and determines how often a brother can come to Holy Communion.
The abbot determines the measure of spiritual and bodily obedience for each brother, making sure that these obediences help the monk in his spiritual perfection.
In the great, responsible and difficult work of spiritual nourishment, the abbot is guided by the Word of God, the God-wise Fathers' Scriptures, the rules of the Holy Church and the rules laid down in the Charter of the monastery.
In order to grow in spiritual life, all brethren need to treat their spiritual mentor (abbot) with deep reverence and respectful love, rendering him complete sincere obedience and presenting to him all their heartfelt feelings and thoughts for consideration, remembering that “salvation is in many ways council” and “who have no control, they fall like leaves” (St. Abba Dorotheos).
Revelation of thoughts and sins to the abbot, as well as confession (i.e., the Sacrament) performed by the abbot, when he deems it necessary and requires it, is an integral part of spiritual guidance and should be performed by the abbot as often as possible.
If the brotherhood increases significantly, then for spiritual guidance, the hegumen may appoint, in agreement with the ruling bishop, one or more fraternal confessors from among experienced, successful in spiritual life and unanimous with him monks who have holy orders. The confessor helps the abbot in the spiritual nourishment of the brethren, informing the abbot in a timely manner and as often as possible about the life and behavior of the brethren entrusted under his spiritual supervision, and especially about their errors. In this matter, there is no disclosure of the Sacrament of Confession, since the abbot, by his very position, should have the soul and sins of each of the brethren more open and known (not, of course, that the abbot divulges them himself). With all this, the confessor remains in obedience to the abbot and does everything in accordance with the will of the abbot and with his blessing. The appointment of a confessor does not relieve the hegumen of responsibility for spiritual guidance, since he is the spiritual father for the brethren.
Without an abbot, a monastic should not do anything in the spiritual matter of salvation on his own thought and will, for example, impose a fast or prayer rule on himself in excess of the prescribed, so as not to fall into delusion and not damage his salvation.
If any misunderstanding or quarrel occurs between the brethren, it is necessary to hasten to extinguish them by mutual forgiveness and humility, and immediately restore peace and love, remembering the testament of the Apostle Paul: “Let not the sun go down in your anger” (Eph. 4, 26).
Everywhere and always you need to refrain from idle talk: “I tell you that every idle word that people say will be answered on the Day of Judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12, 36).
A brother who violates monastic discipline may be subjected to spiritual discipline through the imposition of penance.
Penance should not be viewed as a punishing scourge, it is a necessary healing that heals spiritual illnesses and infirmities.
If patients consider doctors to be benefactors, although they give them bitter medicines, then one should have before one’s eyes the purpose for which penances are given, and accept them as a sign of mercy for the salvation of the soul (Basil the Great, rule 52).
Every sinner is given penance according to his condition and his infirmity. Just as it is impossible to treat various bodily diseases with the same medicine, so spiritual prohibitions should be of a diverse nature: “Just as there is no one healing for bodily ailments, so there is no one for mental ones,” says Isaac Sirin.
The following steps can be taken as a remedy:
relocation to another cell (not solitary);
transfer to another obedience, more difficult;
bowing down;
taking off clothes, whether a novice, or a monk, or a mantle monk;
appropriate temporary prayer rule.
Hieroschemamonk Ambrose infinitely loved the Lord, and all the love that his being was capable of, he gave to his Creator through His creation - through neighbors. Out of love for God, he left the world and embarked on the path of moral self-improvement. But just as love for God in Christianity is inextricably linked with the feat of love for one's neighbor, so the feat of personal improvement and personal salvation in the elder was never separated from the feat of serving the world.Brief information
The draft document, pursuant to paragraph 25 of the Instructions of the Consecrated Council of Bishops in 2013, based on the results of the 2012 general church discussion, was prepared by the commission of the Inter-Council Presence on the organization of the life of monasteries and monasticism, and then was finalized by the editorial commission of the Inter-Council Presence, chaired by the Patriarch.
The senile service of Father Ambrose began with the care of the brethren of Optina Pustyn. But the elder's service was not limited to the monastery. This ascetic, who lived in a small cell, managed to push its walls into boundless spaces. People of all ranks and positions, residents of the most distant provinces - everyone knew the humble and perspicacious Optina elder. Thousands of believing souls were drawn to Father Ambrose in Optina Hermitage. How often the cell-attendants of Father Ambrose, yielding to the numerous requests of visitors to report them to the elder, said to him: "Father, they are waiting for you." "Who's there?" - the old man will ask. "Moscow, Vyazma, Tula, Belevsky, Kadir and other peoples", - cell attendants answer. A ten-minute conversation with the elder was expected for several days. There were not enough coachmen to drive between Optina and Kaluga, as well as rooms in numerous Optina hotels.
Father Ambrose spent the whole day among the people who came to him for advice and revered their mentor. Making instructions to each according to his spiritual needs and spiritual development, he delved into the situation of everyone who turned to him, determining his personal character, his inclinations, and lovingly indicated the best outcome. Everyone left him comforted and with a relieved heart.
The spiritual experience of Elder Ambrose was so rich that he, as it were, read the thoughts of those who came to him and often pointed to their innermost secrets and in conversations veiledly denounced them. One day a nun came to him for confession and told him everything she remembered. When she finished, the elder himself began to tell her everything that she had forgotten. But regarding one sin, named by the priest, she claimed for a long time that she had not done it, and then the elder replied: “Forget about it, I said so.” And before he had finished his speech, the sister suddenly remembered that this sin had indeed been committed by her. Astonished, she offered sincere repentance. If the elder talked with someone in front of the people, then he was not in the habit of denouncing directly and sharply, but he taught so skillfully that his denunciation, despite the presence of many people, was understandable only to one to whom he referred.
Having learned on personal experience the saving grace of humility, the elder strove to teach this to his spiritual children. To the most urgent question of every person, how to live in order to be saved, the elder gave such joking answers: “We need to live without hypocrisy and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be right, otherwise it will be bad,” or: “You can live in the world, only not in the south, but to live quietly. "We have to, - the old man said - to live on earth as a wheel turns: with just one point it touches the earth, and the rest will certainly strive upwards; and as soon as we lay down on the ground, we can’t get up. ” At first glance, simple and playful words, but what a deep meaning they contain.
Father Ambrose received visitors either by talking with each one individually, or went out for a general blessing, first to the men, and then to the women. Sometimes in the summer he went out to the people in the air. The bent old man walked slowly along the poles, which were installed from the porch and served as a support for him to move, at the same time holding back the people from pressure. Father Ambrose stopped from time to time, giving answers to those who questioned him. Thousands of questions rained down on him from the crowd; he listened carefully. The elder was approached with all sorts of questions. "Father, - someone will ask - how can you bless me to live? "Father, - another asked, - Where will you bless me: get married or go to a monastery?” Questions one after another: “I am dying of poverty”; “I have lost everything that was dear to me in life. I have no reason to live"; “An incurable disease torments me. I can't help but grumble"; “My children, in whom I have invested my life and soul, have become my enemies”; “I have lost faith, I do not see the goodness of God. There are only curses on my tongue." Whom to go to, whom to trust, before whom to cry out the soul, who will remove from a person this stone numbness of long-term hopeless suffering? And everyone came to the elder as to the last refuge. And among these rapids of grief, sin and despair stood Father Ambrose with a loving heart, healing everyone. How many times he solved the most difficult, desperate and tangled questions of life with two or three friendly, heartfelt advice. Thus, apparently, someone's fate was decided in passing, important issues were resolved, but always with the blessing of the blessed elder it turned out well and the decision turned out to be wise and correct. Many, having some kind of business, wished only one thing, that at the beginning of this business the elder would silently bless them.
But not everyone came to Father Ambrose for business. Some only took away his time and thus burdened him greatly. He himself complained about such visitors in his letters: “Old age, weakness, impotence, much concern and forgetfulness, and many useless rumors do not allow me to come to my senses. One interprets that his head and legs are weak, the other complains that he has many sorrows; and another explains that he is in constant anxiety. And you listen to all this, and even give an answer; but you can’t get off with silence, they are offended and offended. And how hard it was for him to endure the grumbling of those whom he could not immediately accept due to pain. So one day, an exhausted old man with downcast eyes was barely wandering among the crowd of people, and after him someone’s voice was heard: “Such malice! walked by and did not look. “This is how we live day after day,” the elder wrote in one of his letters, “and we are reputed to be unfair in the reception of those who come and come. And my weakness and malfunction before God and people are to blame. And always the elder not only did not grieve over his illness, but was in a cheerful mood and even joked. And those who grumbled soon began to regret their impatience and asked the elder to forgive them. The elder received visitors until the evening, taking short breaks for meals and small rest. Sometimes after dinner, when the elder was weak, he received visitors in his cell. And after the evening rule, the monastic brethren came to him for daily confession of thoughts.