Hegumen Leonty (Kozlov)

Report by Hegumen Leonty (Kozlov), candidate of theology, treasurer of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, at the monastic conference “Organization of the internal life of monasteries” (Polotsk Spaso-Euphrosinievsky Stavropegic Convent of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Federation Orthodox Church; June 21–22, 2018)

Venerable rulers, honorable fathers, brothers and sisters! The topic of my report is quite specific and involves stating the current situation with the daily routine in the monasteries of the Holy Land. To do this, I collected information on the monasteries in which this routine is written and observed, arranging it in the form of two tables: for three men’s and for four convents(See Appendix to the report. – Ed.). First I would like to make a short historical introduction and then try to describe and comment on the current situation.

The monastic tradition comes to the Holy Land from Egypt in the person of a disciple St. Anthony The Great - St. Hilarion, who founded the first monasteries in the Gaza region at the beginning of the 4th century. In his time, they were a cluster of individual hermit cells in the desert, united only by the spiritual leadership of the great Abba. Later, a large monastic complex arose there, which did not survive the Arab invasion of the early 7th century, which is identified with the monastery of Abba Serid.

The monasteries around Jerusalem, in the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert constituted one historical area of ​​​​the spread of monasticism, which is called the Desert of the Holy City in the councils and in the works of the holy fathers. Its first monk is considered to be the Venerable Chariton the Confessor, who founded the Paran, Dukiy and Sukki laurels.

In the Byzantine period, in addition to individual hermits-hermites (from the Greek ἡ ἐρημία - loneliness. - Ed.), two main forms of monasticism were distinguished: the monastery, where the hermits lived in separate cells, took care of their livelihood independently, were spiritually nourished by one elder and they gathered together only in the church for joint prayer, and the cinema, a hostel, where the monks had common care for the monastery and met daily. In the Hermitage of the Holy City, the monasteries were also divided into laurels and hostels, the total number of monks of which reached 10–14 thousand in their heyday.

Due to such a large number of monastics Jerusalem Patriarchs to maintain order, special primates were appointed over the entire Hermitage of the Holy City in the rank of archimandrite, separately for each type of monastic residence. So the Monk Savva the Sanctified, a disciple of the Monk Euthymius the Great, who was a disciple of the Monk Chariton, became the rector of all the laurels of the Judean desert, and his friend the Monk Theodosius the Great - of all the cenovia. At the same time, a form of urban monasticism appeared, mainly in Jerusalem, where serving holy places and serving pilgrims was combined with prayer and work.

The heyday of monasticism in the Holy City Hermitage occurred in the 5th–6th centuries, but after the Arab invasion of the beginning of the 7th century, a gradual decline in monastic life was observed. If at the beginning of Muslim rule the oppression of other faiths was not exorbitant, which allowed the monasteries to remain in force for several more centuries, then the periods of rule of the Crusaders, Mamelukes and, especially, the Ottoman Turks led to their almost complete disappearance. The only monastery that continuously existed all this time and brought to us, although with many losses, its internal structure, is the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, in which today only 12 monks labor.

The purpose of this report is to present current situation monasteries of the Holy Land in relation to their real internal structure, and it must be said that the modern situation is far from Byzantine models. Today in Jerusalem there are quite a few monasteries belonging to the Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood (24 men and 3 women), but, as a rule, this is a temple with one abbot and rare services. The same picture is observed in most other monasteries of the Patriarchate (31 monasteries). Of the serious cenobitic monasteries where a strict daily routine is observed, at the moment only the Lavra of St. Sava and the Monastery of St. George the Khozevit can be named.

Apart from them, daily worship is performed only in the Church of the Resurrection, on the Sepulcher Mother of God and in the Basilica of the Nativity, that is, in city monasteries, where the rhythm of life of the monks is set by serving the Holy Places. They are not officially considered as monasteries, but their abbots are called abbots, and monastics serving there live in a separate brotherhood. The center of such brotherhoods is the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen - the central residence of the Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood.

This Brotherhood, to which all monastics of the Jerusalem Patriarchate belong, is considered an idiorhythm (from Greek this term is translated as “own rhythm”). That is, everyone, literally, works and lives in their own rhythm, set by obedience. Only divine services are performed together in the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen: at 5.00 midnight, Matins with two kathismas and Liturgy. At 16.00 the 9th hour and Vespers with one kathisma. Attendance is mandatory only for employees, for others it is optional. Food in the refectory is taken ready at 12.00 and everyone eats at home when obedience allows. In the Patriarchate quarter live most of the titular bishops, the brethren who serve the shrines, and the abbots of the Jerusalem monasteries by name.

As for the brethren of the Church of the Resurrection directly, now headed by the Guardian of the Sepulcher, Archbishop Isidore, then, according to him, until 1945 there was a common meal in the temple, and after Vespers - dinner and compline, after which the Church of the Resurrection was closed (at about five in the evening). But then they began to close the temple only at nine in the evening; obedience did not allow us to have a general schedule. However, the abbot plans to have a common meal at 14.00, because it unites the brethren, but for this he needs to find a cook. They live both in the temple itself (4 people) and in the premises of the ancient monastery of St. Abraham (7 people).

Similarly, the life of the brotherhood of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem (7 people) takes place around this shrine, but they have a special time for monastic rule, mandatory attendance at services, joint prayers and meals. Therefore, I also included this brotherhood in the table of daily routine examples.

If we talk about a classical monastery with strict internal regulations, the circle of monasteries narrows sharply; they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. First of all, this is the ancient Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, whose monks, with great labors, carried the baton of ancient life down to our time. The monastery practically does not use electricity, communications or the Internet; all life is built around the daily cycle of worship; all-night vigils are held 35 times a year on holidays. According to the commandment of the Monk Sava, entry into the monastery is prohibited for women, and on Wednesdays and Fridays - for all pilgrims; You cannot accept beardless young men into the brethren. Monks can only leave the fence in twos; they are prohibited from corresponding with relatives, even with their mother; There are other strictures, which, however, are observed in the spirit of reasoning and love.

The monastery lives according to Byzantine time, corresponding to the natural cycle, when the end of the day and the beginning of the night, that is, zero hours, are set at sunset. The monastic rule is quite traditional for modern Greek monasteries, consists of prostrations and rosaries and is performed immediately after waking up from sleep, before worship in the temple. The abbot, and now this is the respected Archimandrite Evdokim, is the father, the only clergyman and confessor at the same time, he resolves all issues and himself sets an example in feat, work and prayer. The practice of receiving communion is also quite ancient and approaches the customs in the monasteries of St. Basil the Great: three times a week - on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays - and with holidays it happens even more often.

Another ancient monastery with a strict daily routine is now the monastery of St. George Khozevit, “the village of saints,” according to its abbot Archimandrite Constantine, for about three thousand saints are associated with it, and the first ascetic who labored here 900 years before the Nativity of Christ was the prophet God's Elijah. True, properly organized monastic life was established here only five years ago, and before the arrival of the current abbot, there was usually one hieromonk living in the monastery, who was helped by hired local residents. Now a small but friendly brotherhood of seven people lives there. Visitors are accepted every day, but only until one o'clock in the afternoon. The entire personal rule, consisting of bows and prayers of Jesus on the rosary, is performed in the morning before the service. In general, prayer, obedience and monastic work come first, and then work and service to those who come. The obediences for the brethren change every week on Saturday, this way interchangeability is achieved and exaltation of position is prevented. Communion is frequent, twice a week; Daily revelation of thoughts to the abbot is practiced, and all-night vigils are held on holidays.

Of the other individual significant monasteries outside Jerusalem, we can mention the monastery of St. Gerasim of Jordan. It owes its revival to its current abbot, Archimandrite Chrysostom, who came to its ruins in 1975. Today it is an oasis in the desert, a source of life and solace not only for visiting pilgrims, but also for local Arabs, and even for animals and birds. There are not many monastic brethren in the monastery, but for a long time, workers from Greece and local Arab youth, children of the abbot, thanks to whose loving and charismatic personality all this exists, have been laboring there, replacing each other. The monastery is open to everyone, both men and women - the principle is like in Essex: the disobedient do not take root, but the humble work together. In life, obedience comes, rather, in the first place, so the daily routine is not strict: getting up at 5.30, breakfast and obedience: temple, altar (reading names), kitchen, cleaning, icon-painting workshop, caring for animals, etc. On holidays, matins and Liturgy (5.30 – 7.30), sometimes a simplified all-night vigil (from 22.00 to 1.30). Meal at 12.30, at 19.00 dinner and compline for everyone. The monastery is open from 7.00 to 20.00. Everyone who comes is received with love, always treated to the fruits of their labors, and given small gifts. The number of residents of both sexes along with volunteer workers is 15–25 people.

Of the Greek women's monasteries, the most traditional is the monastery of Saints Martha and Mary in Bethany. This monastery used to be a man's monastery, it fell into disrepair, and its new life found in 1946, when Archimandrite Theodosius (Makos) of blessed memory became hegumen. He and his spiritual children established a women’s monastery here, which still lives by his covenants and instructions. The monastic daily routine and regular prayer are combined here with daily service to pilgrims. The sisters, of whom there are seven, perform a personal monastic rule of twelve rosaries and bows according to their strength, regular worship, and have Liturgy on Sundays and holidays. Confession happens once a month, when the abbot of the Lavra of St. Sava, Archimandrite Evdokim, comes to them.

The Russian Orthodox Church owns three convents in the Holy Land: two on Olivet from the Church Abroad, whose Spiritual Mission is also located on Olivet, and Gornenskaya in Ein Karem from the Russian Spiritual Mission of the Moscow Patriarchate. The monasteries of Olives, Ascension and St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, are cenobitic, similar to each other in their daily routine and the severity of monastic life. Long morning and evening services with Liturgy and evening services are obligatory for the sisters, strict regulations of life, visitor access is limited to certain hours. After the morning service and before the evening service there is a common meal and a time of obedience; there is no dinner, but there is the opportunity to eat individually. In the evening after 21.00, walking around the monastery is not blessed. In monasteries there are no regular prayer services and memorial services, no reading of the Psalter. Both monasteries have approximately the same number of nuns, more than forty, the composition is international, there are sisters from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Macedonia, Australia, France, Germany, America; In Voznesensky, Arab women who studied at a girls' school located at the monastery took monasticism.

If we talk about the differences between these two monasteries, in addition to the slight difference in time and in access to visitors, it can be noted that in Gethsemane there is more intellectual and creative activity, there is an icon painting, restoration, embroidery, art workshops, publishing house; several sisters, led by the abbess, are studying icon painting. In the care of the monastery is a school for girls in Bethany, which has existed for more than 80 years, where more than four hundred students study. Also in the monastery there are many cats who perform obedience in exterminating snakes and spiders. In the Ascension Monastery, the sisters are simpler, obedience is traditional, and laborers and laborers (up to 25 people) are brought in to help. The monastery is also home to two monks and an archimandrite, the head of the Spiritual Mission of the Church Abroad. If the Gethsemane monastery fully provides the sisters with everything they need, then in Voznesensky a small monetary allowance is given for personal hygiene products, and money for clothing is given additionally by the abbess at a personal request.

Gornensky Monastery is also considered a cenobitic monastery, but in terms of daily routine it is more like an idiorhythmic one. The organizer of the monastery, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), initially saw it as a community of wealthy women who wanted to spend their old age in prayer at the shrines of Jerusalem, and although, at the behest of his superiors, he had to give them both an abbess and a charter, the essence remained the same. The sisters still live in separate houses, built by the first nuns at their own expense. The monastery was always at the disposal of the Head of the Mission, helping in the reception and service of pilgrims, which inevitably left a mark on its internal routine. By the way, more than twenty sisters out of 81 are not living in the monastery at all, but are constantly obedient to the Mission (17 people) and in its areas. About 15 monastery sisters are serving as guides today. The monastery has five hotels and a sixth is being built that need to be serviced, pilgrims are fed breakfast and dinner daily, and the monastery is open to outside visitors daily from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The sisters also read the Psalter daily, remembering names and notes.

Therefore, there is virtually no daily routine; it is set for each sister by obedience, which, as a rule, is assigned for a long period. Only the meal after the Liturgy is common, when the sisters take food with them for the day. The divine service is performed regularly, morning and evening, but attendance at it is not obligatory for sisters whose obedience is not related to its performance. The sisters receive an allowance; clothes, shoes, personal hygiene products, household items necessary for everyday life, household goods and drinking water buy themselves.

It is also worth mentioning another monastery of the Russian Spiritual Mission - the metochion Life-Giving Trinity in Hebron. The brethren there are not numerous - a hieromonk from Valaam and three novices, but for more than a year they live according to the rules of the New Valaam Monastery: at 5:00 midnight office, matins with reading the Gospel of the day and 1st hour, then personal time, at 12:30 meal and obedience. After dinner at 17:00 vespers with the reading of the lives of the saints and compline with Jesus prayers and bows (100), and at 22:00 lights out. The cell rule consists of three hundred Jesus prayers and two kathismas.

In the Mission itself, the rhythm of life of the monastics is set by obediences; general monastic prayer, if there is no Liturgy, is limited to a morning prayer service with the reading of the Gospel and a funeral litany. The sisters also read the entire Psalter in concert in their cells.

It should be noted that if in ancient times, mainly male monasticism flourished in the Hermitage of the Holy City, today the number of nuns of the three Russian convents significantly exceeds the number of all the Holy Sepulcher monks (122 people).

Thus, it can be stated that modern monks living today in the Holy Land strive mainly in serving pilgrims and preserving these shrines, drawing strength from them for their own feasible monastic feat.

Annex 1. Monasteries of the Holy Land

	Lavra of St. Savva		Monastery of the Nativity in Bethlehem
Routine	Rise at 1:00 1, (obedience to the alarm clock - the brother walks around the monastery and wakes up other brothers with blows on the bell); Part of the monastery is performed individually in cells. rules From 2:00 to 6:00 morning worship and Liturgy Tea and relaxation At 9:00 3rd and 6th hours and meal Obediences At 14:30 vespers and prayer service with the canon of the Most Holy. Mother of God Dinner (Sat., Sun. and holidays) Cell time Compline and lights out at 11:30 p.m.	Rise at 2:00 – 2:30 All monastic services are performed individually in cells. rule (those who don’t have time get up earlier) From 4:00 to 8:00 morning worship and Liturgy Breakfast Obediences At 12.00 3rd and 6th hours Meal at 13.00 Obediences At 18:00 vespers and prayer service with the canon of the Most Holy. Mother of God Compline and cell time	Rise at 4:00 Monk is performed individually in cells. rule From 5:30 to 8:00 morning worship and Liturgy Breakfast and obedience Meal at 12:00 Vespers at 2:30 p.m. Closing of the temple at 17:00 – 18:00
	At 2:00 midnight office, matins, 1st hour, Liturgy (about 4 hours in total)	At 4:00 midnight office, matins, 1st hour, Liturgy (about 4 hours in total)	At 5:30 Midnight Office, Matins, Liturgy
	At 14:30 vespers and prayer service with the canon of the Most Holy. Theotokos, after the break, Compline at 23:30 and lights out	At 18:00 vespers and prayer service with the canon of the Most Holy. Mother of God According to Vel. all holidays vigil. Then at 18:00 small vespers, fruit with a glass of water, prayer in cells and from 21:00 vigil until 5:00	Vespers at 2:30 p.m.
	Everyone who is not busy with special obediences
Participle	3 times a week: Tue., Thu. and Sat.	About 2 times a week	About once a week
Confession	Once a week, more often as needed	Revelation of thoughts every day, or even more often	Once a month in the Lavra of St. Savva
	12 rosaries (100 each) and 150 prostrations. Now, when disputes with Arab neighbors have begun, an additional 3 rosaries and 12 prostrations	Done only in the morning. Novices perform 60 prostrations and 12 rosaries, monks do about twice as much. Skhemnik - from 200 bows. Those who cannot bow read the canons, the Gospel, the Ladder	Individually
	At 9:30, presence is required After Vespers, dinner only on Sat., Sun. and holidays	At 13:00, presence is required After Vespers dinner	At 12:00, presence is required
Obediences	Distributed on an ongoing basis, but changed as necessary	Change every week on Sat after Vespers	Permanent and only for the temple, for the monastery - workers
	From 9 a.m. to sunset, except Wed. and Fri., when the Lavra is closed to visitors	From 9 am to 1 pm strictly (closed 6 days a year, e.g. on the first three days of the EP)	From 5:30 to 17:00 or 18:00 (the temple is closed, and pilgrims do not visit the monastery)
Peculiarities	Entrance for women according to the covenant of St. Savva is closed, the shrines are taken out of the gate. On holidays everything happens. vigil (35 times a year)	“Village of Saints”, there are about 3000 of them. The first ascetic in this place appeared 900 years BC, St. prophet Elijah
Number of inhabitants

1. The time indicated is secular, but the monastery lives according to Byzantine time, when 12 o’clock is set once a week at sunset.

Appendix 2. Nunneries of the Holy Land

	Martha and Mary in Lazaria	Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane	Ascension on Olivet	Gornensky monastery
Routine	Rise at 3:00, monastic rule 4:00 morning worship Obediences 12:00 meal, but if there are pilgrims, then later 15:30 Vespers	Rise at 4:30 3, 5:00 3 morning worship Breakfast Personal time Obediences from 9:003 From 12:00 to 13:00 3 lunch time From 13:00 to 15:00 3 obediences 2 From 15:00 to 16:30 3 personal time 1 16:30 3 evening worship There is no communal meal; for health reasons, the sisters can eat privately; personal time 1	Rise at 5:00 3, (obedience to the alarm clock - the sister walks around the monastery and wakes up the other sisters with blows on the bell); 5:30 3 morning worship Breakfast Personal time 1 Obediences from 9:003 From 13:00 to 13:30 3 lunch time From 13:30 to 14:00 3 obediences From 14:00 to 16:00 3 personal time 16:00 3 evening worship There is no communal meal; for health reasons, the sisters can eat privately; personal time 2 After 21:00 3 it is not blessed to walk around the monastery	No general routine (only one common meal after the Liturgy)
Beginning and composition of morning worship	At 4:00 midnight office, canon of the day, hours, matins. On Sun and holidays Liturgy	At 5:00 3 (Sun 7:00) morning prayers, midnight office, hours, Liturgy, approximately 2.5 hours on weekdays and 4 on Sun.	5:30 3 (on Sun 6:30, on holidays at 7:00) morning prayers, midnight office, hours, Liturgy.	At 6:00 (Sun 6:30) 3 morning prayers, midnight office, akathist, hours, Liturgy.
Beginning and composition of the evening service	Vespers at 15:30	At 16:30 9th hour, Vespers, Matins and 1st hour, until approximately 19.30	At 16:00 3 9th hour, Vespers, Matins and 1st hour.	At 14:45 3 9th hour, Vespers, Matins and 1st hour.
The need to attend worship services
Participle	Once a week	Two times a week.	Once a week plus holidays.	Once a week plus holidays, at least once a month.
Confession	Once a month (Fr. Evdokim comes from the Lavra of St. Sava)	Of necessity	Of necessity	Of necessity
	12 rosaries, bows to the best of your abilities (all almost all elders) + rosary for the Holy Day	Each sister has her own.	Each sister has her own.	Each sister has her own. For nuns there are usually 3 canons, 1 kathisma, 1 chapter of the Gospel and 1 Apostle, 150 Virgin Mary, Hail, Jesus Prayer and additional canons and akathists.
		Common meals twice a day: after the morning service and lunch at 12:00 3. On Sunday there is only one meal, after the Liturgy.	Common meals twice a day: after the morning service and lunch at 13:00 3.	A common meal for the sisters only after the morning service. After breakfast, the sisters take food for the day with them.
Obediences	They are distributed on an ongoing basis, but are changed as necessary.		There are permanent ones and there are according to a schedule that is drawn up for a week.	There are permanent ones and there are according to a schedule that is drawn up for a week.
The monastery is open to pilgrims	From 6:00 to 19:00	During the service. Accompanied groups. priest or guide daily from 5:00 to 20:00 3 The monastery is closed to visitors during the first week of the Holy Week until Friday.	Tue and Thu from 9:00 to 13:00. Groups accompanied by a priest or guide daily from 5:00 to 19:00 3. The monastery is closed to visitors on Sundays, as well as during the first week of the Holy Week until Friday.	Daily from 6:00 to 19:00 3
Number of nuns

Time for routine, reading, caring for flowers and sweeping outside the cell

Rule and reading time

Monastery time is not converted to daylight saving time

“It’s very interesting, how are they accepted into the monastic family, are there any obstacles, for example, age, health, you need to be useful and not a burden, how are obediences assigned? If possible, please share how future monks end up in this or that monastery themselves are they chosen or are they assigned to whom?

Who is accepted into the monastery and how.
Each monastery has its own rules, but, of course, there are general requirements.
First, the candidate for nun of the monastery must be an Orthodox believer, a member of the church, and have fairly serious parish “experience.”
Secondly, mentally healthy, physical health is welcome (there is a lot of work in the monastery), but where can you find a completely healthy person now? Therefore, this issue remains at the discretion of the monastery leadership. As for age, everything is decided individually. It happens that a young girl will be refused, but an older girl will be accepted. It’s difficult both with the very young and with the elderly: the former don’t know how to do anything, the latter need to be retrained. But if a person is sincere, deeply religious and tries, they will definitely take him.

Third, the candidate should not have any debts in the world. It’s not just about money (however, these debts should also be repaid), but about the absence of any family, legal, etc. obligations. If you have small children, you will have to wait, raise them, and only then arrange your life in a monastery. If you have a spouse, you can leave him only with his consent. If there are sick bedridden parents, you need to see them or arrange for them to receive proper care.
Fourth - the blessing of a confessor, a priest - is desirable. And the admission itself to the number of “those taking root” (there is such a step: no longer a laborer, not yet a novice; whether you will live in a monastery is unknown, because while you are looking closely, you are settling in) only with the permission of the Ruling Archbishop (at the request of the Abbess).

How to choose a monastery
History knows different approaches to choosing a monastery. Someone goes to a famous monastery with traditions. Someone, on the contrary, wants to start everything from scratch, to participate in the construction of a new one. Some go where there is a shrine, others go where there is serious spiritual guidance. Someone chooses a monastery based on the climate (Elder Paisius wrote about this). Someone is referred to a specific monastery by a confessor, advised by a friend or acquaintance. There are many options, but... There is the main thing - the Lord directs you to the monastery. If you lead an attentive spiritual life and seriously desire salvation, the Lord will determine exactly where it will be useful. It doesn’t mean “simple”, but life-saving.

How obediences are distributed
Obedience is work in a monastery (today we will not talk about obedience as a monastic virtue, only as work). What are the obediences in the monastery? Temple, choir (church singing), charter, prosphora, kitchen, bakery, sacristy, sewing room, icon painting room, cowshed, vegetable gardens, various workshops, social service, office, accounting, hotel, etc. All obediences are related to the organization of divine services and the internal life of the monastery , helping parishioners and neighbors. It turns out that almost any specialty can be useful in a monastery. One sister, for example, came to the monastery after theater institute, a critic. She says: “Well, what should such a person do in a monastery? Where to apply your knowledge? If they asked me about this in front of the monastery, I would answer: “I don’t know.” I didn’t know, I wasn’t going to a specific obedience, but to a monastery. The first obedience I was given was peeling onions. Huge basins with onions. I’m allergic to onions, I cried all over, I was swollen, but I was happy. And when they gave me constant obedience - to clean the temple, I realized what happiness was. It’s a strange thing: you wash the floors, but you feel like you’re doing something very serious. Because in the temple. Those who worked in the temple will understand me. And then the Lord arranged it this way, and the need and opportunity arose to broadcast on the radio, make a newspaper, and edit books. Everything was useful. With time".
In some monasteries, the abbess (or dean) sends a sister to a new obedience every morning. This is not the case with us. The sisters, for the most part, have constant obediences, although not one at a time, but several. For example, our icon painters restore and paint icons; they are in charge of all the monastery flower beds and lawns, monastery animals, and even the choir. There are also general obediences, when all the sisters do something together, for example, they go to collect potatoes, unload bricks, and clean the temple for the holiday. There are obediences where everyone works according to a schedule, for example, in the refectory, at the distribution center.
The monastery strives to use the professional skills of the sisters. If you have a conservatory education, you will most likely be involved in the choir. But... We must not forget about the spiritual and disciplinary side. Both the abbess and the confessor can change obedience for various reasons: health, you can’t cope, it’s not useful, etc.

Prayer rule and routine

“It’s interesting to know what your prayer rule is, how many times a day and at what time you have meals, how many people are in the cells, is it possible to live alone, is it possible to have a player with headphones (listen to spiritual conversations, chants), is there free time ?
How does the day go in general, according to what schedule?”

We will probably immediately disappoint someone: the regime in our monastery is gentle, we get up late, at 6 in the morning (there are monasteries where we wake up at 4, 5), when the monastery is in nature, getting up early is easier than in the city, where there is gas pollution, lack of oxygen, and the city itself with its own requirements and needs.
So, they wake us up with a bell - the night attendant (nun, novice) walks around the territory, through the buildings, across the floors and rings and rings. At 6.30 – Morning prayers, midnight office, canons, akathists. At 8.00 – liturgy. At 11.00 – lunch. We don’t have breakfast, and we don’t need it; anyway, we’re not supposed to eat until the end of the liturgy. During the meal, as in all monasteries, there is reading (the reading varies: either the teachings of the holy fathers, or about the holy (holiday) of the day, sometimes a spiritual conversation by the confessor, the abbess, the sisters’ story about the pilgrimage, but this is after the meal).
From 11.30 everyone is at obediences, who is where, if it is summer time and sisters in the gardens, then they may also have a player with headphones with them - they listen to the holy fathers, interpretation on Holy Bible, teachings of the holy fathers for monastics.
At 16.00 – dinner. Dinner is early, the sisters themselves asked to move dinner from 20.30 to 16.00 (few people eat in the evening, so if you can’t bear it, you can come after the evening service for a pilgrimage meal). Tea is not prohibited in the cell (although the confessor often says to the sisters: “You were allowed tea, but look, there are already buns there.”
At 17.00 – Vespers. Matins. If All-night vigil- all the sisters come if it’s a simple service - only those who are free from obedience that day. At 23.00 we go to bed (this is according to the rules, but often we don’t have time to do something, then bedtime is postponed to a later time).
The sisters live, generally, one or two people per cell. Now, thank God, there is such an opportunity, but in the first years we lived in groups of 5 or more, sleeping on the floor on mattresses, side by side. The cells are small, for good reason, they are designed for one person, in some they live alone, but again there are not enough places. Here the farmsteads are freer - large buildings have been built on Pokrovsky and Preobrazhensky, where the sisters live alone.
There is free time: every sister can read a book, do needlework, and prepare for exams (some sisters receive higher education - secular or spiritual). Communication between sisters is not prohibited, you can visit any sister in her cell (but on business, conversations are not welcome), both the abbess and the confessor are available.
The prayer rule is basically everything is done in the church, in addition in the cells the sisters read the Gospel, the Psalter, the Jesus Prayer, bow down, except general rule, a nun may have her own special rule (in agreement with her confessor).

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Monastery life

The moment a worldly person decides to put on an angelic image and change his usual clothes to a monastic robe, his life turns into a path along which, step by step, he tries to get closer to God. And in order for this path of monastic life to be the most successful, the holy fathers developed an excellent “program” for everyday spiritual life - the charter. The communal rule that prevails today in the monasteries of Russia, Greece and on Mount Athos comes from the studite tradition. This tradition was brought to Athos by St. Athanasius of Athos (961), who later became abbot of the Great Lavra. The rules of the Athonite community harmoniously combine hesychasm, prayer and obedience. That is why the reviving Nikolaev Malitsky Monastery, when choosing a monastic charter, chose the Athos tradition.

LIFE

For Malitsa monks it is quite simple. In a communal (cinenial) monastery, everything is common, including meals. There are separate, so-called “decent” tables in the refectory if you need to receive guests and honor them with your presence.

The monastery monk has a room - a cell with a bed, pillow and mattress, a water jug ​​with a cup, two wardrobes for clothes and books, icons, a table, a reading lamp and a chair. Judging by the size of the cell (3.5 x 1.90 meters), one can imagine how many things will fit there. Monks who are studying can ask for a CD player or cassette recorder in their cell. If a radio receiver is built into the tape recorder, it is broken out. In general, if a monk needs even such a small thing as toothpaste, he turns to the abbot of the monastery. Without a blessing, a monk literally will not bring even a needle into his cell. Moreover, most monks inspect their cells every few months in order to find items that can be gotten rid of. Every thing eats up time. The more things you have, the more time they take away from the main goal of life.

The monk's clothing - a sign of repentance and humility - consists of a cassock, leather belt, trousers and skufia. Expensive, silk or colored fabrics are not blessed - wool and suit fabric are used. At services, monks are required to wear a Greek cassock and klobuk (kamilavka with markings). Linen can consist of two or three shirts and trousers. Shoes and jackets can be workable and clean. Any clothing in excess of the above is considered excess.
The monks do not earn their own means of living, at their own request, since they are fully supported by the monastery, and they receive everything they need from batteries to medicines with the blessing of the abbot. Of course, the reviving monastery accepts donations from different persons and organizations. Due to the lack of trade and developed economy, the monastery does not have constant material income. There is also no bookstore, so apart from candles in the temple, “experienced” pilgrims will not be able to purchase anything.

What all monks have in common is a cell, but in it they are “tenants,” or guests for the time allotted by the Lord for repentance. Life on earth is temporary: there is no need to worry about conveniences. A cell for monks is a coffin where one should think about death. Monks in general look at life, the body and the world as if they were looking at a coffin: life is bitter and short on earth, but infinitely sweet in heaven.

CELL RULE.

Each monk has his own appearance, spiritual world and internal routine, so the confessor has a special approach to each monk. At the same time, the life of the monastery is still subject to strict regulations and flows strictly according to the schedule. Long before dawn, no later than an hour before the start of the morning service, at a quarter to five, the monks wake up to fulfill their cell rule. For the great, the service begins an hour earlier. Personal monastic rule is performed primarily using the rosary. The monks always have them with them. Bundle by knot they repeat the most important ascetic prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” The monks read the night prayer or canon every night, and every night they ask the Lord God for help in the fight against human passions and worldly thoughts.

The holy fathers call night prayer an “arena,” since every night battles with dark forces are fought in cells through prayer. And the faster the monk approaches God, acquiring virtues, the stronger the attack from the side dark forces. Personal prayer and teaching is one’s own feat in the cell.

The cell rule is performed standing, with the sign of the cross and small bows from the waist at each prayer. For schema monks it consists of 12 rosaries (centurions) with small bows and one with great bows, for robed monks it consists of 6 rosaries (centurions) with small bows and 60 great bows, and for new monks and novices of 3 rosaries with small bows and 33 great bows. Prostrations to the ground are left only on Sundays throughout the year, and on Bright Week.

WORSHIP

Divine services have always been and continue to be the center of all monastic life.

The liturgical charter that the modern Malitsky monastery adheres to was compiled by the ancient holy fathers - the Holy Mountainers. According to its rules, it is more suitable for a desert-hermit life. At the present time, due to special living conditions, this charter is not observed as strictly as before. But the modern rule, developed by life, is also not easy. It can be said with certainty that in Russia there are hardly a dozen monasteries that follow such a charter. Church services are, of course, daily. In total, divine services take the monks about seven hours a day, taking into account the monastic cell rule.

The main places of worship in the Malitsky monastery are the large Intercession Church, which plays the role of a catholicon (καθολικὸν - cathedral church mon-rya), and " old temple» paraklis (παρεκκλήσ) - a small-sized house church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located in the southern wing of the fraternal building. Usually, daily services of the daily circle are performed in the old (house) church, and in the new one - Pokrovsky, much larger in size - they are served on major holidays and Sundays throughout the year.

The midnight office begins at a quarter to six. This part of the service is always performed in the dark, and only the glare from the burning lamps illuminates the walls of the temple. In a side corner illuminated by a lamp, one of the monastic readers reads the sequence of the Midnight Office. The atmosphere is peaceful, prayerful: in the muted light of lamps illuminating the golden backgrounds on the icons, black-clad figures of monks and novices silently appear, traditionally crossing themselves and bowing towards the altar and both choirs; They take the morning blessing from the abbot and disperse to the stasidiums.
On weekdays, the entire service is read and sung “quickly”; instead of longer Byzantine chants, “everyday” is used.

After the midnight service, if it is read in the Church of the Intercession, the priest opens the curtain of the Royal Doors of the vestibule and everyone goes into main temple, where matins and hours will be performed.

Along the walls of the entire temple, monks and lay people are located in stasidiums. Thanks to this distribution, the temple accommodates a large number of people, without creating fuss and noise.

A quarter of an hour before the start of the Divine Liturgy, a monk dressed in a robe walks around the monastery and, with blows on a portable wooden beater (τάλαντον), calls workers and pilgrims to the temple one step at a time. Then he immediately hits the iron beater (rivet), after which, if there is a holiday, there is a short ringing in the bell tower.

The liturgy on ordinary days lasts about an hour. The moments of the liturgy considered the most important - the initial exclamation “Blessed is the kingdom”, the great entrance, the epiclesis, the exclamation “Holy to the Holies”, the time of Communion (from the exclamation “With the fear of God” to the exclamation “Always, now and ever...”) - are marked by the fact that that at this time everyone comes out of the stasidia and bows deeply.

The frequency of confession in the Malitsky monastery is not stipulated by a single rule and is determined by the spiritual need of each monk. Confession is usually performed in one of the chapels of the cathedral or in the cell of the confessor. The confessor in the monastery is the abbot. All brethren receive Holy Communion at least once a week (usually on Tuesday and Saturday or Sunday; monks and clergy receive communion every day.

At the end of the liturgy, if there is a celebration of a saint, a dish with kolivo is placed in front of the proskynitarium (lectern for the icon), the troparion and kontakion to the saint are sung, the serving hieromonk censes the kolivo and reads a prayer for his blessing; the same thing happens on days of remembrance of the dead (with the singing of funeral troparions instead of the festive one). At the end of the liturgy, the antidoron is distributed to the faithful.

Services in the monastery are performed in limited quantities. Basically this is baptism and funeral service. The frequency of confession of the brothers is determined by their desire. The abbot blesses them to come to him at least once a week, not necessarily for confession - just for a conversation. While the abbot is outside the walls of the monastery, all services are performed by the second monastery priest.

Immediately after the completion of the Divine Liturgy, usually around 9.30 am, tea follows.

OBEDIENCE

After tea, the monks retire for a while to rest, after which they go to their daily obediences, that is, to work. All monks, including the abbot, go to obedience, since common work is fundamental in every cenobitic monastery. And no matter how difficult or unpleasant obedience may be, the monk accepts it as sent by God, like the Cross, the bearing of which is the path to salvation.

In the Malitsky monastery, various obediences are performed: secretary, sacristan, librarian, ecclesiarch, sextons, singers, readers, bell ringers, icon painters, in the kitchen - cooks and refectories, carpenters, builders, cleaners, gardener, beekeeper, gasman, driver, tour guide, etc. d. In addition, fathers should be involved in general works(panginyah), such as watering and harvesting crops, cleaning the territory, preparing for the patronal feast, etc. The monastery has several farmsteads, where brothers and parishioners also work. The pious laity provide great assistance to the monastery; they work selflessly for the Glory of God, helping the brethren in almost all obediences. Often it is necessary to attract electricians, plumbers and other specialists from the “world”.

The word obedience ("diaconima") in Greek comes from the verb "diakono", which means: "service of love." An offering of love also means remaining in prayer and in the memory of God.

Therefore, during obediences, the brethren say the Jesus Prayer. Be sure to pray out loud so as not to be distracted and not talk to each other. Those who are engaged in mental work, for example, office workers or guides working with pilgrims, do not pray out loud.

Any obedience has an established order. If circumstances permit, they perform it for a year or two, then give another. Sometimes they leave it for another year. The person performing it must address all questions to his leader (the chief of obedience) or, if necessary, directly to the abbot. This achieves a lot: it does not allow the imagination to rush around and offer solutions, clears the mind of complex and simple thoughts, focuses attention on prayer, teaches one to seek advice and cut off one’s will. To question is to be saved. If there is obedience, there will be humility - the basis of obedience itself.

In konoviya, monastic duties are performed responsibly. Where at least a few people live, there are already a lot of worries. There is no less work to ensure the life of a monastery than in any human society. And only unquestioning obedience and precise diligence can provide a monk with well-being and peace of mind.

For perfect obedience and cutting off thoughts and will, from the first day of life in the Malitsky monastery, monks are required to learn to do any work accurately and consistently. The rules, briefly formulated by Fr. Joachim from the monastery of St. Anna: talk like a monk, look like a monk, eat like a monk, sleep like a monk, think like a monk, pray like a monk, perform obedience like a monk - the fathers try to observe always and everywhere.

MEAL

There is a meal at exactly one o'clock in the afternoon. 5 minutes before it starts, all the inhabitants are notified by rhythmic knocking on an iron beater. The refectory in the monastery is located next to the Intercession Church, inside on the eastern side, there is the abbot’s table; along the walls there are tables for monks and pilgrims; A pulpit with a book stand in the form of a golden eagle for the reader is attached to the western wall, significantly higher than the floor. While eating, the teachings of St. fathers or lives of saints.

The meal depends on the day of the week and preparation for the Communion of the Holy Mysteries. The monks themselves eat little, since food is secondary to them. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - simple, lean food. During fasting, only plant food is relied upon; there is not even any food on the table. olive oil. Eating fish on a fast day is no small sin. The inhabitants eat food twice a day, never consuming meat or wine. On ordinary days, there is soup, potatoes or pasta, rice, salad, vegetables and fruits on the tables. From drinking - Herb tea, dried fruit compote and water. On holidays and Sundays, salted or baked fish, eggs and cocoa can be served.

At the meal, after a short prayer, the brethren eat in silence for no more than 15 minutes. At this time, the Lives of Saints or spiritual teachings are read. Sometimes in front of the abbot’s table you can see a monk performing a punishment for an offense - bowing. During the meal, the abbot rings the bell three times: after the 1st blow, it is allowed to drink, after the 2nd, the reader stops reading, descends from the pulpit and accepts the blessing from the abbot, and the meal (if it is a Sunday) brings the abbot ukrukha (leftover bread) for blessing. , after the 3rd blow, the eating stops, everyone stands up, then prayers of thanks are read. Several prayers are added before the prayers of thanksgiving. petitions pronounced alternately by the abbot and the reader. After the meal, the abbot stands on the right side of the exit with a raised blessing hand; the cook, the reader and the refectorian freeze in a bow opposite the abbot (on the left side of the exit), asking forgiveness from the brethren for possible errors in their service. Thus, everyone leaving the refectory “falls” under the blessing of the Father Superior. After the meal, the fathers again disperse according to obedience.

VESPERS

An hour before the start of Vespers, after monastic labors, rest is allowed. This helps the brethren to have the strength to pray at the evening service. Twice, in half an hour and a quarter to a quarter, the sound of a wooden beat again calls all the inhabitants to the temple. Vespers, preceded by the reading of the 9th hour, begins at 5 pm. It lasts about an hour and ends with a daily funeral litany, performed in the narthex. The evening meal follows immediately after the service.

Dinner often consists of the same dishes and in the same quantities as at lunch, only cold. Only sick people are allowed to take food out of the refectory. Infirm brothers from among the laity living in the monastery and bearing a certain obedience are allowed to drink tea with a piece of bread in the evening. You can sometimes drink tea in your cell and during obedience, but you must definitely take a blessing for this. In general, blessings are taken for any action, even the most insignificant.

After dinner, the brethren immediately go to the temple to celebrate Compline. On it, a prayer canon is sung to the Mother of God in front of the Vatopedi icon “Consolation and Consolation”, and then the abbot anoints everyone with oil from the lamp burning in front of the holy image. Also during Compline, an akathist to the Mother of God is read daily. This Svyatogorsk feature is never omitted, since the Mother of God is the guardian not only of Her earthly destiny - Holy Mount Athos, but also the Mother of all monks in general. Compline ends with prayers for the coming sleep. At the end of the service, to the Byzantine singing of the Theotokos troparion “To the beauty of your virginity...”, all the monks venerate the icons and take a blessing from the abbot for the coming night.

After Compline (at 19.15) there is a short period of time, about an hour, when there is an opportunity to talk with each other. But then conversations with anyone, including pilgrims, are not blessed, so as not to fall into idleness and condemnation. Talking a lot is harmful; it negatively affects monastic work. Monks have no special need to communicate with each other: if a monk is attentive to himself, observes the monastic rules and does not hide his thoughts from his confessor, grace consoles him and he has no great need to speak. Evening silence should prepare your mind for night prayer.

After Compline, monks are also strictly forbidden to enter the cells of pilgrims without a blessing. Radio and television are prohibited in the monastery. No one leaves the monastery without a blessing.

HYGIENE

The ancient founders of monasticism were indifferent to the body for the sake of saving the soul. Thus, the father of monasticism, St. Anthony the Great (251-326) ate bread and salt, lived in caves, without observing hygiene. Previously, monks in Svyatogorsk monasteries were forbidden and considered a sin to wash their hair, comb their hair or beard, or go to the bathhouse. Very strict ascetics did not wash their faces, washing only with their own tears. Nowadays, the rules regarding personal hygiene have relaxed. Monks are allowed to bathe, and treatment with medication is mandatory. There is a monastery doctor who often comes to the monastery and regularly examines each monk and worker. If serious symptoms are detected, hospitalization is carried out in a regional hospital. Health is God’s gift, and the monastery takes it very seriously.

Some rules have remained unchanged: do not expose your body unless absolutely necessary, even your arms while working. Among monks, seeing a person, for example in shorts, with bare legs (not to mention women) is considered great indecency.

DREAM

Monks sleep in clothes: in cassocks, loosening the belt, in thin cloth skufs and socks, so as to always be ready for prayer, obedience and Last Judgment. Sleep occupies exactly the same place in monastic life as eating: monks sleep as much as necessary in order not to lose their sanity and be able to fulfill their obediences. Usually it is 5-6 hours. It should be noted that the dormitory regulations are specially written in such a way that meal times are never combined with rest and sleep times. This is a very important point from an ascetic point of view.

The pilgrims living in the monastery gradually accustom themselves to a strict routine. They also have to get out of bed long before dawn for church services, and in order to understand and experience the whole essence of monastic reality, this really needs to be done.

The day is divided into approximately 3 eight hours, reserved for prayer, work and rest. Ancient Greek The verse describes the daily work of a monk this way: (Γράφε, μελέτα, ψάλλε - στέναζε, προσεύχου, σιώπα) “Write, study, sing, sigh, pray, be silent.”

The abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Bishop Pankraty (Zherdev) of the Trinity, tells how the monks of the Transfiguration Monastery, which is famous for its strict rules, live and receive pilgrims.

Prayer and work

– Vladyka Pankratiy, the Valaam Monastery is famous for its strict regulations. Could you tell us about the life of the Valaam brethren under the existing charter?

– Usually we ask for a recommendation or blessing from an elder, a priest, a bishop. But it happens that a person arrives who is just beginning to become a church member, but who feels a craving for monastic life, a desire to work hard and test himself. We don’t refuse this either. He becomes a church member at the monastery, and then it becomes clear to both him and us whether he can be a candidate for the brethren or not.

This is a living matter and not at all formalized. Some come themselves, others apply via the Internet or write regular letters asking for blessings to come. It happens in different ways, the main thing is the desire for monastic life. But not because there is nowhere else to go - this is the worst option. The main thing is the calling of God, when life in the world is not of interest, neither career, nor money, nor even family, nor the most innocent pleasures are important; when the main thing in life is to be with God. That is why, in fact, a person comes to a monastery.

– Are there hermits or closed hermitages on Valaam today?

– By tradition, the largest monastery in the name of All Saints is quite closed: women are allowed there once a year on the patronal feast. There is the Forerunner Skete, where the presence of women is generally prohibited. So about the Monastic Island, where this monastery is located, we can rightfully say that this is northern Athos. The same principle applies here as on the Holy Mountain. In part, this is a tribute to the tradition that has been established in these monasteries since ancient times.

But at the same time, secluded places where the brethren can follow the monastic path in calm conditions are truly necessary. Usually in monasteries both the cell rule and the liturgical service are longer than in the monastery itself. There is less time left for labor obedience. Many brothers strive to get into the monastery, but we try to send there those who are already prepared. After all, a solitary life (not yet a hermit life) is a very special case.

- How many such ascetics?

– We have brothers who lead such a life, but I would not like to tell where and how - this is a secret matter. They did not go into seclusion in order to proclaim this to the whole world, to be visited by pilgrims, admirers, spiritual children, and so on.

The era of the formation of monasticism

– Vladyka, how do you generally assess the state of modern monasticism?

– And the Valaam monastery, and our monasteries, and those brothers who live in solitude, like all Russian monasticism, are in the stage of formation.

Just 20 years ago there were several throughout the country monasteries: V Soviet years The Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the Pochaev Lavra, the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Holy Dormition Monastery in Odessa operated. Four monasteries for a country of many millions.

Monasticism as a mass phenomenon appeared recently. 20 years is a historically short period, and it is too early to say that we are even in the growth stage, especially since most of these two decades were spent creating conditions for monasticism - the restoration of churches, cell buildings, the resettlement of the laity who occupied them.

For example, on our island next to the monastery, lay people still live, although this was not the case on Old Valaam. It was a completely monastic island.

– How is the issue of resettlement of the laity resolved?

– We, of course, consider the coexistence of a monastery and a secular settlement as a temporary phenomenon and strive to ensure that Valaam again becomes northern Athos. But at the same time, we must have a loving, Christian attitude towards the people living next to us, although they may be either our parishioners or people of completely different beliefs.

The relocation of the laity, which has been taking place over the past 20 years, is entirely voluntary. If people express a desire to move to the mainland, then with the help of the state and our benefactors we provide them with comfortable housing to own on the mainland, usually in Sortavala. This is the closest city, of which Valaam is administratively a part. Over the years, two 60-apartment buildings have been built in Sortavala. One was completed in 2001, the other was occupied in the past, and several more families are about to be resettled. In total, 120 families moved.

So the lay population of the island has decreased significantly compared to 1993, when I arrived here. Then about 500 people lived on Valaam, now 160 are registered, but 80 live permanently, the rest come for the summer to trade and use the tourist season. In winter, as a rule, there are no tourists. We hope that in a few years Valaam will be mainly populated by monks. The people who work here at the power plant, in the fire department, forestry, and hospital will work on a rotational basis, having homes and families on the mainland, as is often the case now.

– Near the main Transfiguration Cathedral of the monastery there is a bust of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II...

- I think that current state monastery is a much better monument to our spiritual father than the one we erected near the cathedral as a gift of our filial love and respect for the deceased Patriarch. The current Valaam is largely connected with the works, blessings and concerns of His Holiness during the restoration of his beloved monastery.

– It seems that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill inherited this love: in 2010, he consecrated a new, very beautiful chapel on Valaam in honor of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God.

– His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also treats Valaam with great reverence and love, with whom many memories of the Patriarch’s youth are associated. He came here with Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) and served him while still in the closed monastery - he was performing a secret Divine Liturgy in the church at the Igumen cemetery.

And when the Patriarch visited Valaam many years later, he noted that there is no other place like it in the Russian Church - it is completely unique, special, so it needs to be treated with great care and restored.

Two trips to Athos

– Vladyka, tell us about how you ended up on Valaam?

– I ended up on Valaam completely unexpectedly... In 1992, with a group of pilgrims, we visited Holy Mount Athos, we were there only for a day. For the first time since 1914, we brought the Holy Fire to Russia. And so, together with the group participating in this mission, I ended up on the Holy Mountain and was completely conquered by Athos - it was like an earthly paradise, truly the garden of the Mother of God. Moreover, at that time one could still see old Athos.

Now large-scale restoration work is being carried out there, and thank God. But still something is lost. There are renovated buildings everywhere, excellent decoration, very good roads, comfortable hotels. But you know, there are things that are antique, authentic, real, with their own charm, we understand that they are many years old, sometimes even centuries, and this thing carries some kind of spirit. If it is replaced with the same exact product, but of modern workmanship, then this spirit is lost. The form seems to be the same, but the content is different. And the attitude in the soul.

So, I found that old Athos when the other fathers were still alive. Then I went to the Holy Mountain many times, but the first meeting with it was especially piercing, transformative, stunning in the spiritual sense of the word. A very special atmosphere of prayer was felt. Although, of course, living conditions were much worse than now, and moving around Mount Athos was much more difficult. But the Holy Mountain made such an impression on me that I decided to do everything in my power to get to our Panteleimon Monastery and work there. At that time I was a housekeeper at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but I submitted a petition, and quite unexpectedly for me, the hierarchy treated him favorably.

Apparently, when the documents were being drawn up, His Holiness somehow found out about me, called me, we talked, and got to know each other. Apparently, he was interested in my recent trip to Athos. Quite unexpectedly for me, a few months later - at the end of 1992 - His Holiness Patriarch Alexy invited me again and said: “You planned to go to Athos, but I want to send you to northern Athos - Valaam.” Well, what could I do? I immediately felt that this was the will of God, and I answered His Holiness that I was his novice, and I would do as he said. So, on Epiphany 1993, a decree on my appointment was signed, and after some time I came to Valaam.

– How did the Holy Island greet you?

– The first impression was shocking. I did not expect to find this ancient monastery in such a deplorable state. Restoration, of course, was carried out, but very little, and by the time of my arrival it was frozen. The laity - about 500 people - even lived in the inner square of the monastery, interspersed with the cells of the monks. But gradually, with God's help I managed to overcome a lot. The most important thing is to establish peace and harmony among the brethren in the monastery. And then - continue the restoration, restore the shrines.

- The monks' thunderstorm is sadness. How difficult is it to winter time when all around is harsh Ladoga, snow, desolation...

– This is the most precious and most wonderful time on Valaam! And we are never bored, because the consolation of a monk is prayer and spiritual joy. It’s boring and sad just when we are surrounded by crowds of pilgrims and tourists. Crowds! This is the real threat of the monks, and, seriously speaking, a very important problem. It is necessary to somehow regulate the number of visitors - and nature can no longer withstand the onslaught of a hundred thousand in 3 months, and it is difficult for the monks.

But, unfortunately, legal mechanisms in this regard have not yet been created - unlike, for example, Athos. The number of pilgrims who can visit the Holy Mountain is clearly defined there, and each of them is given a special written blessing. The monasteries know how many people will come, how many places need to be prepared in the small hotels that are available. And at the height of the season, from three to five large cruise ships come to us every day for one day, each with an average of 300 people.

That is, only up to one and a half thousand tourists visit the Central Estate of the monastery and some monasteries. In the monastery hotels we can accommodate up to 200 pilgrims arriving on our small fleet - small ships.

– What are the conditions in these hotels?

– Hotels on the island are different. There are comfortable ones with amenities in every room, but unfortunately there are few of them. Some rooms are quite simple. But the people who come to us are different - there are poor pilgrims who are ready to stay in any conditions, just to pray, visit our shrines, visit hermitages and islands. They are happy with what they have. We are sometimes forced to place beds even in school classrooms due to the fact that, unfortunately, it is not possible to accommodate everyone. Although our conditions for receiving pilgrims are gradually improving.

Christianity external and internal

– Vladyka, there is an opinion that the modern world is held together by the prayers of holy saints, of whom there are only a few on Earth. But the Lord, at their requests, more than once postponed the end of the world. What do you think of it?

– Unfortunately, the argument that the world once stood on the verge of collapse and some saints pleaded for it is very often used by Adventists. They regularly set a date for the end of the world, but then they say that some people begged God, and everything is postponed. I think it would be simplistic to think that way. Why? Of course, prayer means a lot, especially of holy people.

I think that prayers help our Church in many ways. Prayer still lives and operates in us. Such prayers do not go to waste, just like the Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is eternal, and its effect extends to all times; it certainly influences the destinies of the whole world. But for such prayer to arise, we need ascetics, people who can pray like this. And here we come to the state modern society, humanity.

We see that evil is multiplying, sin is increasing, the line between sin and virtue, good and evil is blurring. What was always considered unacceptable, obscene and indecent is now the norm and even celebrated. This cannot have a positive effect on the spiritual state modern humanity. Unfortunately, such destructive, terrible, I would even say, demonic tendencies are intensifying and increasing. And here, of course, it means a lot how the Church and the people who belong to it resist this evil. If they succumb to corruptive influences, then, of course, our affairs are bad. Then apostasy occurs—a departure from the faith, from the Christian path. Christianity is being emasculated, becoming external - what we see in the West.

But one should not think that this phenomenon does not apply to us and only Protestants or Catholics are susceptible to such things. The same can happen with our society, because we are part of the world, and many people strive to ensure that Western, liberal values ​​are adopted in our country. But this is not just a philosophical discussion, this is a question of life and death for our state, society and people. And, I repeat, the role of the Church is growing here - not because it wants to strengthen itself in society as a certain institution, but because only on the basis of Christian values ​​is the revival of Russia possible.

While the entire civilized world is changing faster and faster, approaching its own ideal of efficiency, prosperity and comfort, there are places where life lags behind ours by about five hundred years. In monasteries, the brethren live according to ancient laws.

Holy Mount Athos

According to the laws of Saint Athos, the younger monk is obliged to care for the older one. Monks have many other duties. Their day is spent in labor and prayer. Rise is at five in the morning. Then the liturgy is served, after which the monks go to the refectory, where they drink tea or coffee. Then they are busy with work. At 13:00 - lunch. In summer there is an hour-long afternoon nap. This is not the case in winter. Due to the short daylight hours monks get up at four in the morning. After lunch, sleep - work. Monks don't have dinner. In the evening they go to church, where they give thanks to God for the day they have lived. The last prayer is offered to the Guardian Angel for the coming night.

On holidays, the life of monks is different from everyday life. They spend the whole day in church and go on visits to other monasteries and cells. In the evening, tables are set for everyone to eat. The fish is being prepared.

To the question of how people should live today in such a difficult modern world, where there is a lot of cruelty and anger, Archimandride Feonas - the rector of the cell of St. Nicodemus - answered simply: “When you wake up every morning, remember that the most great gift what the Lord did for us is his life. When washing your face, always think that this day of yours may be the last in your life and therefore you need to do only good things, love your neighbor. After all, the meaning of Christ’s teaching is love. And people should not just talk about it, but have love within themselves.”

Daily routine of Korean Buddhist monks and nuns

In a Korean Buddhist monastery, the day begins at 3 am. One of the monks gets up earlier than the others and puts on ceremonial clothes. He then quietly begins to beat the mokthak, a wooden bell-shaped percussion instrument, and chant Buddhist sutras. Continuing the chant, he walks throughout the entire territory of the monastery.

This awakening ceremony is performed daily, regardless of the weather. The monks, hearing the sounds of "mokthak", get up and prepare for the morning ceremony. After some time, the large monastery bell, drum, gong and wooden fish are struck, and all the monks go to the Main Hall to chant.

Before the morning ceremony, the monks beat four objects: a large bell, a drum, a gong and a wooden fish. Each of these items represents a group of creatures living in the world. A large bell rings for the ancestors, a drum made of animal skin for animals, a cloud-shaped gong for creatures that live in the air, and a fish carved from a log for creatures that live in the water. It is believed that upon hearing the blows and chants, every being is liberated by the wisdom of the Buddha.

After the morning ceremony, each of the monks continues with his work: students go to the student hall, senior monks go to the meditation hall, and worker monks prepare breakfast.

Breakfast starts at 6:00 o'clock. It consists of oatmeal and pickled vegetables, served in four individual dishes. The most important part of the day is the time after breakfast, during which you can quietly engage in your studies. During this time, most monks continue to study or meditate.

At 10:30, remembering the Buddha's tradition of eating once a day, the monks gather in the Main Hall, chant and offer rice. After this ceremony it is time for lunch. Monks chant before and during meals, which is done in order to remind themselves that food is not consumed for pleasure, but to nourish the body.

After a short period of free time after lunch, the monks return to study until 17:00. Then it's time for dinner, which depends on the season. In winter, dinner in the monastery is one hour earlier than in summer. About an hour after dinner, the large temple bell announces the time for chanting:

Hearing the sound of the bell, the monks go to the Main Hall and practice chanting and meditation there. Then around 21:00 the monks can go to bed and all the lights in the temple are turned off.