Obedience to the spiritual father is one of the remedies against delusion. This is how D.N.’s explanatory dictionary speaks about the term “obedience.” Ushakova:

Obedience, obedience, cf.

1. units only Obedience, submission (book). In complete obedience. Obedience to parents.

2. A certain duty that every monk (or novice) in a monastery must bear, or work, a duty performed as atonement for some guilt (church). “Then I was sent to distant Uglich for some obedience.” Pushkin.

This is what S.I.’s dictionary says about this term. Ozhegova:

1. Obedience, humility. Demand obedience from children. Obedience to parents.

2. In monasteries: a duty assigned to each novice or monk, as well as special work assigned to atone for sin or misconduct. Impose obedience.

This is what the Orthodox Internet encyclopedia “The ABC of Faith” says about obedience:

Obedience.

1) Christian virtue, which consists in coordinating one’s will with the will of God.

The model of obedience is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who throughout His earthly life did not do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him and humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross (Phil. 2:8).

Obedience is the basis of Christian asceticism, which consists in the constant cooperation of God and man, allowing God to spiritually transform a person and abide in him. The types of obedience are many different, since they all depend on Divine Providence for man. Obedience can include enduring God-allowed sorrows, undergoing a special kind of feat, and following the advice of a spiritually experienced mentor or an elder who has acquired the gift of insightful reasoning. All types of obedience are united by the exaction and fulfillment of the Divine will.

2) An assigned task, a service performed by a member of the monastic brethren.

This is what Archimandrite Ephraim, abbot of the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, says about monastic obedience:

“A soldier obeys the sergeant, but inside himself curses the commander - because this obedience is only due to discipline. But a novice or monk, unlike a soldier, obeys out of love. Obedience is one thing, discipline and obedience are another thing.

Obedience is a heartfelt conviction in the words of the elder. The elder does not order his novices, like a king commanding his subordinates to fulfill his desires. The elder, with his commandments that he gives to his disciples, helps them identify their will with the will of God."

It should be noted that obedience for laity and monks differs, since for a monk this is one of the vows given during tonsure, and monks also have more opportunity to constantly be close to their spiritual father and ask for advice and blessings on any matter.

This section provides a number of articles and quotes from the Holy Fathers about obedience in general and separately about these two types of obedience.

Alexander asks:

Hello Father Raphael! I read your conversation that took place in the sisterhood in the name of St. Ignatius of Stavropol. Regarding the inner heartfelt Jesus Prayer, you say: “If monks and laity consider the Jesus Prayer as the main activity of their lives, I hope that then a miracle of God will happen...”, therefore, as I I realized that both monks and laity need to say this prayer. At the same time, you warn: “But prayer requires obedience” (otherwise the beginner may be damaged). Obedience for a monk is understandable - it is the subordination of one’s will to the will of the spiritual mentor. Regarding the laity (Orthodox, living the church life), it is not clear: how should obedience be expressed if there is no spiritual mentor and if, in principle, one cannot be found? Is it possible to try to perform the unceasing heartfelt Jesus Prayer to such a layman?
Thank you

Archimandrite Raphael answers:

Dear Alexander! Monks and laymen need to say the Jesus Prayer. But without obedience to the spiritual father, prayer will not reach that heartfelt depth that is revealed to the novice as a gift from God for obedience. If there is no spiritual father, then we must be guided by spiritual literature and try to live according to the Gospel commandments. But the degree of the Jesus Prayer will still be different than that of those who cut off their will and thereby humble their spirit.

“... mentor, guard yourself from sinful undertakings!
Do not replace God with yourself for the soul that has come running to you.”
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

It is no secret that the church life of the present time is characterized by the loss of living continuity of genuine spiritual experience and correct spiritual guidelines. This situation can be compared to the position of a scout dropped into an unfamiliar area with a map in his hands. The map shows where to go, where everything is, where the road is and where the danger is, but the scout has never walked through this area, cannot distinguish a mountain from a river and a road from an abyss, and a wonderful map for him is a Chinese character.

Let us repeat that over the last century spiritual continuity has been interrupted almost completely. The spiritual experience of life in Christ, the real experience of salvation, has reached us not in living individuals, but in books written by them. “Every book, even if filled with the grace of the Spirit, but written on paper and not on living tablets has a lot of deadness: it does not apply to the person reading it! That’s why a living book is priceless!” . This is what St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote in the middle of the 19th century. The truth of these words has become obvious especially now.

Paradoxically, the books of the Holy Fathers, filled with the grace of the Spirit of God, can harm the modern reader. It is very dangerous to use the recipes of the Fathers who lived in ancient times and wrote for people of a different spiritual level, without taking into account the peculiarities of our time, without taking into account the state of the souls of modern Christians. Some things, much praised by the Fathers in earlier times, have become simply impossible in our time, which, in turn, was also justified by the Holy Fathers.

One of the pitfalls in the spiritual life of many modern Orthodox Christians is the question of spiritual direction and obedience.

The problem, firstly, is that the word “obedience” can mean completely different things. On the one hand, “obedience ” - this is a way of life for a novice in ancient monasteries, in which he voluntarily renounced any manifestation of his own will and acted in complete obedience old man- a person who has not only succeeded in spiritual life, but also received from God the gift to lead others (this point is especially important, because the Holy Fathers indicate that spiritual success in itself without the “gift of reasoning” is not enough to guide others in the matter of salvation). This obedience- the destiny of antiquity, as St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) writes: “Monastic obedience, in the form and character in which it took place among ancient monasticism, is a high spiritual sacrament. Comprehension of him and complete imitation of him have become impossible for us: only a reverent, prudent examination of him is possible, the assimilation of his spirit is possible.”

Such obedience is impossible without old man, and even if there is an elder, it is very difficult in the absence of the possibility of continuous residence with him.

However, as we know, demand dictates supply. Playing at being spiritual mentors is a serious temptation. In addition to satisfying his vanity, the “old man” can acquire many purely earthly benefits in this game. St. Ignatius wrote about such unfortunate elders: “If a leader begins to seek obedience to himself, and not to God, he is not worthy to be the leader of his neighbor! He is not a servant of God! - Servant of the devil, his tool, his network! “ Not be a rabbi man"(1 Cor. 7:23), - bequeaths the Apostle”; “... soul-destroying acting and the saddest comedy - the elders who take on the role of the ancient holy Elders, not having their spiritual gifts, let them know that their very intention, their very thoughts and concepts about the great monastic work - obedience, are false, that the very their way of thinking, their reason, their knowledge are self-delusion and demonic delusion.” .

Often, many rectors of parishes and monasteries believe that their position itself already gives them the right to be the spiritual leaders of their subordinates. Whether consciously or out of ignorance, they confuse the spiritual obedience with disciplinary “obediences”. In real church life, especially in monasteries, the word “obedience” was assigned to all types of work in the monastery. Wherever a pilgrim or novice is sent to work, everywhere he is “on obedience.” There is nothing wrong with such terminology if you remember what it is spiritual obedience (as was written above) and O such disciplinary obedience, and not to confuse these two different things. And the abbots themselves often mix them up for the convenience of managing the parish or monastery. For example: the priest wants the parishioner to bake prosphora. If she simply says: “Marya, bake the prosphora,” she may refuse, but if she says: “You, Mary, obey: bake the prosphora for tomorrow’s service,” success is guaranteed. Unfortunately, this success can only be positive on the earthly plane. Spiritually it is harmful because it is based on lies.

Every Christian is free to choose a spiritual leader. This freedom cannot be taken away either by the rector of the parish or by the abbot of the monastery. It cannot be the reason for excommunication from communion or not being allowed to go to confession with other priests (it also happens: the abbot of a monastery demands that all the brethren confess and be cared for only by him, and the rector of the parish does not allow parishioners who go for spiritual advice to confession and communion questions to another priest).

Some would-be elders and would-be old women require even revelations of thoughts from subordinates! Saint Ignatius wrote on this occasion: “The reason for frankness about spiritual matters is trust in the instructing person, and trust in the person is inspired by exact knowledge of the person... On the contrary: “To whom the heart is not known, do not open it,” says the great mentor of monks, the venerable Pimen, Egyptian hermit." The fact that a position or rank in itself gives the right to know the thoughts and depths of the heart of a subordinate is not said anywhere in the Fathers.

“Every spiritual mentor should only be a servant of the heavenly Bridegroom, should lead souls to Him, and not to himself, should proclaim to them about the infinite, ineffable beauty of Christ, about His immeasurable goodness and power: let them love Christ, as if worthy of love. And let the mentor, like the great and humble Baptist, stand aside, recognize himself as nothing, rejoice in his humiliation before his disciples, humiliation, which serves as a sign of their spiritual success,” writes Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Any claim to power (spiritual, and not just disciplinary) is, therefore, an indicator of either spiritual immaturity or false prudence. e flattering direction of the “leader”.

Does the modern Christian need a path? obedience, in the form in which it was among the ancient novices? This path was inaccessible to the laity even in the flourishing times of Christianity.

Do modern Christians need a spiritual leader? Everyone always needed him. The question is, is it possible to find it? “Do not tire yourself in vain in searching for mentors: our time, rich in false teachers, is extremely poor in spiritual mentors. They are replaced for the ascetic by the scriptures of the Fatherland, wrote St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) more than a hundred years ago. - Try to find a good, conscientious confessor. If you find him, be pleased; nowadays conscientious confessors are a great rarity.” As can be seen, the Saint clearly distinguishes between clergy (confession) and spiritual guidance. At confession, a person repents of his sins, and does not ask for advice. The priest receiving confession, before giving advice or delivering teachings, should inquire whether the person confessing has his own mentor.

Saint Ignatius points to the path of Christians of our time: “... the spiritual life provided by the providence of God to our time... is based on guidance in the matter of salvation by the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, with advice and edification borrowed from modern fathers and brothers.”

This path is called “living by advice,” it presupposes a person’s active efforts to study the Holy Fathers, sincere prayer to God for admonition and careful advice with those whom we consider to be on the path of salvation. The Council, in turn, must check with the Holy Fathers. The person with whom you can consult does not have to be a monk or priest, he must be a sincere Christian who has succeeded in spiritual life. “Nowadays one should not be surprised when meeting a monk in a tailcoat. Therefore, one should not become attached to old forms: the struggle for forms is fruitless, ridiculous...” - this is what Saint Ignatius said to his spiritual friend.

“In a confessor, in my opinion, the great virtue is simplicity, unswerving adherence to the teachings of the Church, alien to any of his own speculations,” the saint wrote, and one cannot but agree with him. And how relevant is his call: “And you, mentor, guard yourself from sinful undertakings! Do not replace God with yourself for the soul that has come running to you. Follow the example of the holy Forerunner: seek only for Christ to be magnified in your disciples. When He is magnified, you will decrease: seeing yourself diminished because of the increase of Christ, be filled with joy. From such behavior, a wonderful peace will be brought to your heart: you will see in yourself the fulfillment of the words of Christ: humble yourself, he will exalt” .

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 162

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Volume 5 Page 75

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 159

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Volume 5 Page 72

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 25

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 231

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 169

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Volume 5 Page 76

“The Father of Modern Monasticism” From the notes of His Eminence Leonid, Archbishop of Yaroslavl. Page 29. Moscow 1996

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 445

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Letter 231

(12 votes: 3.9 out of 5)

Pavel Troitsky

“...It is better to be guilty before your boss than before God...”

What is obedience? Today, probably, there is no such word in the Orthodox Church that would be used more often than "obedience".

How much the word “obedience” is used today on various occasions! But what is it anyway?

Of course, the most ridiculous perversion of the concept of “obedience” is the designation of some kind of work carried out in the monastery with the blessing of the abbot or some other person.
One can consider obedience as a component of the spiritual life of monasticism. One might even say that this is one of the main ways of salvation in monasticism. This is a fairly correct definition, which immediately frees us from some of the absurdities of modern Christian life.
Obedience primarily belongs to monastic life, and should not be mechanically transferred to the world. This understanding will allow us to immediately see many deformities of modern church life hidden under a beautiful blanket "obedience" . But still, the concept of obedience is not limited to the structure of monastic life.

Everyone knows that The fall of the first man was through disobedience . Every Orthodox Christian probably knows this today. Accordingly, a person is also healed by obedience.

To express the essence of Orthodox teaching on this issue, we will use beautiful words St. “The Word becomes obedient to the Father through the fact that He became like us and through what He accepted from us (ours), healing our disobedience and becoming for us a model of obedience, without which it is impossible to receive salvation.”.

The perfect “obedience” of the Son to God the Father was expressed both in the very incarnation of the Son of God, and in all His suffering, full of torment and hardship, life in the created conditions of human limitations. “He truly fulfilled the will of the Father throughout his life, fulfilled it with all precision and complete submission. His entire life was a continuous series of manifestations of obedience to His Father, and His spiritual struggle in Gethsemane, resolved by complete and selfless surrender of Himself into the hands of God, was only one of the last and most painful pricks from that crown of thorns of obedience that He wore throughout His life »(quote from the book prof. Belyaeva. "Love Divine", page 273).

All the benefits of Christian salvation, according to the Apostolic teaching, are given to people precisely by virtue of Christ’s perfect obedience to God.
“Although He was the Son, He learned obedience through His sufferings and, having been perfected, became the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.” ()
“Just as through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so through one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”. ()
CM. Zarin “Asceticism” pp. 36-39.

It is difficult to add anything to these words. Likewise, our salvation is impossible without obedience to God. A person accepts the Sacrament of Baptism, restores his nature, and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist is united with Christ, but union with God, that is, the salvation of a person, is impossible without subordinating his will to the Divine will. Just as it was in Christ. Let us fall, but we can be “baptized” once again in the Sacrament of Repentance and again cleave to God. And our goal: to unite with Christ, is feasible only if we subordinate our will to the Divine will.

Here we must recall the doctrine of two wills, dating back to St. . In man there are two wills: natural and gnomic(or hypostatic). The first will necessarily exists in man, the appearance of the second is actually connected with the Fall. It is not even the will itself, but the possibility of choice. When a person began to know good and evil, he gained the opportunity to choose between good and evil. This will will disappear after the renewal of human nature, after the Second Coming.

It is obvious that in the Savior there was only natural human will and there was no hypostatic will. Thus, in the Sacrament of Baptism, the restoration of human nature occurs, but a difficult path of deification lies before man. This path begins precisely by cutting off one’s will, that is, mortification of the gnomic will . The final choice of good, characteristic of a reborn nature, deprives the existence of the gnomic will of meaning, and then a person becomes a saint. He has nothing to choose: he chose good, acquired the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, paired his natural will with the Divine will. Achieving holiness is possible here on earth.

The shortest way to this is through obedience, that is depriving yourself of choice, or rather, transferring this choice to another person who has already achieved holiness.

Any kind of obedience is true only if it corresponds to the main obedience to God. Any obedience that contradicts God, His will, will be what, according to St. Tikhon, “is pleasing to the flesh and the world,” which means, let us add from ourselves, to the enemy of our salvation. Thus, to the question of who should be obedient, or simply, who can be a novice, the answer is simple: “with God.” But obedience to God can and should be indirect through other persons through whom this will of God appears. This is obedience to the elder, and obedience to the husband, and obedience to the king - all these cases can be considered separately.

But, if we talk about the boundaries of obedience, then they undoubtedly exist. The boundaries of obedience are the commandments of God . It is clear: that which contradicts the commandments of God cannot be from God and, therefore, such obedience cannot be performed.

This is what the greatest teacher of our time says holy: « a necessary condition for such obedience is a Spiritual mentor who, by the will of the Spirit, would mortify the fallen will of the one who submitted to him in the Lord, and in this fallen will would mortify all passions. The fallen and corrupted will of man contains the desire for all passions. It is obvious that the mortification of the fallen will, accomplished so majestically and victoriously by the will of the Spirit of God, cannot be accomplished by the fallen will of the mentor, when the mentor himself is enslaved by passions.”. Next, the saint quotes the words of the monk: “If you want to renounce the world,” said Saint Simeon, the New Theologian, to his contemporary monks, and learn the gospel life: then do not betray (entrust) yourself to an inexperienced or passionate teacher, lest you learn, instead of the gospel life, the devil’s life: because good teachers and good teaching, and evil ones - evil; Evil seeds will certainly produce evil fruits. Anyone who is blind and promises to instruct others is a deceiver, and he casts those who follow him into the pit of destruction, according to the word of the Lord: But if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”(). In another place, this great saint of God, advising the monk to act according to the instructions of his spiritual father, adds “However, let him do this only in the case when he knows that his spiritual father is a partaker of the Spirit, that he will not speak to him contrary to the will of God, but according to his gift and to the extent of his obedience, he will speak what is pleasing to God and useful for the soul, so that to be obedient to man and not to God" .

Currently, the great saint of the nineteenth century has numerous critics. The reason for this criticism is clear; the saint never stopped telling the truth, no matter how bitter it was and no matter what authorities it affected. And the thought involuntarily arises: if in those days there was someone to denounce and for what, then what can we say about today? If the saint considered those quiet times to be times of spiritual decline, then what can we say about the current ones? Most often criticism is carried out verbally. But works have already appeared attempting to refute the writings of this great man. So, a small brochure was recently published Hieromonk Dorimedont “On obedience”. In it, the hieromonk tries to refute the saint’s idea about the decline of monasticism in recent times, that for salvation a monk needs a spirit-bearing elder, of whom there were very few already in the time of the saint.

If there are no such teachers, then the meaning of monastic obedience is lost. At the same time, the modern Athonite hieromonk rightly asserts that obedience has boundaries: “From the patristic teaching it is clear that the removal of a monk from the monastery or a novice from the Elder is considered blessed only in exceptional cases. The soul-destroying exclusivity of heresy is obvious. It is also obvious that the mental harm mentioned by the fathers is a consequence of moral sins of an exceptional order.”. Here he quotes the words holy. Ignatius: “It’s a different matter when there is no mental harm, but only disturbing thoughts: confusing thoughts, obviously demonic; There is no need to obey them, as if they act precisely where we receive spiritual benefit, which they want to steal from us.”. In a word, there are objective reasons to stop obedience, and there are enemy thoughts attacking the novice. What is the Athonite hieromonk trying to refute? And the fact that obedience requires a spirit-bearing elder. According to the hieromonk, it is enough for the elder not to fall into serious sins. Although Fr. Dorimedont admits, in agreement with the teaching of the saints, that mental harm can be the reason for the cessation of obedience, that is, leaving the elder or leaving the monastery. Father Dorimedont tries to find confirmation of this theory from the holy fathers of antiquity.

Contemporary researcher of old age Hierodeacon Nikolai (Sakharov) is of the opinion that such a doctrine originated in Russia and, as an example, refers to the work of the beginning of the century: A. Solovyov. "Starship according to the teachings of the holy fathers and ascetics". To substantiate this teaching, he cites the words of St. “If you seek and accept my advice with faith, then even through a sinner you can receive benefit, but without faith, with doubt and examination of words and deeds, they will not bring benefit, even with the righteousness of the elder.”. But words taken out of context say nothing about obedience to an unrighteous elder. Here Rev. Ambrose speaks about the obedience of his spiritual children specifically to himself, and it would be strange if he cited himself as an argument. In addition, it should be noted that this example cannot be considered correct, because in the 19th century, eldership in Russia acquired a completely different meaning in relation to the ancient elders. The elders carried out a kind of missionary mission among the lost faith of the society of that time. They did not try to escape from the world, like the ancient monks, but, as it were, entered into a struggle with the world and succeeded in many ways.

A more serious argument could be a reference to St. : “a mentor, no matter who he is, will always give accurate and faithful advice, if only the one seeking guidance trusts him with all his soul and faith”. But the words “advice”, “seeking guidance”, “trust” - indicate that Saint Theophan also understood eldership in the sense indicated above.

Let's return to the work of the Athonite monk and ask the question: Does obedience to an elder who is in delusion bring spiritual harm? Undoubtedly. But let’s take a topic that is relevant for modern Athos: Is the beauty of recognizing a new style?

Some of the modern Athonite monks believe that the calendar problem does not exist and it does not matter which calendar is used: the Gregorian or the New Julian. If we discard all other arguments against the new style, we can ask only one question: “Why did the church need to switch to the new style? What was the reason for that? The reason is the requirement of worldly authorities. Let’s not even talk about the fact that the authorities at the time when the “calendar” revolution in the church took place were Masonic. One thing is enough: the church organizations did this at the behest of the world. Any person who says that style doesn't matter is either ignorant, being a beginner, or deluded, being well-versed in the field. Of course, obedience to such an elder will bring spiritual harm, which may not be revealed immediately. With the current pluralism in matters of faith, there are not so many “unprecious” elders. According to the patristic teaching, dogmatic errors inevitably lead to delusion, and most often end in serious sinful falls. Naturally, to say that such a charming old man can know the will of God and be a spiritual mentor is simply absurd.

The game of Saint Ignatius’s opponent is based on the fact that it is difficult to determine who can be considered a spirit-bearing elder. According to the hieromonk, this is almost any monk who has not fallen into mortal sins. That is, the novice will be saved by obedience itself, one can say almost that to anyone. Thus, obedience becomes a universal way to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Moreover, Hieromonk Dorimedont further takes obedience beyond the boundaries of monastic life, believing that even the laity are saved by obedience. This is partly correct, since any Christian is saved by obedience to God, but what is meant here is obedience precisely in the monastic sense, mediated by certain lay elders-spiritual fathers, which in reality simply means any priest. The absurdity of this theory can easily be hidden behind the beautiful facades of lengthy speeches about humility and meekness. In fact, it logically leads to the establishment of a certain non-Christian system, built on the unquestioning execution of orders coming from the head of the Christian organization, starting from the members of the Synod and ending with any layman. It goes without saying that such a theory can be extended to the public sphere, using convenient references to the Apostle Paul, etc. Thus, in order to get on this path convenient for the modern world, it is enough to prove that for obedience it is enough to find any elder and recognize absolute obedience to him as a necessary path to salvation.

But it is not enough to simply have a charmless old man; he must have some spiritual experience. It would be strange to deny the need for this experience. The entire history of monasticism testifies precisely to the fact that those who wished to pursue asceticism rushed precisely to spirit-bearing mentors. But then the whole system loses its universality, since it is impossible to introduce an exact criterion for the spirituality of an elder. Or rather, these criteria become very individual. And it is certainly impossible to transfer monastic obedience to the worldly sphere. New trends in spiritual life push us to the idea that the spirituality of the elder and shepherd does not play a significant role in obedience. Therefore, supposedly nothing has changed in relation to ancient times: look at how many people wear monastic robes. This formal approach to monasticism and spiritual life is one of the signs of the last times, which the saint clearly recognized. Moreover, with sound reasoning, “one who does no harm” is one who brings benefit, that is, already spirit-bearing.

“And the holy fathers teach us to remain in the highest of virtues - in obedience, so that we become imitators of Christ. This is their goal. That is, by obedience they cleanse us from various passions of wisdom and from attachment to our own will, so that we receive God's grace. And again, when grace departs to strengthen us, the elder, like some kind of grace, carries you and instructs you with the words of his work, which he has already completed, and kindles your zeal until you, by God’s grace and the prayers of your father, are freed from battles , and God’s grace will not capture you again, and sweet Jesus will not entrust His honest treasures to you as perfect.”. We see that these words have nothing to do with the concept of obedience imposed on us. The elder should not so much force himself to obey, but rather be a conductor of Divine grace for the student. And when a student loses grace, the elder comes to his aid. Can a drowning person come to the rescue?

It would seem that everything is clear: a monk needs to look for a perfect elder in order to fulfill the will of God, and not the fallen human or, even worse, the demonic.

But let's open a new book of the famous disciple of Elder Joseph (Hesychast) living (in America) Archimandrite Ephraim issued by the metochion of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The book is, of course, translated. The archimandrite writes in agreement with the holy fathers: “ When someone comes to become a novice, it is quite obvious that he does not come for the sake of the abbot or the monastery. It is clear that he comes for the love of Christ and the salvation of his soul.” . “The living icon of Christ is carried within him by the confessor, to whom the novice is commanded to obey for the sake of the love of Christ alone.”(wonderful words) But then strange things begin: “Not for the sake of the elder’s personality, for he may be a sinful man, he may be worthy of hell, like me, but obedience has a completely different meaning: it relates directly to Christ.”. And here it is clear what the author wanted to say: we must listen to Christ himself, and the elder may not even be a saint, he may even die (if, for example, he does not care about his disciples), but obedience to the Lord saves a person. This is what the archimandrite had in mind, but with a subtle movement of the brush the words take on a completely different connotation: no matter what your elder is, fallen, sinful, all the same, obedience to him saves the novice. I do not think that the translator or editor consciously reinterprets the words of the respected archimandrite, but, most likely, such an understanding of obedience in the minds of a modern person leads to an unconscious distortion of the meaning. We find confirmation of this further: the author in another place places the commandments of God above obedience. That is, a novice can never violate the commandments, otherwise this is obedience not to God, but to the devil. But in another place we read how the elder forced his novice to steal things from his cell, and then returned them back. In any case, stealing is a sin, even out of obedience. And, of course, the archimandrite meant that the elder blessed the brothers to bring things from their cells (especially since in a true cinnamon the issue of ownership must be resolved). But “taking” and “stealing” are different concepts. In the heads of those who worked on the text, a false understanding of obedience begins to work again, hands begin to work behind their heads, they begin to write, and what happens? It turns out that after some time we will hear that the elders can force their novices to steal, and this is true obedience, and a link to a similar book will follow. Now, alas, let us carry out the already traditional transfer of monastic values ​​into worldly life and we get: if the priest blesses you to steal or is himself tempted by church property, then it would be worthy of praise to help the priest load this property into some large vehicle like a KamAZ.

In addition, this case confirms the opinion of St. Ignatius, which Fr. Dorimedont that the novice must have faith in the elder. This is exactly how this faith is tested - the novice is sure that his elder will not force him to do anything bad. “Obedience forms the obedient in the image of the one to whom he obeys: “The beginning of a sheep with a rod” () says the Scripture". “They will object: the faith of a novice can replace the lack of the Elder. Not true! Faith in the truth saves, faith in lies and demonic delusion destroys...”(St. Ignatius, vol. 5, pp. 72-73).

And now our contemporary easily exposes the saint: it is not faith in the elder that saves, but faith in God! Of course, faith in God is necessary, but faith in the elder is also necessary. Here it is necessary to remind the Athonite hieromonk of the words from the catechism of Metropolitan Philaret, which he undoubtedly knows: “Saint Cyril explains it this way: Not only among us, who bear the name of Christ, faith is considered great, but also everything that happens in the world, even by people alien to the Church, is accomplished by faith. – Agriculture is based on faith: for whoever does not believe that he will collect the fruits that have grown will not endure the labor. Navigators are led by faith when, having entrusted their fate to a small tree, they prefer the fickle impulse of the waves to the hardest elements, the earth, betray themselves to unknown hopes and have with them only faith, which for them is more reliable than any anchor. (Announcement. Instruction 5)". Therefore, you can entrust yourself to the elder “small tree”, preferring a monastic life full of “wave aspirations” to a more spiritually stable worldly way of life.

Faith in the elder does not at all contradict faith in Christ, since Christ himself is confessed by this faith. After all, if there are holy elders to whom we can entrust ourselves entirely, it means that we recognize not just the saving mission of Christ, but also the Comforter who came after Him, whose grace-filled gifts were accepted by the elder. But here’s the problem: such an understanding of obedience completely deprives it of its universality, which is what current theorists of obedience want to prove. Obedience becomes a purely monastic matter, and even then it is not always feasible.

There are good monastic communities, but they do not have such an abbot or elder whose every word can be believed unconditionally. You can convince a person that it is necessary to perform certain functions. But it is impossible to make him believe in a person, one can even say in a person, in his authority, in his righteousness. If there is such faith, then if the elder forces the brethren to take things from the cells, then the novice cannot have any doubt about the correctness of his actions, but such faith is not based on self-deception, but on good knowledge of the elder and, of course, on love for the elder .

Let us focus on love for a particular person, and not on respect for his position. But love and faith cannot obey either orders or regulations. The best monastic rule cannot force one to love an elder and believe his every word.

I remember a story about an old man and his disciple. The old man was already well over eighty. And the novice is over sixty. They lived in this composition for twenty years, and their relationship, it seems to me, was close to the ideal that I tried to portray. One Athonite pilgrim loved to come to their cell, and the elder gave him instructions. You should have seen how the novice, himself an elder by age, after taking a short pause in his daily work, tried to listen to the geront for at least a minute, came to the cell, squatted down and quietly listened to what the elder would say. Could he really be saying something unimportant and unimportant?

But there is a community where obedience actually becomes the performance of certain works with the blessing of the elder or abbot, since there is no such veneration of the elder, which is required for true obedience. However, this is also obedience, but not to the elder, but to the monastic community living according to certain laws. The monk must subordinate his will to these laws, but there cannot be perfect obedience to the geronte.

And woe to that mentor who forces his novice to remove a red-hot poker from the hearth, as happened in the nineteenth century in one Athonite cell, which received the name novice from this incident. Those ancient elders themselves underwent obedience and, having learned it, became teachers of others, which presupposes a certain continuity. And in order to become an elder, you yourself need to be a novice for a significant time; this is something that the “young elders” who have not known obedience do not want to hear.

And this completely shatters the idea of ​​a certain eighth sacrament, which supposedly amounts to tonsure into monasticism. Tonsure is a renunciation from the world, for the implementation of which God gives a person grace-filled gifts. The one who has completed, or rather, succeeded in this task, which cannot be learned without a good teacher, is a true obedient to God, and he can teach others to obey. And, even more so, it becomes impossible to transfer obedience to a mentor into worldly life, leaving only obedience to God and the King for this way of life.

Having learned what an elder should be like, we ask ourselves: what is obedience based on? The answer to this question also exists and is quite simple: love.

Obedience as a manifestation of love

What is obedience based on? The answer has actually already been made: we can put an end to love. But few people will immediately believe in this, and even if they don’t object, they will internally disagree. The simplified approach to obedience has been drilled into us so much. And every second shepherd will tell you that the main thing in obedience is rigor, the requirement of strict obedience to the order (often invented by the shepherd himself). And not just a demand, achieving submission by any means, even if it is cruel to the person. If a person cannot obey such an order, then he should simply be expelled without any pity. And many will find such statements quite true. After all, how many picturesque pictures have been painted before our eyes when some elder or abbot beats his student with a stick, and he humbly accepts everything. Of course, there are also cases when saints beat their disciples or deliberately insult them. Or they force you to do something stupid. But all this is done not because these methods are good, but because for a given student at a given time, the use of a stick for healing spiritual diseases is very useful. In short, the elders, who always know the will of God, know that precisely this method is now necessary for the education of this particular student. And such methods must be applied very selectively, and again they are not universal. So, the basis of all obedience, even with cane methods, is love. And this is not an empty set of words, the usual filling out of already boring fields of a questionnaire. Without love there can be no obedience. Just as the existence of the Father and the Son is impossible without the love that binds them. Don't believe me? So listen:

“I ask and pray, stand, endure valiantly, be complacent, take courage, considering what glory the blessed and holy novices will be worthy of. Of course, everyone in whatever rank has pleased God will accordingly receive his good in the next century. But which rank is better? - Look out! – Great are those who serve God in the mountains, dens and abysses of the earth (), hermits, stylites, hermits, and in other ways of life glorifying God. But, as you know, our Lord Jesus Christ, the dispenser of unimaginable blessings, having descended to earth, not deserted, not stylite, or any other way of life, loved the way of life, but was pleased to be in obedience, For He Himself said about Himself: He came down from heaven, not yes I do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 6:38). And again: although I speak to you, I do not speak about Myself: but the Father who sent Me gave Me commandment, whatever I should say, and whatever I should say (John 14:10; 12:49). He also girded himself with ribbon, and taking on the form of a slave, washed the disciples’ feet, wiping them with ribbon, and said about this nowhere else: I am in your midst, as I serve (). If, as you see, He, the Lord of all, deigned, more than all others, to accept our novice way of life; then how can we not rejoice, how can we not rejoice, how can we not be delighted that you are living like the Lord?” These are the words of Rev. . We will find many more teachings from this saint speaking about obedience. You see: obedience has power only because it has the Divine image of the sending of the Son to the Father. And therefore, outside of love it is inconceivable. Maybe someone has not yet felt the difference between the modern understanding of obedience and the patristic one. Both are strict, but love is an ephemeral thing: who will determine whether it exists or not. But let us turn again to St. Theodore. Another thing he said about love for his brethren is striking. Is any of the abbots living on earth capable of uttering such a word? If he is capable, then we can admit that he, as a shepherd, is driven precisely by love, which requires, in fact, not the punishment of the flock, but his salvation, making punishment a manifestation of love. But, alas, how many people are able to say this...

“The word of Divine Scripture is: I love Me who love Me, those who seek Me will find grace (). In another place it also indicates a sign of love, saying: he who loves punishes diligently (). Since I, the humble one, have been appointed to rule over you, then, out of necessity, in the previous instruction I reproached and reproached you, not as if you were offended, I dare to tell you in the word of the Apostle, but let you know the love that the Imam has abundantly for you (), grieving with you during your sorrow and being comforted by your joy. For who else should I look to? Or who else should we grieve and rejoice about, if not about you? You are my brothers and children, and fathers, and friends, and relatives, and dear, and longed for, and joy and crown, and everything else that can express the sincerity of my communication with you. I testify to my confidence that you are the same towards me, and you are not attached to your parents, nor to brothers, nor to clan, nor to homeland, nor to anything else visible, but only to God, and according to God to my humility . And thanksgiving to God, who has united us in this way, in the Holy Spirit, so that we can love and be mutually loved, be one body and one spirit, as we are called in the same hope of our calling (). Let us rejoice and rejoice with each other; and because it sometimes happens to speak reproachfully to you, let us not alienate ourselves from each other, but, as it happens, out of love and for the common good, we will endure the punishment patiently. For it is written: son, do not neglect the punishment of the Lord, weaken below, reproached by Him: for the Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son, but he accepts him. (). To what does the apostle also add: if you endure punishment, as if God is found to you as a son: who is a son, is he not punished by his father? If you are without punishment, then all were partakers of him: for you are naturally adulterers, and not sons.()" (word 335). Everywhere at Rev. For Theodore, obedience is based on the love of the abbot for the brethren and the brethren for him, as well as the brethren among themselves. Outside of this love there can be no obedience. And even punishment is a consequence of love, and not punishment for wrongdoing. Contemporary monks also agree with St. Theodore.

Archimandrite Ephraim, mentioned here, agrees with him: “...Obedience has a completely different meaning: it relates directly to Christ. And since the love of Christ called us to come here for the achievement and salvation of our souls...” But he also emphasizes that obedience is based not only on the love between the elder and the novice, but, first of all, on their common love for God. And common love for God presupposes mutual love between the elder and the novice.

Few people manage to achieve this highest virtue. How then can monastic life exist if one’s whole life is spent on finding Christian love? To understand this, let’s try to answer the question: why does Rev. Do Theodore and other saints place obedience above all else in monastic life? We already know the first argument: the Son’s obedience to the Father brought about our salvation. In the Savior, human will is subordinated to the Divine. The Savior takes on the image of a slave, bears all our punishment as a consequence of the Fall, having Himself chosen this path, and already in the Incarnation he subordinates his will to the Divine will, that is, he gives himself into obedience. We will also meet the second argument in Rev. Theodora: “The first cause of mental illness is pride, due to which the star that rose in the morning fell; the second is disobedience, for which the primordial one was expelled from paradise; and from both of them came tens of generations and types of hateful sin.” “Do you now wish to know the harmful consequences of disobedience? “Remember Adam, who, by disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit, introduced death into the world...” (word 327). That is, he who is in obedience leads a God-like life and overcomes the sin that Adam committed. Through the sin of disobedience, man fell away from God, which means that through obedience we must return to Him. Both of these arguments are similar. They do not classify obedience as one of the virtues, but show obedience as a virtue of virtues. Obedience is not one of the ways of salvation for monastics, but the path by which our salvation is accomplished, and which we cannot avoid if we strive for eternal life. But obedience is impossible without love. And love covers all the shortcomings and imperfections of the elder. Let us note that obedience to the King or husband is also based on love.

United by love for God, the elder and the novice must, of course, have love for each other. Thus, an important aspect of monastic obedience is that it is not possible without the participation of two people. And it’s not easy to have two bangs, but one of them can be called a saint to some extent. But this is not enough for obedience; it is necessary that a special relationship based on love be established between them. All this deals a mortal blow to theories that draw a parallel between the Sacraments of the Church and obedience. As is known, the performance of the Sacraments does not depend on the perfection or sinfulness of the performer. Such a comparison of obedience and the Sacraments is quite possible; it is found even among the holy fathers. This is how Archimandrite Sophrony writes about Elder Silouan: “He gave absolutely exceptional attention to internal spiritual obedience to the abbot and confessor, considering it a Sacrament of the Church and a gift of grace.” But the subsequent text clearly says that obedience is impossible without a spirit-bearing mentor: “Turning to his confessor, he prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him and reveal to him His will and the path to salvation; and, knowing that the first thought that is born in the soul after prayer is an order from above, he caught the first word of the confessor, his first hint and did not continue his conversations. This is the wisdom and secret of true obedience, the purpose of which is knowledge and fulfillment of the will of God, and not of man". Further, it is even more important: “If the novice (confessor) and confessor maintain the proper attitude towards the sacrament, then notification from God is given quickly; if for some reason there is no notification, then the confessor can ask for further explanations...” You see, according to the teachings of the monk, there is no automatic knowledge of the will of God, and not only piety of both the mentor and the novice is necessary, but even their joint prayer for the granting of notification from God. It’s stupid to say here that it doesn’t matter to the novice who to choose as an elder and, in the absence of: no, not spirit-bearing, but even simply pious mentors, turn to just any one. It is unlikely that the novice will be able to get rid of hypocrisy, and will such obedience be pleasing to God? The novice, as already mentioned, must trust his mentor. Believe that the will of God is revealed to him. Saint Ignatius also speaks about this, for which he is attacked by the young hieromonk. Now we can add that he must love his mentor, and must be loved by him. Thus, obedience can be called a Sacrament, not in a dogmatic, but in a spiritual and moral sense, as the shortest path to salvation.

Obedience to God is necessary for our salvation, and obedience to the elder is sufficient, but not a necessary condition for salvation. Not all monks can find an elder to whom they can be obedient.

The fact is that even in monasticism obedience is not a necessity. Everyone knows well that there are monks living in a communal monastery, there were those who lived according to the idiorhythmic rule, and there were simply hermit monks. Of course, there is no doubt that the first way is the most effective, most proven and reliable. Listen to what the great Russian Athonite elder Arseny said to his student, the future confessor of the Panteleimon monastery, Jerome, directing him to the hostel: “And what you say, that you want to overcome passions in the desert and achieve union with God, is this: they achieve it in desert, if they live according to the will of God; but in a common life, both can be obtained more quickly, because the desert only lulls the passions, and the community completely mortifies the passions, and buries them in humility and obedience and in cutting off our own will, and when the passions are mortified in us, then we will find peace of mind and let us unite with God." But they lived and were saved both in idiorhythms and in the desert, if they lived according to the will of God. What was an idiorhythmic monastery, or a regular monastery in the Russian tradition?

Let’s take the description of the Athonite monk Parthenius, who was also a student of Father Arseny: “Now I will write at least a little about the laurels. Laurel in Greek is called diorota; they live in them more of their own free will, as they wish, only under a confessor(that is, like most lay people, they turn to him for advice). Food is obtained from the common, baked bread, butter, wine and cereals; but everyone cooks for themselves. There is no common meal; only happens to strangers. Everyone has money and things, and they buy what anyone needs. In the church, the rule is governed according to the Athonite Rule, for a long time. All-night vigils occur only on great holidays, and also last twelve hours. The obedience of the brethren takes place according to custom; the rich do not go to the monastery for obedience, but correct other obediences - they are sent to different places according to monastic needs. The poor work hard and suffer much tribulation. Monasteries are governed by cathedral elders. And although abbots are elected, it is only for the sake of the church. And in these monasteries, there are many servants of God who pass perfect monastic life. And there are many there who only know their cell: they put a lot of money into the monastery so that they would not be disturbed in anything, and they live as if in the desert only by their own will (more correctly, by the will of God).”

It is clear that life in a hostel is more perfect, which is why zealots of the hostel rule appeared in our fatherland: Rev. Sergius of Radonezh, Rev. and others. But such a movie must correspond to its ideal. There is nothing more terrible than a cenobitic monastery, which is subordinate to the abbot, but in fact is a real idiorhythm. Alas, modern Russian people do not need to look far for examples. There are abbots who easily deal with those who do not obey them, but at the same time, “special” monks have not just personal property in such monasteries, but even cars.

In the twentieth century, idiorhythmic monasteries began to be hastily liquidated on Mount Athos, but this was done not out of jealousy for community life, but with the aim of strengthening discipline, that is, introducing precisely secular orders. That is why cenobitic monasteries are now widespread everywhere. They are more consistent with church discipline. No matter how bad the idiorhythm was, it corresponded to the state of spiritual life: when the monks could not rise to the dormitory level, it was better for them to live unhypocritically in such a monastery. In addition, according to the monk Parthenius, the idiorhythm was a kind of desert, although it was a monastery. Therefore, on Mount Athos there existed side by side dormitories, idiorhythms, and cells in which the elder and several disciples and hermits lived. Monastic life developed naturally and took the forms necessary in each era and, in addition, providing the monk with the possibility of salvation depending on his mental structure, bodily strength, spiritual perfection and purpose. But, apart from community life, all other forms of monastic life are more difficult to facilitate the introduction of discipline.

Obedience and Discipline

Need to mark. that discipline, which is now being tried to replace obedience, is in fact its opposite. Discipline presupposes submission not to the will of God, but to the will of man. Whatever good goals the state or military unit pursues, this subordination of one person to another does not serve the knowledge of the will of God, but the dispensation, organization of life or those other actions according to some laws, either objective or accepted in this particular case. True monastic obedience does not affect any individual spheres of life, it covers the entire life of the novice and his goal is to cut off the will of the younger, spiritual growth. Discipline is aimed at purely external tasks. Thus, in modern church life, monasteries are necessary as external institutions - the Orthodox Church cannot be imagined without monasteries, which are not only historical monuments, but also unique spiritual reserves. Accordingly, after Soviet times, spiritual life is not in the best condition. This is understandable, because this government did not allow monastics to live freely according to their laws, persecuting the elders, violating spiritual life. The decline of monasticism was inevitable, and now, in order to revive it in a short time, you need to use a purely external tool - discipline. This is what contributes to the general worldliness in the church. And now we already see the abbot living in Moscow and by telephone giving instructions to his confidant, located three hundred miles from Moscow. Obedience is carried out to specific individuals and does not imply replacement and covers the entire inner world of a person. Obedience is aimed at improving the spiritual world, at saving the novice. This is the fundamental difference between obedience and discipline, which is aimed at maintaining external order.

Moreover, obedience is only obedience when it is the result of free choice. Obedience performed due to external reasons. With internal grumbling does not bear fruit for the novice. This is how it is said in the “Charter of Rev. Venedicta." (Ancient monastic rules, p. 603): “Obedience then becomes pleasing to God and kind to people when what is commanded is fulfilled not with anxiety, not with delay, not with coldness, or grumbling, and not with a reservation expressing reluctance. Obedience rendered to the greatest is to God, since He Himself said: listen to you, he listens to me () - and must be rendered with a good disposition of the heart: “God loves the giver willingly (). If the disciple obeys not with good will, and not only with his lips, but also with grumbling in his heart, then even though he fulfills the command, it will not be pleasing to God, Who saw the heart of the grumbling one. For such a deed, not only will he not receive any grace, but he will also be punished along with the complainers if he does not correct himself by paying due penance.”

Both obedience and discipline presuppose authority. Discipline does not allow one to disobey his superiors; obedience subordinates the monk to the elder purely for internal reasons. Authority in the case of a disciplinary device is absolute - it is assigned by a higher authority and can only be withdrawn. Discipline does not imply freedom. This is the person to whom you must obey in your field of activity - whether you like it or not. Obedience presupposes something else - firstly, the free choice of who you will obey, and secondly, the freedom to leave the elder or monastery. An elder or abbot must have authority, relative authority, not absolute. This or that person may lose authority for one reason or another: fall into heresy, violate monastic rules or the rules of a particular monastery, etc. and so on. Discipline presupposes unconditional submission to superiors - otherwise such an organization will not be effective. Here is how New Martyr M.A. Novoselov writes about this: “If by the word “authority” we mean, as sometimes happens, a certain purely physical, purely moral meaning acquired by some person on the path of Christian deeds and wisdom, i.e. e. on the path of filial obedience to the Holy Church, and not through power over it - if we define authority this way, then it, of course, exists in the Church of Christ, and not through power over it - if we define authority this way, then it, of course, there is more in the Church of Christ, the source of all wisdom, than anywhere else. It is then only a question of fact, and not at all a question of law.” Here the author does not simply contrast moral authority with absolute authority, which is absent in the Orthodox Church, but occupies a dominant place in the Catholic Church. But it also points to the source of this authority – the Church. This is the main difference between moral authority and absolute disciplinary authority. Moreover, in the first case, the source of this authority is the Church, understood as an Organism, as the Body of Christ, in the second, as an organization. And the guarantee of the existence of this authority in obedience to the Church is this obedience, that is, participation in the Body, then the authority becomes sinless and the obedience about which the Venerable taught is possible. Silouan. Of course, one sin or another excommunicates a person from participation in the Church-Organism, but obedience to the Church soon brings that person back. Therefore, if the elder has not lost this connection with the Church, then he must obey and such obedience will be salutary, but if he has fallen into sins and belongs only to the organization. Having abandoned one’s obedience to the Church, replacing it with disciplinary participation in the organization, then submission to such an abbot or confessor will be the bearing of sorrows, which is how many monks are saved today. Novoselov speaks about this as follows: “But this wisdom, this knowledge is not given to anyone personally, because personally we have nothing of our own, nothing of our own, except sin. Knowledge is given only to the extent of participation in the Church, because knowledge itself belongs only to it alone, the Church of Christ, which received everything in full from the very beginning” (Ibid.). Thus, if an abbot, an elder, or anyone else flouts or simply ignores the decrees of the church (not to mention, of course, dogmas), then he places himself above the Church and obedience to such a shepherd can only bring bitter fruits.

It is curious that the great zealot of cinenial monasticism, St. , directly compares the movie with the Church. “...And the cellarer’s business will not go as well as he would like if he does not have an assistant in the person of a cook, and neither will the others, if they do not have others who are similarly minded. And just as there are many members in one body, but all the members care about each other equally, and if one member suffers, all members suffer with him: if one member is famous, all members rejoice with him (), so in brotherhood, if this condition is not met, then we will have neither cinema, nor peace, nor harmony, but internal discord and decay. If this is so, then how dare anyone do anything of his own accord... Or how dare anyone refuse when he is called to action and disobey those who have power over him? Such a one is not a novice, but a disobedient one, not a brother, but a stranger.” . Thus, the konovia becomes, as it were, the embodiment of the Church itself as the Body of Christ, and the leadership in it is given by the konovia (Church) itself. That is, every member of the konovia, including the abbot, must live according to its laws, and not vice versa, the konovia must obey the invented laws of the abbot, or simply his whims. Participation in such an ideal konoviya implies denial of one’s will, subordination of its general will to the konoviya as a single organism, just as participation in the Body of Christ implies subordination to the single will of the Church.

Thus, it turns out that both the elder and his disciples are in fact novices of God, obedience to Whom is carried out through the Church. If the elder, who is supposed to be more perfect in this obedience, becomes disobedient, then obedience to him becomes the fulfillment of his personal will and cannot be recognized as saving. There has been a lot of talk lately about the rights of clergy. Let us remember that Saint Ambrose included in his book only the duties of clergy. In reality, for the novices of God there can be only duties and extremely few rights. And being an elder does not mean occupying some important place in the monastic hierarchy. And, according to the will of God, to place upon oneself an exorbitantly heavy burden. In modern theology, when considering obedience, the figure of the novice becomes central: they say, do what the elder tells you - and there will be obedience. But in reality, the main figure in obedience is the elder; he is certainly responsible for the fact that what he says must correspond to the will of God, although such correspondence is relative and cannot completely correspond to the will of God. Archimandrite Sophrony writes about such an episode from the life of Abbot Misail of the Panteleimon Monastery in his memoirs about Elder Silouan: One day he summoned a novice monk to him and entrusted him with complex and difficult obedience. The novice readily accepted it and, making the required bow, headed towards the door. Suddenly the Abbot called him. The novice stopped. Bowing his head to his chest, the Abbot calmly but significantly said: “Father S., remember: God does not judge twice, so when you do something for obedience to me, then I will be judged by God, and you are free from the answer.” Of course, this does not apply to cases when a novice does something contrary to the will of God, for example, violates the commandments of God, the important thing is that earlier the elders and abbots understood that they would have to answer at the Last Judgment for their mistakes and the Judgment was not for them by some kind of abstraction, they already saw themselves standing before God.

In the book “Biographies of Athonite Ascetics of Piety of the 19th Century” we read: “Occupying, apparently, an insignificant position, Fr. Antipas, to the best of his ability, was jealous of the preservation of communal rules in full force. One day Fr. During the common fraternal meal, Niphon blessed the cellarer to prepare a separate dish for himself and some guest. The cellarer did not prepare it: the abbot became angry and ordered him to bow down. “I will bow down with joy,” the cellarer answered him, but I ask you to forgive me: this was done for a good purpose, so that there would be no stumbling and temptation for the brethren! Since you yourself started good statutes according to the rules of the Holy Fathers, so that they are not violated by you, because the abbot must be an example for everyone in everything: only then will our community be firm and reliable! – Then, when Fr. completely calmed down. Nifont, he thanked Fr. Antipas for prudent zeal." You see the obedience of the Church, which was expressed in obedience to the monastic rules. Father Antipas put his abbot above the self-will and thereby directed him on the path of salvation. Wait, what about: “obedience is higher than fasting and prayer”?

How many times have we heard these words before? They are still on the lips today. Of course, it is simply stupid to understand this expression as opposed to obedience to fasting and prayer. Yes, the main thing is obedience, and the rest is not so important. But let us turn again to Elder Silouan: “Why did the Holy Fathers place obedience above fasting and prayer? Because from exploits without obedience vanity is born, but the novice does everything as he is told and has no reason to be proud. In addition, the obedient one has cut off his will in everything and listens to his spiritual father, and therefore his mind is free from all worries and prays purely.” And this expression has nothing in common with the meaning that is put into it today. And, of course, it has nothing to do with the canonical structure of the church.

Thus, the misunderstanding of monastic obedience, and even more so the absurd transfer of it to all aspects of church life, led to the fact that obedience was quietly replaced by discipline. This was facilitated by the understanding of obedience, not as obedience to the Church, but through it to God, but as following the human will of a person occupying one or another place in church structures. We will consider further the extent to which this harmful understanding has become widespread in the church.

Concluding this topic, I would like to give another wonderful example from Athos life. A Bulgarian elder named Herman, who lived in the second half of the 19th century, was once visited by a resident of the Sarov Hermitage. As often happened during such visits, the Russian monk asked the elder for spiritual edification and asked: “What best have you found on the path of monastic life?” “- Obedience! - he answered. “I’m ready to believe this if we talk about hermit life,” I continued, “but when it comes to the community life, I don’t quite believe it: it seems to me that the rivalry in the state of the monasteries carried away the primates, and after them all monasticism, into the interests and materiality of which achieved through various plausible means; why, I think, in our times true monasticism has become so impoverished. With this direction, some of us sometimes have to receive obediences that are not consistent with our conscience with the teachings of the Church. Will obedience be salutary in this case? If you are convinced,” he answered, “that what is commanded is contrary to the commandment of God, then what prevents you from explaining this to your superior before fulfilling it? “My crucifix!” I answered. - But didn’t you come out of the world for this reason, to take up your cross and follow Christ? - But what should I do when the elder is not convinced by the explanation and insists on fulfilling what is commanded? - if it does not constitute a mortal sin and you are weak, then, in my opinion, it is better to do it, because he, and not you, will be responsible for it before God; but if you are strong in faith, then it is better to be guilty before your boss than before God; it is better to be ready to suffer punishment and even leave the monastery, wearing your cross. However, whoever in simplicity of heart and with full faith surrenders himself to obedience, constantly praying to the Lord that the Lord will reveal His will to the elder leader for the sake of your salvation, the Lord will not allow him to be tempted: he will deliver both the boss and the subordinate from the snares of the evil one.”

It is curious that in this passage we are no longer talking about obedience itself, as a means of salvation, but about obedience that has degenerated into discipline. There can be no question of trusting the elder and loving him. Novices, on the contrary, are afraid of temptations from their superiors. And the elder, who spent more than forty years on Mount Athos alone, does not say a word about any unquestioning obedience. The elder advises the novice, if he has the strength to do so, to resist the authorities and try to convince him, even if this threatens with expulsion from the monastery! And in order to live in such a monastery, he advises the novice to rely on his prayers, so that the Lord will enlighten the foolish leaders! This is what the situation was like in Russian monasteries in the 19th century. But let us note that at that time there was no spread of false teachings like ecumenism! What would the elder say if he found out that novices in Russia have to sin against the faith!

It's time to draw some conclusions. The main conclusion: obedience involves not only external submission, but also mainly internal one. Outside of internal agreement with the elder or abbot, obedience becomes discipline. Internal agreement with the elder presupposes faith that the elder is doing everything correctly, since he is a vessel of grace. This can be called faith in the elder. True obedience is based on the mutual love of the novice and the elder and has as its goal not the preservation or prosperity of any organization (monastery, cell), but the salvation of the elder and the novice. Only obedience to such a spirit-bearing elder, who is a partaker of grace and a member of the Body of Christ, is saving for the novice.
Obedience is not a universal path of salvation, and is not always realized even in monastic life. Transferring obedience to the worldly sphere, to the relationship between bishop and clergy, priest and layman, is unacceptable.

Holy vol. 3 p. 52

Holy . An offering to modern monasticism. Works, volume 5., page 71. St. Petersburg, 1905

Ibid pp. 71-72

Although there are not so many preaching this new teaching in writing. For this reason, there are many who are trying to introduce such teachings at the everyday level. Nevertheless, most researchers completely agree with the saint. If, for example, Hieromonk Mitrofan (Wolfhound) writes in his book “Fundamentals of spiritual life according to the Slavic “philokalia”: “The human mind without a leader cannot ascend to heaven, therefore the Holy Scriptures give many instructive examples of the need obedience to mentors... According to the rules of community life, a monk must completely obey his abbot (confessor), from whom he received tonsure, and without a doubt do everything he says...” It would seem that the author is deducing the doctrine of blind obedience, and even speaks of the impossibility of salvation without a leader , but in another place we read: “The greatest good is to ask questions about everything, but only to those who are skilled. It is very harmful to ask the unskilled... Unskillful mentors have harmed many foolish people, instead of healing they only reproached and plunged them into despair. Although it is important to confess your thoughts to your confessor, you should not go to everyone, but only to the spiritual and reasonable.” Hieromonk Ignatius is even more categorical: “Such obedience is impossible without an elder, and even if there is an elder, it is very difficult if there is no possibility of continuous residence with him. However, as we know, demand dictates supply. Playing at being spiritual mentors is a serious temptation. In addition to satisfying his vanity, the “old man” can acquire many purely earthly benefits in this game.” And he further quotes the words of St. Ignatius: “... Soul-destructive acting and the saddest comedy - the elders who take on the role of the ancient holy Elders, not having their spiritual gifts, let them know that their very intention, their very thoughts and concepts about the great monastic work - obedience, are false, that their very way of thinking, their reason, their knowledge are self-delusion and demonic delusion”... It is surprising that even Professor A.I. Osipov, known for the originality of his opinions, agrees with everyone: “The only spiritual father can can have in his obedience - who has achieved real dispassion, who sees the soul of a person.” Obedience and prayer of today's Christian, according to St. . Radio station "Radonezh". Broadcast 07/15/03 Hierodeacon Nikolai: “For this, the elder must certainly possess, along with many other necessary virtues, the gift of spiritual reasoning, that is, the ability to recognize the will of God in prayer, which allows his answers to be exclusively spiritual, “prophetic” in nature.” .

There is probably no need to dwell in detail on this work, which, according to the author himself, is simply a response to some kind of letter. But what immediately catches the eye is that the author, wittingly or unwittingly, introduces confusion into the issue of obedience. Having begun with a description of monastic obedience, the author unexpectedly ends with the obedience of lay people to their confessor. Which actually cannot be called obedience. The meaning of obedience is in cutting off one’s will, and not in analyzing individual issues of spiritual life or simply in confession. The meaning of monastic obedience is not to do something with the blessing of an elder, but to do everything with his blessing. Transferring this obedience to worldly life simply leads to wickedness, which produces abundant and harmful fruits in worldly life. Some examples of such obedience are so monstrous that there is simply no way to talk about them here.

But such an end to the work of the hieromonk is natural. The current concern for obedience rests precisely on ensuring church discipline.

Semipalatinsk 1900. P.84. cit. by Hierodeacon Nikolai (Sakharov). Archimandrite Sophrony's teaching on eldership: eldership and obedience in the theology of the archimandrite. Beginning.№10, 2002.

Borisoglebsky G. The Legend of the Life of the Optina Elder Fr. Ambrose. M.1893.P.53. cit. By. Hierodeacon Nikolai (Sakharov

"The Path to Salvation." Quote By. Hierodeacon Nikolai (Sakharov

“For good teachers have good lessons, but evil ones, of course, have evil ones. When our crafty opponent is unable to convince us to remain in worldly confusion and destruction, he hastens to convince us not to surrender ourselves to a strict life, or to such a man who brings all our sins before our eyes and corrects them, but to entrust ourselves to someone... one of the older glory-lovers who satisfy their own passions under the pretext of condescension towards those living with him, so that in this way, imperceptibly making us again multi-passionate, entangling us with our own bonds of sin. And if you entrust yourself to a husband adorned with many virtues, you will become an heir to blessings. What is in it, and you will be very blessed before God and before people. But if, sparing your body, you find a teacher who is condescending to your passions, or, better to say, who falls with you: it was in vain that you embarked on the feat of renunciation of the world; because he gave himself up to a passionate life and took a blind wolf for himself to the pit.” St. . An ascetic word and an exhortation to renounce the world. Creations. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1901, Part 5. P. 41-42

Elder Joseph of Athos Exposition of monastic experience p. 293

Pearls. Page 120

It is curious that, regardless of the author of this work, it is this book, and precisely this episode, that Deacon Vladimir Sokolov draws attention to when he presented a critical analysis of the opinions of Father Dorimedont in the newspaper “Orthodox Moscow”. Here is what he writes about this: “Such obedience turns into idolatry. Obedience becomes higher not only than fasting and prayer, but also higher than the commandment of God. The opinion of the elder is higher than the wisdom of God. The commandment of God is replaced by human tradition () - the elder is put in the place of God. This understanding of obedience runs counter to the patristic teaching, for such obedience violates the basic postulate of morality: a good goal is achieved only by good means. The author, thank God, understands this: he, referring to the opinion of the holy fathers, says that disobedience can be shown in the case of obedience that is questionable regarding morality. But, nevertheless, the wisdom about obedience described above does not begin out of nowhere - it always grows on the basis of a misunderstanding of the patristic heritage.” Deacon Vladimir Sokolov / “Orthodox Moscow”, No. 21-22 (279-280), November 2002

Deacon Vladimir Sokolov. In the same article he rightly notes: “When Hieromonk Dorimedont asserts that “the comparison of what is said by the teacher and abbot with the Holy Scriptures and patristic works,” on which the Monk Simeon insists, is possible only before entering into obedience, then he essentially does the same thing – the father puts the elder’s opinion above the Scriptures and the works of the saints. From such theology a bridge can easily be thrown to the possibility of violation through obedience to the commandment of God. Therefore, there is no doubt - young age is born from the theology of obedience described above by simply transferring the unique experience of obedience of the ancient ascetic fathers to any parish confessor" ( Selection – P.T.). Deacon Vladimir very accurately noted the purpose of these researches of the Athonite monk - to justify obedience at the parish level. And the next point is the transfer of monastic obedience to the canonical structure of the Church. Another researcher also writes about the mechanical transfer of the teachings of the ancient fathers about obedience into modern and, especially, worldly life: “Does a modern Christian need the path of obedience, in the form in which the ancient novices had it? Such a path was inaccessible to the laity even in the flourishing times of Christianity.” Hieromonk Ignatius (Dushein) What is obedience.

Hierodeacon Nicholas: “The novice must have absolute faith in the elder, like in God himself”

This is where the need to recognize the existence of authority arises. As you know, the Orthodox faith rejects the possibility of authority. But this relates to the legal understanding of authority, that is, the recognition of authority for a particular position. In the church, authority can only belong to a holy person who has acquired the Holy Spirit, and thus has reached not the top of the hierarchical ladder, but the top of the Ladder, which ascends from the world below to the world above. Because only someone who has succeeded in the Christian life can be an authority, and this is precisely a person who has achieved deification and holiness. Let us note the relativity of such authority: a holy person may fall, may not be recognized by his contemporaries. Such authority presupposes obedience to him.

Hieromonk Ignatius (Dushein) writes: “Often many rectors of parishes and monasteries believe that their position itself already gives them the right to be the spiritual leaders of their subordinates. Whether consciously or out of ignorance, they confuse spiritual obedience with disciplinary “obediences.” In real church life, especially in monasteries, the word “half-drying” was assigned to all types of work in the monastery. Wherever a pilgrim or novice is sent to work, everywhere he is “on obedience.” There is nothing wrong with such terminology if you remember what spiritual obedience is (as was written above) and what disciplinary obedience is, and do not confuse these two different things. And the abbots themselves often mix them up for the convenience of managing the parish or monastery. For example: the priest wants the parishioner to bake prosphora. If she simply says: “Marya, bake some prosphora,” she may refuse, but if she says: “It’s your duty, Mary, to bake some prosphora for tomorrow’s service,” success is guaranteed. Unfortunately, this success can only be positive on the earthly plane. Spiritually it is harmful because it is based on lies.» ( Highlighted –P.T.)

“Once, speaking about obedience, in response to the remark of the archimandrite (the future saint) that monastic obedience to the elder does not allow for any reasoning, the Bishop of Moscow (Metropolitan) noted that now there are no such novices. The archimandrite replied that, since this mainly depends on upbringing, there are now novices, although rarely, who accept this teaching in the image of the ancient novices, and referred to his cell novice who accompanied him, the archimandrite, on this visit to the lord. The Eminence wished to see him and see the experience of such obedience. The cell man of the archimandrite, named Stepan, was called and introduced to the bishop. The archimandrite tells him: “Stepan, show your tongue to the bishop!” He stuck out his tongue, without reasoning and without embarrassment - and was released" (Biography of a Bishop", M. 2002, p. 207. Subsequently, this Stefan was honored with a blessed death. Let us note that obedience does not arise automatically between the elder and the novice, but is the result education of a novice. Let us note that such examples well illustrate the need for faith in the elder.

We cannot resist citing one more word from Rev. : “Brothers and fathers! I am talking with you of my own free will, and not under compulsion, although I need to talk with you. I am jealous for you with God’s jealousy (), although I am a sinner, and I rejoice very much at your success. If you often have to upset you, as was the case the day before, then this is not because you are offended, but let you know the love that I love you in abundance (), - since a lover diligently educates, Who is a son, who is not punished by his father ()? - may you be completely perfect, lacking in nothing () For I especially approve of you and testify that you are obedient and submissive, and fulfill your father’s commandments, so I don’t know if there are others like you who are in obedience in relation to . And I tell you not flattery, but the truth. For who is so unanimous with the father or so follows the abbot in what is in accordance with the commandment of the Lord, just as you appeared distinguished in both respects? And this is evidenced by exile and persecution, prisons and other disasters, opposition even to the point of bloodshed when you fight against sin (

Archim Sophrony Elder Silouan, page 38

It is interesting that Rev. compares martyrdom and obedience. The second is an easy path compared to the first, by which all the spiritual fruits of the first are achieved. “... Consider how little and how little labor it has been given to us to acquire the Kingdom of Heaven. We do not shed blood like martyrs; Our members are not cut off, our bones are not broken; but if we apply to our lungs and not much work renunciation of one's will, with the desire to please God and serve the brethren in any way (highlighted by me P.T.), then through this we become like the long-suffering martyrs, and even the Lord Himself, who endured crucifixion and death for us. Be grateful and work hard! Martyr’s crowns await you!” (word 20

Professor Osipov, in the above-mentioned radio speech, rightly notes: “After all, quite often we see that obedience is understood in the same way as we often see in sectarian communities, in sectarian organizations - when their head and leader is the dictator of the entire community. People now confuse discipline and obedience, not understanding the difference between the two.”

M.A. Novoselov. Letters to friends. M. 1994 P.138

Rev. Small announcement. Words. M.2000. P.122-123.

In another place, he develops this idea: “generally speaking, we are many, one body in Christ, and judge each other according to one (): one takes the place of the eye, the other - the ear; this one is the nose, and this one is the tongue; another - hands, and another - legs. If all the members do not each do their own thing, but begin to argue, demanding - the eye - to hear, the ear - to smell, the nose - to speak, the tongue - to touch, the hand - to walk, will the whole body not be upset or bend? If this is so, then let everyone fulfill his obedience, and let him serve whatever gift he has received from God for the common good, keeping in mind that our fate is in the hand of God.” Word 328. Philokalia vol. 4 also: “You are all novices for each other, helpers for each other, like living members of one body. If the eye does not guide the hands, if one hand does not support the other, if the foot does not step as the good of the whole body requires, if in general each member begins to act according to its own will; then they will not only not maintain their strength, but with the destruction of themselves, they will destroy the whole body. Therefore, let everyone rejoice when he has to work harder for others, enduring cold, rain and heat; Let him who sits idle weep and lament, like an indecent member, living in the body not for the body and worthy only of being cut off” (word 2).

Hieromonk Anthony (Svyatogorets). Lives of Athonite ascetics of piety of the 19th century. pp. 48-49

Hieromonk Anthony Svyatogorets. Lives of Athonite ascetics of piety of the 19th century. M. 2001. Publishing house L[to. P.80-81

Original taken from alexander_nv in Authority in the Church: Bishops, Obedience and Blessing.

Very often in church you can hear that nothing can happen without the blessing of the hierarchy. Any church endeavor must have the blessing of a bishop or priest. At the same time, the need for obedience is always spoken of, where blessing is an integral part of this very obedience. But let’s try to figure out what blessing and obedience mean in the Church, how it differs from command and submission, and what kind of substitutions there are.

What Scripture says about obedience.
By obedience to the truth through the Spirit, having purified your souls to unfeigned brotherly love, constantly love one another with a pure heart(1 Peter 1:22).
Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ(2 Cor. 10:5)

We see from these quotes that obedience in Scripture is understood, first of all, as obedience to God, the Truth. But in Scripture you can also find words about obedience to people.
Hoping for your obedience, I wrote to you, knowing that you will do more than I say.(Phil. 1:21)

But we see that here the Apostle Paul does not give directives when addressing his disciple Philemon, but exhorts him, although this is Paul himself, the supreme apostle, as the church calls him. Paul exhorts, says that he hopes for obedience, and does not demand it.
In general, Paul is least of all like someone who demands unquestioning submission to himself.
I do not write this to shame you, but I admonish you as my beloved children (1 Cor. 4:14).
Although at times Pavel can express himself quite sharply and firmly, there is no commanding tone anywhere
Therefore I beg you: imitate me, as I imitate Christ.(1 Cor. 4:16).

Is it possible now from a bishop to hear such words addressed to a priest?
Out of great sorrow and an oppressed heart, I wrote to you with many tears, not to grieve you, but so that you might know the love that I have in abundance for you (2 Cor. 2:4).

Again Paul pleads with his spiritual children. And again, without any monarchist rhetoric.
We, as companions, beseech you that the grace of God may not be received by you in vain (2 Cor. 6:1).

If bishops and priests call themselves successors of the apostles, then isn’t it worth imitating the apostles in their pastoral activities?

I'm not even talking about Christ Himself, who said.
You know that those who are revered as princes of the nations rule over them, and their nobles rule over them. But let it not be like this among you: but whoever wants to be great among you, let us be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all(Mark 10:42-44).

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for us to observe in the dioceses of our church something completely inconsistent with the gospel words given above, when the bishop acts as the ultimate truth, an infallible monarch, deciding what can and cannot be on his canonical territory , understanding the area entrusted to him not as a space of church responsibility and service, but as a feudal fiefdom, where he is the undivided master.

One can recall more than one such case when, as a result of such behavior by the clergy, the best and most selfless servants of God were banned from serving or persecuted. Most of all, of course, the priests suffered, since they are directly subordinate to the bishop.

Let’s take, for example, the “Chersonese case”, when in 1997 the rector of the largest parish in Chersonese, missionary Father John Zamaraev, was banned by the ruling bishop in ministry. After this, Father John and several other clergy went to the schismatic Kiev Patriarchate, although they had been under ban for a whole year before, hoping for some kind of successful resolution of this issue. But their activities in the parish received a negative assessment from the bishop, and in fact, because of this, the UOC-MP lost talented priests and many of its flock, who followed them to the UOC-KP.

What is one “Ekaterinburg auto-da-fé” worth, which took place in Yekaterinburg in 1998, when the ruling bishop ordered the burning of books by priests Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, and forced all priests to renounce “evil heretics”, “modernists”, and those who refused were sent banned

There was a sad story with the large parish of the Church of All Saints in Kulishki, when Abbot Martyriy was banned from serving without any intelligible explanation.

“Alma-Ata case”, when the three most active priests involved in the mission, Hieromonk Seraphim (Kenisarin), Priest. Vasily Melnikov and priest. Vasily Teleutov, were subjected to reprimands for carrying out the rite of “cutting a kolach” at home, a church rite published in the breviary of the Russian Orthodox Church MP.
In 2007, about 150 members of the Bogolyubsky Brotherhood, an informal Orthodox movement, were excommunicated in Tver. No specific charges were brought; the very fact of the existence of a brotherhood, which was not sanctioned by the diocese, was therefore considered an ungodly matter.

The author of this article and a group of friends remained without communion for nine months only because they gathered at home and read the Gospels without the blessing of a bishop and priest. For this we were called a dangerous sect, schismatics and heretics who live on money from the US State Department.

Now in Velsk, another informal Orthodox brotherhood, about thirty people, is under church ban just because they get together and try to somehow do something together for God. But since they are not a diocesan structure, they are simply excommunicated from the church, demanding to “dissolve the brotherhood.” But what does it mean to “dissolve the brotherhood”? It's just a friends' campaign. Should they no longer meet, or should they not speak on spiritual topics during meetings, or open the Scriptures?

In the Khabarovsk diocese, a trial is currently underway against priest Viktor Dunaev, who tried, in his free time from services, to tell friends, acquaintances and strangers about God, to help those who find it difficult to enter the church, who already have negative experiences associated with the church, come to church. And now he is under church trial! He is required to stop (!) communicating with his spiritual children, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ! How is this possible?! How can Christians from the same church be prohibited from communicating with each other?!
These, of course, are just a few examples of what often happens in the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. There are, of course, many more of them.

The following quotes from the epistle of St. are often cited to justify the unquestioned authority of the bishop. Ignatius of Antioch.
Therefore, it is necessary, as you are doing, not to do anything without the bishop.
Without the bishop, no one should do anything related to the Church.
Only that Eucharist should be considered true, which is celebrated by the bishop or by those to whom he himself grants it. Where there is a bishop, there must be a people, just as where Jesus Christ is, there must be the Catholic Church.
But it has long been proven that the works containing these quotes do not belong to St. Ignatius, these are later works signed with his name. Most likely, these works were written in the 4th-5th centuries. The period after the edict of Theodosius the Great, when only the Christian religion was allowed, all others were banned and persecuted by the authorities. As the Catholic theologian Hans Güng wrote: the persecuted church became the persecuting one. In these realities, the church began to imitate the structure of government bodies, because in many ways it became one of them. It is not for nothing that the bishop’s vestments are the vestments of the Byzantine emperor, and the priest’s vestments are also an element of royal clothing, given to the clergy as a sign of royal favor. In such a paradigm, the church could not help but adopt a completely non-evangelical way of organization, when a clear vertical is built in the distance. An unknown author of the 4th-5th century, in order to somehow consolidate the emerging tradition, decided to write down his texts under the name of a martyr of the 2nd century.

Very often, certain undertakings are cut down in the bud only because they do not have the blessing of the ruling bishop. In this situation, it turns out that God can only act through the bishop. There is no other way. There is some kind of “privatization” of the Holy Spirit, which ends up “on errands” with the bishop. If this option is rejected as blasphemous and in no way consistent with the Gospel, then another remains: every bishop has the infallibility of judgment, therefore if he forbids something, then it is really disgusting to God and is not necessary. But this, in essence, is papism, which should be completely alien to us Orthodox.
The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit.(John 3:8).

This is what the Gospel tells us. But in the modern situation it often turns out a little differently: the Spirit breathes not where it wants, but where the bishop bless. There's something wrong with this, don't you think?
Then the question reasonably arises: what should a bishop do, what does his ministry generally consist of? What should a bishop do if suddenly something starts on his canonical territory, which he personally is not the initiator and did not give his blessing? Here we can also turn to Scripture.

There is an episode in the Gospel of Mark when the disciples tell Christ about a man who cast out demons in His Name.
John said to Him: “Teacher! We saw a man who casts out demons using Your name, and we rebuked him, because he was not with us.”. /Mark 9:38/
Like, someone is using Your Name without Your knowledge and blessing! What is Jesus' answer? Begins to be indignant at the arbitrariness of this man, who allowed himself to do something in His “canonical territory” in His name without His blessing? No. He says.
Do not forbid him; for no one can perform a miracle in My name and immediately after that blaspheme Me. After all, whoever is not against us is with us/Mark 9:39/.

For Christ, it was important whether the will of the Father was being fulfilled in this matter, because He also says that He came not to do His will, but the will of the Heavenly Father. This is what is for Him the main criterion for the truth or untruth of this or that action.

Which of the apostles blessed Saul to become an apostle? There was no lot or election of him by the other apostles, but they were simply presented with the fact that there was such a person who began to serve Christ. And what did they do? They began to be indignant: who are you, without our knowledge and blessing, how dare you preach Christ? No. They began to investigate whether Paul was doing what they were doing, whether he was really from God or an impostor, a false teacher. And when they were convinced that there was God’s blessing, they joyfully accepted him as members of the Church and as their co-workers, despite all the past of Paul, a persecutor of Christians. For the apostles, the main thing was to know the will of God.

How does Paul himself talk about his ministry?
But when He chose me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, and did not go to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. , but went to Arabia and returned to Damascus again/Gal.1-15:17/.

It seems like in Jerusalem there are such pillars as Peter, James and others from among the twelve, but Paul calls them “flesh and blood,” that is, just people, says that he is, first of all, guided by the will of God and, if he is convinced that this is the will of God, then he does not consider it necessary to then further confirm this with the consent of man. Moreover, such an action may turn out to be sinful, like distrust of God.

Based on all of the above, it becomes obvious what a bishop needs to do if some kind of activity begins on his canonical territory, the direct initiator of which he is not. It is important for him to carefully examine what it is, whether what is happening is really consistent with the Gospel and with the tradition of the Church. His task is to find out whether this is the will of God or not. And if the bishop sees that the Lord is at work here, that there are spiritual fruits, then he is obliged to bless this and promote it in every possible way. As the apostles did when they were convinced that Paul was truly chosen by God, not a deceiver or an impostor. Otherwise, the bishop runs the risk, at best, of committing the sin of negligence towards God’s work, if he somehow does not support this or that good undertaking; at worst, if he begins to hinder this good undertaking in every possible way, he simply risks turning into a fighter against God and a persecutor of Christ. !

Of course it's difficult. It is difficult to always accurately determine what is God’s work and what is not. This requires enormous effort of spiritual and mental strength, and in some cases physical strength, and, above all, faith in God and faith in man. At the same time, the risk of error always remains, because man is an imperfect being. Therefore, it is clear that it is much easier to simply prohibit everything, to take such a protective position when everything seems to be under your control. But then, where is the place for God’s action?

Therefore, as I see it, this is the task of the bishop in this case: to support all good undertakings, no matter who started them: a priest, a layman. Support them in every possible way if he sees good fruits and sees this in accordance with the spirit of the Gospel. And vice versa, to denounce, edify, put a barrier to everything that does not correspond to the spirit of the Gospel, the canons and traditions of the Church. For this we have a rich tradition, numerous rules adopted by the holy fathers at councils. Therefore, even if a bishop wants to prohibit some matter in his canonical territory, he must be guided by Scripture and the tradition of the church, and not simply by personal judgment.

Any person must obey a bishop not simply because of his rank, but because he proclaims the will of God. Many people think wrongly. That the main monastic virtue is obedience, but this is not so. Obedience becomes such, and not blind submission, if there is another virtue, which is precisely what monks call the main virtue - prudence.
This is what Rev. writes. Anthony the Great on obedience to the elders.

It is necessary to make sure in advance that the elder is right-minded and experienced, and then trust his word and unquestioningly accept his advice. The sign by which this can be recognized is the agreement of his word with the Word of God. We must look, he said, at what is commanded. If anyone shows you anything that is in accordance with the commandments of our Lord, accept it with humility and try to observe it, so that the word of the Apostle may be fulfilled in us: “Submit to one another in the fear of God” (Gal. 5:13; Eph. 5:21). On the contrary, if someone shows you something that is contrary to the Divine commandments, then say to the one giving the instruction: “What is the right thing to do to listen to you rather than to listen to God?” (Acts 4:19). “It is fitting to obey God rather than man”(Acts 5:29).

We see that Rev. Anthony here is also guided by the Holy Scriptures, which gives an example from the book of Acts when Peter speaks to the hierarchy, who demanded that he stop preaching.
Consider whether it is fair before God to listen to you more than to God?/Acts 4:19/

In my opinion, this is very important for the revival of our church, for its growth, qualitative and quantitative. The main thing in the Church is the people of God, they are the Body of the Church. Pastors have been appointed to help this people gather into the Church, to help the Spirit of God to act, to create the most favorable conditions for Him. This applies not only to bishops, but also to priests in parishes. Within the framework of his parish, the priest must also understand that he is not appointed here as a boss, whom everyone is obliged to obey, but as a servant of God, who listens carefully to God and helps Him act. And God, as we know, acts primarily through people.

It is very important now to support or at least not interfere with those priests and laity who are really trying to do something for the sake of God and the Church, for the sake of people. They try to do something completely sincerely, sacrificing themselves and devoting themselves to service. But often they not only do not receive support, but on the contrary, they begin to be persecuted by those who are brothers in Christ and who should be their co-workers in God’s work. The Lord in the Gospel of Matthew tells a parable about the evil vinedressers, and now we need to understand who we are in this parable? Those whom the owner of the vineyard or the winegrowers send, or perhaps those to whom Christ addresses His parable?

How to deal with pride?

We need to know that the Lord gave us the body. Soul, abilities, talents are also from Him. Everything we do, we do with the help of God. We have nothing of our own - what is there to be proud of? I remember I was 47 years old. I then said: “I have lived for 47 years, and my teeth have never hurt.” That night I couldn’t sleep because of a toothache. I could hardly wait for the morning. So you can’t rely on yourself. They will ask: “Are your teeth bad?” We must answer: “The Lord keeps and has mercy.”

One priest told me: “I served for 20 years. Others at Communion had cases where the Chalice was knocked over, the Body of Christ was dropped. Everything is always fine with me. Only I thought so, on the same day I shed the Blood of Christ on the antimension”... Us Only the grace of God preserves! You cannot put yourself ahead anywhere. If the Lord gives you the energy to do some good deed, do not attribute anything to yourself! “Not I, but the Lord,” - this is what the Apostle Paul said. - “I labored more than all the apostles; not I, however, but the grace of God, which is with me” (1 Cor. 15.10). The Lord tells us: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

One pious elder, in order to be in a humble spirit, wrote words of advice on the wall. When the demon of flattery pestered him and whispered: “You are already perfect,” he looked at the wall and read: “Do you have perfect love for God and your neighbor?” “Do you love your enemies?” And he began to expose himself: “All this - a lie. You do not love with all your heart, with all your soul, neither God, nor your neighbor, nor your enemies. You do not have perfect love." A thought comes to him and he reads: “Do you have prayer of the heart? Can you pray unceasingly, as the Apostle Paul teaches?” And he says to himself: “Liar. You do not have constant prayer. You do not have prayer of the heart.” So he wrote a lot of answers to the soul-displacing thoughts from the enemy, and he exposed himself and humbled himself. People like him achieved humility this way.

And in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there lived a monk; I carried obedience in the kitchen. He, humbling himself, said: “Lord, everyone will be saved, I alone will perish.” I looked at the fire of the stove: “My damned soul alone will burn in the fire.” And he cried. His holy relics rest in the caves...

And one elder ordered his cell attendant to extinguish the fire in the large stove. He climbed in and extinguished it with his robe, and was not burned at all - for his obedience.

There were such obedient people: the elder sent them to swim across a river infested with crocodiles. The novice crossed himself and - into the water! He sat on a crocodile and swam to the other side of the river. They didn’t touch him - for his obedience!

It used to be that the elder would give a dry grape stick and order him to walk 5 km, stick it in the sand and water it every day; and when it comes to life, blossoms and bears fruit, bring it to him. The novice had to walk back and forth every day to water the stick. For obedience, this dry grape branch blossomed and bore fruit...

They gave cabbage seedlings to two novices. One was told to plant normally, and the other - with the roots up. Imagine if such obedience were now given to a modern novice! He would have said: “The old man has gone completely mad. What nonsense - planting cabbage with its roots upside down!” But people did not reason; because salvation begins with obedience - “Bless”, and that’s all. For obedience, the fruits of virtues increased. Such people quickly achieved perfection, became saints and received eternal bliss in heaven.

What is higher: humility or obedience?

If a person does not have obedience, then this means that he does not have humility. Humility gives birth to obedience. I have seen humble people - there is such joy in them! Such grace! To such a person you say: “Come to me.” And the man doesn’t walk, but runs: “Father, I’m listening to you.” You bless him for some kind of obedience, and he: “Okay, I’ll do everything now.” And when you say something to a proud person, he will still think about whether to approach you or not. If he comes up, he asks: “What did you want?” - “Well, I wanted you to go peel the potatoes.” - “What else was missing! I - and peel the potatoes!” - “Well, okay, go on duty.” - “I won’t go on duty.” - “Well, let’s go and have some tea.” - “And - tea? Can I have tea”...

It’s so nice to be with a humble person! You will never see this person irritated or offended, you will never hear him raise his voice or be indignant about anything. Wherever this person is sent, he is happy everywhere, happy with everything. He will fulfill any obedience, because he is humble. And the Lord gives such people health, and most importantly, peace of mind, joy, and peace.

What is obedience - to obey everyone or only the confessor and those in authority?

When a person is obedient, he listens with reason: not only to his confessor, to his superiors, but also to everyone who is next to him. An obedient person is obedient everywhere, but a disobedient person knows only himself, he will not obey anyone. You know, two such stubborn people wanted to bring a log into the temple. One says: “I’ll go first,” and the other: “No, I’ll go.” A log was placed across the door, and everyone was arguing. So they did not enter the temple... The disobedient and stubborn do not enter the Kingdom of God, but only the meek and humble. Why? Yes, because in the abodes of heaven there must also be obedience. After all, we have free will and after death we are not deprived of it, just as the Angels are not deprived of it. Let’s say a man entered the abodes of heaven, he didn’t like something there, they put him in the wrong place, they didn’t please him as much as he wanted, he will rebel, because all his life he lived according to his own will... But such people do not have access to the Kingdom of Heaven; such people remain with the demon, because only demons live according to their own will, and not according to God’s will.

I am a novice, I don’t like my obedience. What should I do?

In a monastery, novices do not have their own will - whatever obedience they give must be accepted as from the hand of the Lord. This obedience must be fulfilled with joy, because it was given to you from those in authority, and therefore from the Lord. The Holy Fathers say: “If a novice works in obedience until he sweats, then the Angels of the Lord bring drops of sweat before the Throne of the Lord and demand mercy for this person.” I remember when I was ordained as a hierodeacon, I was given obedience, which was difficult for me. Previously, two people worked in this obedience, but the second one had just been ordained, he served every day, and I alone had to bear obedience in the refectory. You get up at 5 am, first the Midnight Office, then the Liturgy. After the service, you come to the dining room and start setting the tables. The dishes had to be set, the bread cut, the workers fed, the dirty dishes removed, the refectory washed, and the tables set again for the brethren. Bring the second to each (the first was placed on each table in a saucepan). After lunch, you clean everything up and return the dishes. Then came the latecomers - busy with obedience, they had to be fed. Then the seminary students came... As soon as you cleaned everything up, it was time to go to the service. When the service ended, the tables were set again, the brethren were fed, everything was cleared from the table. At this time, the canons and evening prayers were read in the refectory - we had to wait until 11 pm for everyone to leave. It was like this day after day. And you also had to get bread in the morning, make kvass every other day - a barrel of 200 liters... You come to your cell late - you can’t feel your feet under you, and at 5 in the morning you get up again. Somehow the Lord gave that I did not grumble, but did everything with joy. I think: “Well, thank God! The Lord gave me such a test.” After I stopped working in the canteen, I began to understand the severity of this work. I knew how difficult it was, because when we got up from the table, I collected the dishes and helped clear everything from the tables. In a monastery, a person must go through all the obediences in order to know the severity of work in any place. All obedience must be done with the fear of God, for the glory of God.

The hardest obedience was to confess to people. They even confessed at night. I held a general confession, there weren’t that many people there. I start to confess, I see: 2 o’clock in the morning, and the people do not end, 3 o’clock..., 5 o’clock in the morning - and all 10 people are standing. It turns out that 10 are standing - waiting for confession, while others are sleeping. The one who confesses wakes up the other to confess. It’s five in the morning, my legs can’t support me anymore, I want to sleep, I think: “Thank God, I’ll get more. For this, the Lord gives grace even here on earth.” And indeed: your body is tired, exhausted - you can barely stand, but in your soul there is peace, silence and tranquility.

Once, I remember, many people went to confession overnight. We came across these “meaty” fish that have a lot of serious mortal sins. They never confessed. You talk to them, give them the opportunity to repent, and you look - they leave joyfully... At least for an hour, I went to rest. I lie down - the evil spirit takes me and throws me up in bed. I fly, turn over in the air, and... at this time I wake up. I close my eyes and fall asleep - he picks it up again and throws me up. And so several times, the dream passes. And my confessor sends for me, calls me to confession under the Assumption Cathedral. Without sleeping for an hour, I go to confession again. The confessor knows very well that I was in confession all night, but in front of everyone he says reproachfully: “Father Ambrose! Shame on you... Look how many people - hundreds are standing, waiting for the confessor. They stood there for an hour - that’s hundreds of hours of empty time! And you're still asleep! Come on, help me confess!" I told him: "Bless me." And again you stand all day... Sometimes you go on duty at the Trinity Cathedral at the shrine of St. Sergius. There is a huge flow of people there (especially on Sundays), whole busloads of people arrive. Foreigners and compatriots come up, ask questions, and you have to answer everyone. And you keep an eye on it: what if one of the bishops arrives, the holy relics must be opened in time. By 5 o'clock the altar and all the vestments must be prepared - the rector and serving hieromonks will come. They serve and sing an akathist to St. Sergius; after the service - a sermon, then you need to take all the vestments to the sacristy, hang them, clean the altar, wash them, make sure that the entire temple is cleaned - the midnight office will begin in the morning. It was especially difficult during the days of the celebration of the memory of St. Sergius. All week from 5 am to 1 am - in the Trinity Cathedral. We were preparing for the arrival of His Holiness. Once after a holiday, when it was possible to sleep for more than 4 hours, I went to bed at 12 am and woke up only at 1 pm. I had a strong alarm, but I didn't hear it. So I deliberately began to put it in an empty pan so that it would ring louder. One day I got up before my alarm clock and left. I walked about 100 meters away - my alarm clock rang. The windows were open - he was calling as if he were firing a machine gun; it was scary to hear him 100 meters away. Thank God, I knew where I was going: this is a monastery, and obedience must be accepted with love from the Lord. And if you burn out on obedience. The Lord will not deprive the Kingdom of Heaven.

This applies not only to monasteries. This applies to all laity. Everyone must do their job without complaint.

What do you have to do to become a nun?

A novice came to one elder and said: “Father, I want to be a monk. What do I need to do?” He took the skufa from his head, threw it on the ground, trampled it with his feet and said: “If you are not trampled like this skufa, then you will never become a real monk.”

In order to be a monk, you have to accept a lot of sorrows. You need to grind your soul through these sorrows so that it gets tired of being indignant, so that it no longer grumbles or twitches. And if a person goes to a monastery and wants to be a monk, but remains in vanity, pride, and resentment, then what can there be about monasticism? When a person prepares to become a monk, then he voluntarily goes to the Cross with Christ. The laws in the monastery are completely different from those in the world. There are very subtle temptations there.

We had such a case. I arrive at the monastery and tell one novice: “There is an opportunity to go on vacation - a kind man arranges it. It costs more than a million, but he is ready to do it for us for free.” She told me: “Father, bless me.” - "God bless." Her first thought, her first reaction was from God, she accepted this news with joy. What's next? The next day the following thoughts came to her: “Yeah, they want to get rid of me, they don’t need me here.” And immediately - offended. That's how interesting our thoughts work! True, in the monastery there are thousands of times more temptations than in the world. And I say the same thing to the other: “Go along with so-and-so.” She: “We have already taken three tickets, is it possible to take that mother as well?” - “No, she is needed here.” - “Yeah, so the two of us aren’t needed? You’re sending us away...” What a perverted concept. How fast the devil works! Immediately puts the thoughts he needs into his head.

But when a person has put himself on the right path and surrendered completely to God, then he will no longer have such temptations. He knows that man lives according to the will of God; Without it, not a single hair will fall from your head, nothing will happen.

I don’t obey my mother, but I really want to learn to obey. I can not. What should I do?

Obedience, obedience is the basis of our salvation. I'll tell you how I learned to obey. When I entered the seminary of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, I began to think: “How can I accustom myself to obedience? After all, salvation begins with obedience.” I decided and said to myself: “Whoever tells me anything, must listen. Not only to my seniors, but also to my seminarian friends.”

And he began to perform. Classes end at half past two. We had lunch. Free time up to six hours. The inspector comes up and asks:

You are free?

Free.

We need to go unload the car: they brought chairs.

Inside, “I don’t want to,” but I tell myself: “You will carry out this obedience. You don’t like it? That means you will carry it out until you like it.”

Sometimes, out of obedience, it was necessary to go to the warehouse, pick up potatoes on a stretcher, and bring them to the kitchen, and more than once. Inside, “I don’t want to,” but I force: “You must fulfill this obedience!”

And so it is in every case. Train yourself to obey. Don't like washing floors, putting away dishes, or going to the store for bread? We must say to ourselves: “I will obey my parents as if they were God until I learn to joyfully carry out any of their orders.” Let’s set ourselves up this way and easily learn obedience.

My sister has a husband, Ivan Ivanovich, he has accustomed himself to work so much that he can no longer live without work. He gets up at six in the morning and immediately starts working. He goes to the cow, sweeps, cleans, puts things in order; he's building something in the garage, nailing something on the street...

I served in the parish, he came to me. I immediately found a job. I made birdhouses, cabinets, and cleared out trash in the barn. Cleaned up the closets. You can’t work on Sunday, but he’s so used to working that it’s painful for him to wait for Monday.

So everything must begin with obedience, and then the Lord will help.

How are freedom and obedience related? Doesn't a person lose his freedom by obeying his spiritual father?

The Holy Scripture says: all freedom is in the spirit, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). When a confessor is guided by the Holy Scriptures, the Spirit of God, he cannot limit the freedom of his child. In addition, each person can choose to act as his confessor advises him, or in his own way. The confessor must know the spiritual strength of his child: can he accommodate what is said, does he have a calling, for example, to become a monk? You cannot commit violence against a person: a person wants to get married, but he is persuaded to become a monk. Everything must be coordinated with the spiritual structure of the child, his condition.

Is it true that the Lord turns any obedience performed with humility for the good of the novice?

We know from the holy fathers: if a novice, by agreement with his confessor, completely entrusts himself into his hands and does everything with humility, the Lord protects him from falls. But such relationships can only exist in a monastery; this does not apply to the laity, they will not understand this. The main thing for them is to receive God's blessing for study, marriage, and getting a job.