Christ referred to those that want to follow him and underlined that they must deny their self (Matth. 16:24. Mark 8:34. Luke 9:23). Apostle Paul says, "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Corinth. 4:10) and calls the faithful people to crucify the flesh "with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Referring to himself, he underlines: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection" (1 Cor. 9:27). All this constitutes the "blessed mourning" (Matth. 5:4).
The concerns of this life are characterised by the Lord as "thorns" that prevent the spiritual fruition (Matth. 8:22. Mark 4:7. 18. Luke 7:14). If someone wants to dedicate himself completely to the love of the Lord and to prayer, he must follow the road of virginity (1 Corinth. 7:5. 8. 11. 34). This road however, is not for everyone for it is a charisma from God (Matth. 19:11).
The monks are considered as Christ's soldiers (1 Tim. 1:18); "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Tim. 2:3-4). For this reason, the monk places God's kingdom as his first priority (Matth. 6:33), the "judgments of the Lord", which are for him "more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Psalms 18/19:10-11), because his regime exists in heaven (Phil. 3:20).
This voluntary and absolute freedom from everything, regarding concerns of this life, was the road that our Lord Himself chose on earth (Matth. 8:20. 2 Corinth. 8:9). This is the road monks follow. Whoever follows this road is not allowed anymore to "look back" (Luke 9:62. 1 Tim. 5:12).
Chrysostom (On virginity 21:1, ΕΠΕ 29, 509) talking about those opposed to the monastic regime says together with the prophet: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isai. 5:20-21).
Basil the Great referring to the then opposers of monasticism underlines: "We are being accused that we have men being ascetics of devoutness, who abandoned this world and all its concerns, that our Lord compares to thorns that do not allow the word to reach to fruition.These men carry on their body the dying of Jesus and by bearing their cross they follow God" (Bas., Epistle 85/207, To clerics of Neoc., ΕΠΕ 2, 105).
The monk does not stay idle, only his work is, according to an expression by Isaac the Syrian, "divine"; his mind is "attracted by this work". This "work" does not relieve monks from carrying out the Lord's commands. Basil the Great, referring to the ascetics of his time, praises their vital role (Ascetic 1:9, ΕΠΕ 8, 123).
John Chrysostom referring to monk Theodore tells him: "If you were a mere individual,, no one would accuse you of neglecting your military service; now however you are not master of yourself at all, for you serve like a soldier such a king". After all, even a wife, she does not rule her body, but her husband does (1 Corinth. 7:4). Even more, this happens in this case; those that live for Christ cannot be masters of their bodies (Chrys., To Theod. 3, ΕΠΕ 28, 731). "Where is Christ the king? In heaven of course. And you, soldier, must set your direction towards heaven. Forget every earthly rest. No soldier ever builds a home or buys fields, nor does he deal with merchandise, that brings profit" (Basil, Ascetic pre-image ΕΠΕ 8,83).
The great fathers of the Church project with their words the total freedom monks have from every bond. Referring to indigence, Basil the Great talks about the monk in his Ascetic Disposition (chap. 34, 1 ΕΠΕ 9, 543) saying that "the one trying to acquire something for himself, is preparing nothing but separation and apostasy". The way of life of the first christians was kept in monastic regime (Acts 2:42-47).
"Nothing should be handed to no one by name, neither clothes nor objects nor something else useful to community life, so that everything be defined towards a certain use and not to its holder" (Basil, Ascetic Speech 3:1, ΕΠΕ 8, 147). At another point of the same book, Basil the Great mentions: "All should have a common store-house and no one should think something as belonging to him; neither garment nor shoes nor any other thing necessary for the needs of the body" (2:5, ΕΠΕ 8, 139).
The
same Father talks at another place about the "law of love" that reaches to the
point of not forgiving even special friendships and gatherings, for they, he
adds, harm the harmony in the community. "Now therefore we must all look to
each other with the same interest and must have only one measure of love for
the whole brotherhood" (Ascetic Speech 5, ΕΠΕ 8, 141).
"What could possibly be more true than the bond and union? ... People from various races and countries arrived and joined together in one with such a precision, that they be considered one soul in many bodies, and the many bodies to seem like instruments of the one opinion" (Basil the Great, Ascetic Disposition, chap. 18, 2, ΕΠΕ 9, 479).
In an atheist-oriented society today, full of emptiness, the contribution of monasticism is enormous. The monk's mere existence today helps. "The thought of him won't leave you alone; your recollection of his, will bring you constant salutary agitation and divine worry. It will continually check you; I, you will think ... I can hardly pronounce two words of prayer, whereas he ... I gather a lot of money and make a fortune and shiver at the thought of giving a little to the poor, whereas he ... I am thirsty for honours and glories, whereas he ... I am stuck on earth, whereas he ... " (E. Theodoropoulos, Articles - Studies - Epistles, t. 1, p. 667-668). Monastic regime proves that Christianity is not a utopia.
(The interested reader is strongly advised to read and study the incredible biography of Geron Paisios of the Holy Mountain, by Hieromonk Christodoulos of the Holy Mountain, which has been translated into English as well.)
EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED IN THE CHAPTER
hieromonks = "priest monks". Notice that any priest who does not marry is called a hieromonk, although the title is usually kept for those who receive the schema of monasticism (living in a skete or a monastery). The hieros stems from hiereus (priest) although the root of the word is also related to the word hieros (holy). On some occasions, we can meet the prefix hiero- to simply mean holy and not priest. One good example of this is the word hierapostle, which is the title given to an Orthodox "missionary", even if he is not a priest (although they are usually priestmonks), and therefore also applies to females (most usually nuns). Note that the term missionary has negative connotations in the Orthodox Church, as Greek Orthodoxy exclusively uses the term missionarios for non-Orthodox "missionaries" only. And while the term hierapostle is non-existent in the English tongue (as Orthodox terminology is still being enriched at the moment), we hope it will eventually "catch on" because it distinguishes between the holy mission (hiera apostole) of the Orthodox from the proseletyzing Protestant and Papist missions (e.g. of the type seen in Asia Minor with the exchange of populations). (Not all non-Orthodox missions are of a proseletyzing nature, but those that are often get assigned the term missionary in Greek Orthodox terminology). Note that proselytism is forbidden in the Orthodox Church whereas in Greece it is actually illegal, although the anti-Christian governments do their best to allow all sorts of sects, para-Christian groups and heresies become active in the country, hoping they will manage to destroy this "backwards" Orthodox Church that keeps destroying their plans. Orthodox hierapostles go to places where the Gospel had been forgotten or perhaps not even taught and they live among the people there, without pushing them or using illicit means to drive them to the Church. Orthodoxy respects man's free will and trusts in God to bring people Home. We just need to ensure we act like a "lit candle" into the world of darkness that will drive people to us. For this reason hierapostles need to be spiritually experienced and saintly in their lives, so they can give the Orthodox example. Let us pray that God helps and protects them.