Relevance of Monasticism in Orthodox Church - Part 1

Monasticism holds profound relevance within the Orthodox Church, representing a timeless and essential aspect of its spiritual and communal life. This article will explore the significance of monasticism in the Orthodox tradition by examining its historical roots, its role in preserving and transmitting Orthodox spirituality, and its impact on the broader society.

Pachomius the Great
Pachomius the Great

Monasticism originated in the Christian Church in the last decades of the second century and in the first decade of the third century AD. The desire to attain ‘perfection’ demanded by Jesus Christ (St. Matthew 5:48; 19:21), the end of tribulations, the spiritual lifestyle of Christians and their unique concepts about the world and worldliness attracted many people to monastic life. Monasticism originated in Egypt. St. Antonios (Antony the Great) is the founder and practitioner of solitary monasticism and St. Pachomios is the founder and practitioner of cenobitic (community) monasticism. He published monastic spiritual texts and rules of monasticism. Later in the fourth century AD St. Basil of Caesarea formulated the rules of monasticism. In the sixth century AD St. Benedict of Nursia founded monastic orders for the first time in the western countries and formulated rules for ascetics. Monasticism and monks have made invaluable contributions to the Christian Church. Their contributions include Biblical studies, development of liturgy and liturgical texts, social welfare activities, missionary activities, and ethical lifestyles. These ascetic individuals sought solitude and rigorous self-discipline as a means to draw closer to God. Their austere lifestyle and dedication to prayer and contemplation laid the foundation for monasticism within Orthodoxy. Over the centuries, monasticism spread throughout the Byzantine Empire and beyond, becoming an integral part of the Orthodox Christian ethos.

Basil the Great and the Constitution of Orthodox Monasticism

St. Basil The Great

Eustathios of Sebastia introduced monasticism to Asia Minor; he influenced St. Basil, who borrowed whatever was good in his innovations, including the monastic garments, monastic vows, and the special religious service (tonsure) that indicated the special status of a monk, superior to that of lay people, and subordinate to the clergy. Among the many ascetical works of St. Basil, two are the most significant in terms of regulating the life of monasticism: the "Great Rules" (Oroi Kata Platos), and the "Brief Rules" (Oroi Kat' Epitomen). These rules regulate the life in the cenobitic monasteries: they extol the monastic life in common as the ideal Christian life, the "life of perfection," while at the same time indicating the dangers of the solitary anchoretic life. St. Basil's Rules became the Magna Carta of Monasticism, both in the East and in the West, throughout the monastic tradition. St. Basil set Christian perfectionism as the goal of monastic life. The monks were to practice Christian virtues together, especially love; to practice obedience to a spiritual father; to practice chastity and poverty and share the common goods of the monastery. After they achieved Christian perfection, they were allowed to come back to the world and help others to achieve Christian perfection. Thus, the monks had the mission of "social workers" as well. St. Basil's institutions, especially his Basileias, which was at the same time an orphanage, a "kitchen for the poor," and a school for the illiterate was in practice run by monks. This was St. Basil's way of utilizing the monastic movement to benefit the mission of the Church in the world.

One of the primary roles of monasticism within the Orthodox Church is the preservation and transmission of Orthodox spirituality. Great monasteries (Dayaras) and great monks were also born in the Oriental Churches. Along with them, various publications on monastic life and guidance for completing spiritual demands were written. Monks like Mar Aprem worked to improve the Church's liturgical literature. They abandoned the world and its desires in favor of a simpler way of life. They sat in lowly places, praying constantly, studying the Holy Bible, meditating, and penning interpretations, resulting in a magnificent Christian heritage. Many works of this kind have served as effective tools for the Church's missionary activity. For example, the five-volume Malayalam translation of the collection of Orthodox spiritual works known as "Philokalia" was released. Philokalia is a Greek word that means "love of goodness" or "love of beauty." The eternal goodness and beauty of God are what are meant by the terms "good" and "beauty." Philokalia which was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth is a compilation of the deeply spiritual teachings and admonitions and instructions for monastic and ascetic life, of Church fathers since fourth century AD. This book has helped a lot in the spiritual awakening of the Russian Church, which in the most populous of Oriental Orthodox Churches, time and again. The sanctity of life, excellent spiritual literature, and rigorous worship are the main pillars of Orthodox tradition that underpin the missionary activity.

Monasticism in Malankara Orthodox Church

Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios
Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios
The organized monastic movement began in the Malankara Orthodox Church only a hundred years back. We are still unable to put into practice the deep-rooted relationship between monasticism and mission work. However saintly ascetics like St. Gregorios of Pampady converted their hermitages to Dayaras and bore Christ’s witness in the midst of people belonging to different communities in an elaborate and effective manner. Our community carries the memories of several Rambans who converted their asceticism in a similar fashion into good witness of the gospel. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios established the Mission Board, which oversees the Church's mission efforts today.


Monasteries of Malankara Orthodox Church

Monasteries of Malankara Orthodox Church

References

  1. Article by John Kunnathu - Community Experiment: The Meaning of Monasticism According to Mar Gregorios http://paulosmargregorios.in/?p=2520
  2. Influence and Effect of Monasticism. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.vii.vii.html
  3. Monasticism in Eastern Orthodox Church. https://orthodoxwiki.org/Monastic_Ranks
  4. Origin of monasticism. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/930/the-monastic-movement-origins--purposes/
  5. Sunday School Grade 11 and 12 textbooks.
  6. The Orthodox Monastic Tradition - The Beginnings. https://www.goarch.org/-/monasticism-in-the-orthodox-church
Article by Anish Mathew


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ST BASIL THE GREAT OF CAESAREA

Image
  Basil The Great of Caesarea, Our Patron Saint The three great lights who are so often referred to as the Three Cappadocians are Basil the Great of Caesarea, his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, and his own brother, Gregory of Nyssa. Basil the Great is the senior venerable member among them. He was the first ascetic leader of the Eastern (Greek) Church tradition. Also called Second Athanasius, he proved his personality not only in the ascetic movement but also in the realms of Church administration and theology. Basil was one among the ten children of a rich family of Caesarea in Cappadocia around AD 330. His father, Baselius, was known, as a scholar and eminent writer throughout Cappadocea. His mother Emmelia was the daughter of a martyr. Of the ten children in the family, three became bishops: Basil himself, made bishop of Caesarea in 370, Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, and Peter, bishop of Sebasty. The eldest sister Macarena became a nun and started a nunnery. As a student in Athens, ...
Read more

A Few Points to Ponder as We Enter the Great Lent

Image
A Few Points to Ponder as We Enter the Great Lent by Rev. Fr. Dr. Bijesh Philip There are many spiritual exercises which help us to grow in Christ. Holy sacraments, fasting and Lents, prayers, meditations, teaching and preaching in the church etc are preparing a ground for receiving grace from God for this spiritual growth. These spiritual exercises, especially fasting/Lent can be compared to the stone jars into which water was poured according to the instruction of our Lord at the wedding in Cana (St. John 2:7). By being in those stone jars, water could meet its creator and He in turn, could transform it to tasty wine. Though the stone jars prepared a ground for the transformation, the source of that change was God only. Likewise, we are supposed to be poured into Lent for being transformed by Divine Grace. It must be noted that the gospel reading at the time of entrance to the Great Lent is concerning Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Great Lent began in the anc...
Read more