Beautiful Confession of Faith

A page from the March Synaxaristes

Holy Martyr Quadratus and those with him

Jason:  Quadratus, why wilt though deliver thyself up to terrible tortures?  Why has thou deliberately chosen to disobey the imperial edict?  If only thou wouldest pay homage to the gods, thou wilt share with us in the delights and pleasures of this life.

Quadratus:  One who posseses a sound mind knows that life has been given to us by God.  It is God, therefore, to Whom love is due.  We Christians reverence the Giver more than the gift.  We offer thanksgiving and praise to the Lord, by means of living virtuously and spreading His glory in every place by our own sufferings.  One ought not to cleave to this transitory life by exchanging the honor due to the true and living God for reverence to insensate idols.  What god is as great and perfect as the One Who bestows everlasting gifts upon us?  Whom can we recognize in these great gifts if not Christ the Savior Himself?  We call Him Savior Who endured the Cross and death for our sake.  We desire to uphold piety and the true Faith, though terrible chastisements await us.  We shall face them and not cower.  The design of those who would beguile or corrupt true zealots of the sacred Mysteries is demonic.  All should strive to choose that which is superior.  Each one must examine the fruits, lest one should come to perdition by following those who only feign piety and virtue.  We have chosen to follow the holy apostles and fathers.  Therefore, have no hope in any scheme to beguile us.  Nothing can make us renounce Christ.  The truth of God and genuine piety have already persuaded us and united us to Christ.  Consider, moreover, that the common law of nature exempts no one from death.  At a man's final hour, his spirit goes forth and he returns to his earth.  In that day all his considerations perish.  On the one hand, the works of an unrighteous man and his fleeting glory come to nought.  On the other hand, in everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be.  We, therefore , have chosen to suffer for Christ — God helping us — that we might leave behind an example for others who desire to confess Him and take up this cross.

from p. 223

"Each one must examine the fruits, lest one should come to perdition by following those who only feign piety and virtue."   

 

[Using a cult as an example of those who feign piety and virtue, I first think of the cult leader who convinces his followers that blind obedience is necessary for salvation.  The saint says we Christians are responsible for "examining the fruits."  Cult leaders try to suppress any honest contemplations, saying it is self-will or a temptation from the devil.  Instead, the  cult leader wants followers to not think, to constantly do the Jesus Prayer to prevent suspicions ("evil") thoughts, and to hypnotize.  ~jh] 

Another page: 

"We do not permit unbelievers to penetrate the mysteries of piety. . . . Understanding is not granted unto all , , ,  ."   

[How closely tied are cult/heresy/pagans. ~jh]

Supplicatory Canon to St. Eudocia

Commemorated March 1/14

LIFE

https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/March/01-01.htm

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THE SUPPLICATORY CANON TO ST. EVDOKIA THE SAMARITAN

Ode One

The charioteer of Pharaoh 

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

O righteous Martyr Evdokia, by thine intercessions with Christ the Lord,

Scatter Satan’s darkness,

Which because of my transgressions hath brought sorrow to my soul;

And replace it with peace, love, and grace divine, those bright beams of light,

Sent by Christ the Sun of true Righteousness.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

The grace-filled words of blest Germanus, who then read aloud of the Judgment Day,

Moved thee, Evdokia,

To seek out thy soul’s salvation, which was  perishing in sins.

Thus his words like the nets of the Fishermen brought thee unto life

By thy faith and blood shed for Christ our God.

Glory.

Thy wealth and land and great possessions didst thou gladly scatter among the poor,

And by Christ’s baptism

Thy pure soul was cleansed and strengthened to endure all to the end,

For which cause thou didst win the unfading crown in a place of light,

From whence thou dost pray that our souls be saved.

Both now.

Through thee the Word of God the Father, by His great compassion and love for man,

Took flesh of His own will

To raise up our fallen nature which was bound by death and sin.

Hence to thee do we offer with grateful hearts joyous hymns of praise,

For thou art the Mother of Christ our God.

Ode Three

Of the vault of the heavens

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

Blessed tears of repentance 

Ran down thy cheeks, righteous one,

When thy sleeping soul was awakened

To ponder things on high,

And Christ’s dread Judgment Day,

And the perdition of sinners:

Pray, O Evdokia,

That we be among the saved.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

Having truly abandoned

The fleeting things of the earth,

O belov’d of Christ Evdokia,

Thou didst embrace with zeal

The blest angelic life,

Wherein thou greatly didst struggle,

Such that God’s Good Spirit

Adorned thee with wondrous gifts.

Glory.

A most glorious wonder

Was wrought in thee, blessed one,

For thou who before wast a river

Of filth and carnal sins

Art now become by grace

A dwelling place of the Spirit,

And the sweetest savour

Of thy Sacred Bridegroom Christ.

Both now.

O Directress of all those

Who trust in thee, Bride of God,

By thy grace direct the desires

Of both my heart and mind

To Christ my Lord and God,

And help me keep His commandments,

That bright lamp which leadeth

The faithful to endless life.

Ode Four

Thou art my strength;

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

The righteous prayer

Of blest Germanus in thy behalf

Hath been answered

By our Saviour Jesus Christ,

Whose holy name

Thou didst glorify

Through thy great repentance

And struggles in wondrous martyrdom.

Hence pray, O Evdokia,

That we be counted worthy

To all glorify God by our faith and life.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

For seven days

Thou didst fast praying with fervent tears,

Then Saint Michael,

The Archangel of the Lord,

Shewed thee those men

All arrayed in white, 

And the evil giant,

Whom also thou slewest by thy faith.

Hence, guide us to repentance,

The haven of salvation,

That through thee we may enter the realms of light.

Glory.

The Cross of Christ

Which the Archangel then signed thee with

Was thy safeguard

In thy strict monastic life,

O zealous one,

And in martyrdom.

Sign us with the Lord’s Cross,

Preserve us who ever praise thy name;

For thou, O Evdokia,

Art mighty in the Saviour,

Since thou art His pure bride, O all-lauded one.

Both now.

O blameless one,

Calm all the waves of my heart and mind,

For the passions

And our sly and evil foe

Now seek to drown

My poor darkened soul.

But be quick to save me,

Enlighten and guide me in my life,

For thou, O Theotokos,

Didst give birth to the Saviour,

The Beginner and Finisher of our Faith.

Ode Five

Wherefore hast Thou deprived me

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

The true spiritual beauty

Of thy soul, O grace-filled one, in truth hath far surpassed

That of comely faces,

Which in time lose their beauty and youthfulness:

For the Lord transformed thee

From a renowned and sinful harlot

To His bride through afflictions and martyrdom.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

Through thy thorough repentance

And thy struggles for the Lord thou didst live on the earth

Like the holy Angels,

Thus becoming for all men a guiding light;

For thou wast a teacher

In word and deed of Christ’s commandments,

Which lead all the repentant to Paradise.

Glory.

After Christ’s holy laver,

Mourning and thy blessed tears became another font

By the Holy Spirit,

Which then wondrously washed thy pure soul of wounds;

Hence thou art a fountain

Within the Fount of Life, our Saviour,

Who refreshes our souls through thy prayers, O Saint.

Both now.

O All-pure Theotokos,

By that fire which dwelt in thee yet did not burn thy womb,

Burn up all my evil

Base desires and fill me with love for Christ,

For thou art more holy

Than all the ranks of holy Angels

Who in heaven now hymn thee with us, O Maid.

Ode Six

Entreaty 

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

O wise one, when thou hadst found the Precious Pearl,

Christ the Lord, Who made thee rich in the Spirit,

Thou didst give all

Thy great wealth to the needy,

And thou didst shed all thy blood to attain His love.

Hence, grant our souls thy fiery zeal,

That we too may seek out our true Living God.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

The white robe of thy baptism thou didst wear

All thy life, O bride of Christ Evdokia,

And thou didst keep clean the robe of thy spirit

By thy great struggles for God and thy martyrdom.

Hence, now with all those robed in white

Thou dost pray for our souls at the throne of Christ.

Glory.

The devil through Philostrartus tempted thee,

O divinely-wise and chaste Evdokia,

But by the Lord

Thou didst turn back his arrows,

And thou didst rescue a soul that was bound by him:

For Philostratus rose from death

And believed in Christ God through thy holy prayers.

Both now.

O Lady, since thou didst bear the Root and Cause

Of tranquility and peace, Christ the Saviour,

Do thou entreat

Him for us as His Mother,

And quell the storms of my passions, O All-pure One,

That with a peaceful heart and mind

I may glorify thee in the House of God.

Ode Seven

The three Hebrew Children 

O Saint of God, intercede in our beahalf.

Raise up our minds slain by the passions

Through the Cross as thou didst raise to life that young man,

And deliver our souls from death by thine entreaties,

For thou hast boldness with the Lord, O Great Martyr Evdokia.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

Having been cleansed of all the passions

Thou wast set up by the Lord, O Evdokia,

As a far-shining lamp to shed the light of Christ God

On all those who run unto thee for divine illumination.

Glory.

Fasting and prayer and sacred stillness

Were sweet food for thee, O wondrous Evdokia;

Thus thy soul soared on high, beyond the highest heaven,

Beholding while yet in the flesh Christ the Lord the King of Glory.

Both now.

Rejoice in the Lord, O Ever-virgin,

For thou gavest birth to Christ the world’s Redeemer,

Who was slain on the Cross for all the sins of mankind,

Thus rescuing our souls from death by His death and Resurrection.

Ode Eight

Let us ever extol 

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

“I am with thee in all the sacred suff’rings

Thou endurest for Me,

And I shall recompense thee:”

Thus said the Lord for Whom with joy thou didst contest,

And these words have come true, for by thy 

Beheading thou hast won crowns of glory.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

Thou didst raise from the dead those who repented

And believed in the Lord,

O all-famed Evdokia.

Hence pray that on the Last Day we may rise with thee,

And go forth to meet Christ, our true Sacred

Bridegroom, and enter His blest Kingdom.

Glory.

Having in thee the Fire of the Godhead,

Thou didst burn up as chaff

The threats of all the tyrants,

And like the Three wise Children standing in the flames,

Thou too didst prevail in all thy great temptations, 

Through Christ Who shone within thee.

Both now.

Come illumine our souls, O Theotokos,

With the light of thy Son,

The Ever-shining Daystar,

For thou by grace art truly a pure cloud of light

Banishing the darkness brought on by the 

Passions and filling us with great joy.

Ode Nine

The heavens were astonished 

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

The fierce attacks of Satan could not shake thee,

Though he tried thy steadfast soul repeatedly,

For thou, O Saint,

Like a mighty oak tree rooted in God,

Didst stand by faith in every storm,

Meanwhile giving shelter and safe retreat

To those who through thy contest

Left all their graven idols

And worshipped Christ the true and Living God.

O Saint of God, intercede in our behalf.

With peace and great rejoicing thou wentest forth

As a bride adorned in white to meet thy Lord,

Who beckoned thee

To His Bridal Hall in the realms above;

And thus the sword, O valiant one,

Cut thy earthly bonds and procured for thee

Unfading crowns in glory

From whence, O Evdokia,

Thou dost entreat Christ that He save our souls.

Glory.

Thy pure soul in the heavens now bringeth joy

To the Angels of God who all honour thee,

While we on earth 

Also feel thy presence, O holy one;

For Christ was well-pleased to bestow

On thy fragrant relics His saving grace.

And we now who approach them

With faith and love, O Martyr,

Obtain relief from all our trials in life.

Both now.

The Burning Bush on Sinai prefigured thee,

As did Aaron’s rod, O Theotokos Maid,

For God the Word

Took up His abode in thy virgin womb:

He kept thee wholly incorrupt,

And was born a Man through thee seedlessly,

Like a most Sacred Flower

That blossomed from a dry tree.

Hence we, the faithful, ever call thee blest.

Copyright 1996 Ephraim Figueroa

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Women's Lenten Retreat

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Gospel Call to Monasticism

Introduction to the book:

 Abbess Thaisia of Leushino 1989, Platina

      The Autobiography of a Spiritual Daughter of St. John of Kronstadt 

       who asked her to write down her life and her visions  1989

The Gospel Call to Monasticism

by Nun Brigid

If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, 

and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure 

in heaven: and come and follow Me.

Matthew 19:21

In traditional Christianity, the monastic life is seen as a "standard" or "norm" of the evangelical1 life, since it strives to fulfill not only those commandments of Christ that are common to all Christians, but also the various "counsels" He gave to those who are willing to accept them.  These counsels include the renunciation of earthly possessions: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" (Mt. 19:21); the renunciation of marriage and family lie: "For there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Let him accept it who can" (Mt. 19:12).  "Everyone who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting" (Mt. 19:29); and the renunciation of all the business of the world (as far as possible) that might distract or hinder one from the search for that "one thing needful," the salvation of one's soul: "Therefore, take no thought, saying, 'What shall we ear?" or 'What shall we drink?' or "wherewithal shall we be clothed?'" (Mt. 7:31)  "For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but lose his own soul?" (Mt. 16:24-26)  Similar ideas can be found in many different places throughout the Gospels.

1. i.e. based on the Evangelia, or Gospel.

Martha and Mary, who are both considered saints in the Orthodox Church, are recognized in patristic literature as "types" of the Christian in the world (Martha) and the monastic (Mary).  Our Lord chides Martha for her misplaced complaint against her seemingly self-indulgent sister: "Martha, Martha, thou are anxious and troubled about many things; and yet only one thing is needful  Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her" (Lk 10:41-43).  Martha's "busyness" — even in her service of the Lord Himself — cannot replace that "best part" that Mary has chosen, quietly sitting at the feet of her Lord.

Let me interject something here.  I once read a patristic commentary on this Mary-Martha scripture that shows additional perspective on this scripture.  If He was chiding at all, He was pointing out a difference in her and her sister for that moment.  He was reminding Martha that not everyone can always be required to be a server like she is doing now.  Christ did not say that He Himself will not take away Mary's sitting-at-His-Feet, but that the sitting-at-Feet is something that does not get taken away in eternity.   He compared the difference in the fruits.  This idea is perfectly in line with the monasticism vs. marriage idea.  The world needs both marrieds and monastics.        He also adds in the word "chosen" — that answering a call to 'monasticism' needs to be a free-will choosing, and He points out that Mary has made that choice.  Mary has chosen something that does not get taken away from her in eternity.  Most of our works on earth will be gone when earth-as-we-know-it is gone.       The works themselves will be gone, but the affects our works had on our souls will be eternal.  This is why we always want to do everything for the glory of God.  The works will perish, but the man will not perish.  ~jh

Monasticism is often called "the angelic life" because it mystically foreshadows the future, heavenly life, where the resurrected will be "like the angels," without earthly cares.  "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage.  But those who shall be accounted worthy of that world and of the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor take wives . . . for they are equal to the angels" (Lk. 20:34-36).

St. Paul, in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, explains more fully why our Lord counsels those "who can accept it" to remain unmarried:

. . . I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they so remain. . . I would have you free from care.  He who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, ow he may please God.  Whereas he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife; and he is divided.  And the unmarried woman, and the virgin, thinks about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit.  Whereas she who is married thinks about the things of the world, how she may pease her husband; he who does not give her in marriage does better (I Cor. 7:38).

A widow "will be more blessed, in my judgment, if she remains as she is" (I Cor. 7:40).

Though, in accordance with the Gospel, monastic life has always been recognized by the Church and the faithful as a "better" way, Christian marriage also has God's blessing, and can be the vehicle for one's sanctification and salvation.  As St. Gregory the Theologian says in his Oration on Holy Baptism,  "We do not dishonor marriage because we give higher honor to virginity."2  It should be understood, too that monasticism's objective "superiority" does not mean that individual monastics are all therefore "better," by virtue of their way of life, than other Christians.  Indeed, it is very wrong to think of monasticism as some kind of "exclusive" society composed of a spiritual "elite."  Monasticism is repentance; and the doors of repentance are open to all who will enter in, whether thief, harlot, prodigal, or righteous.  Anyone may become a monastic.  Some come to monasticism in their youth, some in old age, some after leading very adventurous and independent lives, some after leading very sheltered lives.  As for why people choose monasticism, St. John of the Ladder has this to say: "All who have willingly left the things of the world, have certainly done so for the sale of the future Kingdom, or because of the multitude of their sins, or for love of God.  If they were not moved by any of these reasons, their withdrawal from the world was unreasonable."3  He qualifies tis a little later by saying:

Let us not abhor or condemn the renunciation due merely to circumstances. . . I have seen seed casually fall on the earth and bear plenty of thriving fruit. . . . I have also seen a person come to a hospital with some other motive, but the courtesy and kindness of the physician overcame him, and on being treated with an astringent, he got rid of the darkness that lay on his eyes.   Thus for some, the unintentional was stronger and more sure than what was intentional in others.4

2. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol vii, tr. by Edwin Hamilton Gifford, D.D., (Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1983) p. 365

3. The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus (Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, Massachusetts, 1978) p. 4

4. Ibid., p. 8

Thus, there is no general rule whereby those who should be monastics can be distinguished from those who shouldn't.  Those become monastics who freely will to be so, who consciously put aside thought of marriage or career, and choose to persevere with patience in the difficulties of monastic life.

The monastic's renunciation of the world takes place on two levels, as characterized by the worlds of St. Paul: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the world"(Gal. 6:14).  The first level of renunciation, when a man "crucifies the world to himself" is by far the easiest.  Abba Dorotheos explains: "The world is crucified to a man when a man renounces the world to become a solitary, and leaves parents, wealth, possessions, business dealings, and the giving of presents."5  Having crucified the world to himself, a man begins to realize that the world is still within him, in the form of passions.  Then he must try to "crucify himself to the world," a far more difficult struggle.  "How can a man be crucified to the world?  When after being freed from external things he begins to combat against pleasure itself, against the desire of having things, against his own will, and he puts to death his evil passions.  Then he himself is crucified to the world and is worthy to say with the Apostle, 'the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.'"6  A true monastic life cannot begin for the novice monk until he truly comes to know himself and can face the reality of the evil in his own heart.  This may sound simple, but it is often a very painful and difficult journey at this point.  If he is willing to accept the fact that he is a fallen creature, then there is hope that a genuine spiritual life can begin for him.  The monk must be like the repentant harlot of the Gospels who "began to bathe His [Jesus'] feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet," (Lk. 7:38) quite aware of her own sinfulness, but also fill of love for her Savior Who came "to call sinners, not the righteous" (Mt. 9:13).  A monk is one who is aware of his sinfulness and is repenting, but who also hopes, like the harlot, to hear the words addressed to her: "Her sins, which are many, shall be forgiven her, for she has loved much" (Lk. 7:47).

5. Discourses and Saying by St. Dorotheos of Gaze, tr. by Eric P. Wheeler, (Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1977) p. 85.

6. Ibid., p. 85

The great 4th-century desert father, St. Macarius of Egypt further explains there two renunciations:

When man transgressed the commandment, and was exiled from Paradise, he was bound down in two ways and with two different chains.  One was in this life, in the affairs of this life, and in the love of the world, that is to say, the love of fleshly pleasures and lusts, of wealth, and glory and possessions, of wife and children, of kinsfolk, of country, of particular places, of clothes, and of all other things of sense, from which the word of God bid him be loosed by his own free choice. . .  Accordingly, as soon as a man hears the word of God, and makes the effort and casts away the affairs of this life and the bonds of this world, and denies all the fleshly pleasures, and looses himself from these, then, when attending constantly upon the Lord and giving all his time to Him, he s in a position to discover that there is another wrestling, in the heart, another hidden opposition, and another war with the suggestions of the spirits of wickedness, and another contest in from of him. . .  But this was can be brought to naught by the grace and power of God. . . . If, however, a man is entangled among the things of sense by the affairs of this world, and meshed in various earthly bonds. . . he does not so much as discover that there is another wrestling and pummelling and battling within.7

7. Spiritual Homilies by St. Macarius of Egypt, tr. by A.J. Mason, (Eastern Orthodox Books, Willits, California, 1974) pp. 168-169. 

Having renounced the world in the first sense, the monk is in a position to fight against the cause of evil in the world, the evil in his own heart.

THE CHILIASTIC BARRIER

The materialistic mind of our society has difficulty with this simple, yet profound Gospel call to reject the ways of the world — a call that takes its most perfect and radical form in monasticism.  Faith in the reality of God, and the future Kingdom, and the fallenness of our world has been replaced with faith in "progress" and man's "perfectibility" through proper education, science, and appropriate social measures.  A real, living faith that is willing to sacrifice worldly security and comfort is rare in our wealthy country, even among Christians.  Though our society does not openly condemn Christianity, its materialism and wealth have killed faith more effectively than the direct persecution of Christianity by Communism.  Whereas monasticism in America is poor both in numbers and quality, it is thriving in Eastern Europe.

One current thrust against traditional monasticism argues that monastics should return to the cities, because the cities are the "deserts" of the modern age.  Yet cities are still what they have always been — centers of commerce and culture, and learning and vice, full of magnificent buildings and other structures, the showcases of the best and worst men can produce.  Monastics seek to put behind them what is temporal and belongs to fallen man and have therefore always sought out the wilderness of the world.  The wilderness is God's own creation, where one can contemplate Him through His handiwork.   The confusion of what is man's and what is God's is a chief characteristic of modern secular thought.

Thus, since even the first steps of monasticism are not understood today, it is not surprising that its deeper meaning and goals remain hidden from the understanding of modern men, especially those in such materialistic societies as those in the West.  In a interview in Epiphany,8  Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast states that the goal of Christianity us to transform our present fallen world and society into the "other world," especially through politics.  Monastics are represented as trying to transform the little corner of the world surrounded by their monastery wall into a "heaven on earth."  Those involved in "peace work" are trying to do the same thing, but on a broader and therefore, it is implied, more effective scale.  But there is a fundamental misunderstanding here:  there will be no "heaven on earth," no final resolution of the battle between good and evil, until the Second Coming of Christ.  "Do you thing that I am come to give peace upon earth?  I tell you nay, but rather a sword." (Lk. 12:51-52).  Christianity does not seek to create a future earthly Utopia; it strives to save souls now, by preparing them to live in the heavenly kingdom.  A rebellious non-acceptance, on the personal level, of the circumstances of our fallen world makes a Christian life nearly impossible.  These circumstances include the existence of disease and death, the injustice prevalent in the world, and the strife caused by the passions of greed, lust, hatred, fear, etc.  The miracle of Christianity is that God has given us the power to save our souls through these very fallen circumstances, if only we will to do so and call upon His help.  It is through a Christ-like endurance of the vicissitudes of life that we acquire the virtues, and God's grace.  These circumstances then become the instruments of our sanctification.  Paul encourages those who are married to bear patiently each other's weaknesses; those who are slaves to give heartfelt service to their masters; those who are masters to struggle with love of authority.  He does not counsel those who are oppressed by the circumstances of our fallen world to rise up in rebellion, but to overcome the "evil" of our fallen state through the "good" of love for God and man, and the practice of the virtues.  Of course, it is also our duty to replace outward evil with outward good where we can, so that those who are weak may not despair — but with the idea of saving souls, not of creating a worldly Utopia.

8. Epiphany Journal, Spring, 1985, pp. 62-73.

THE ARENA OF THE HEART

This applies equally to monasteries.  Monasteries are not meant to be Utopias.  There are arenas where men, having accepted the fact of their fallen state, work to be healed of the evil in their own hearts.  The outward evils of societies are the products of the evil within men's hearts, and not the other way around.  "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, immorality, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (Mt. 15:19).  As St. Macarius explains above, having renounced the world, the monastic is in a position to battle with evil itself, not just its symptoms.  It is precisely in those saints who, by God's help, have purified their hearts, that we come closer to seeing a "heaven on earth."  This is especially true of the hermit saints, who often exhibited a harmony with nature that no modern ecologist can rival.  "For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" (Lk. 17:21), not in some Utopian society, either inside or outside the monastery.

The essence of monastic life lies in cleaning the heart of the passions that separate man from God, and making it receptive to His grace, to the advent of His coming.  It would be beyond the scope of this short article to explain this path in detail, for it is a whole science in itself, complex yet divinely simple.  The interested reader is encouraged to find and read some of the classic monastic texts that are not available in English.  Such are the Ladder of St. John of Sinai,9 the Discourses of Abba Dorotheos,10 or the more contemporary Arena by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov.11  The lives of monastic saints, found in such books as the Paradise of the Fathers12 (about the 4th-century Egyptian monks) or the Northern Thebaid13 (about the more recent monastic fathers and mothers of the Russian wilderness) are no less enlightening — in these one can see how Christian principles have been applied in real life.  These lives have inspired countless Christians on their own paths to salvation.

9. The Ladder of Divine Ascent, op. cit.

10. Discourses and Sayings, op. cit.

11. The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, tr. by Archimandrite Lazarus, (Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, New York, 1983).

12. The Paradise of the Fathers by Palladius, tr. by E.A, Wallis Budge (St. Nectarius Press, Seattle, Washington, 1980).

13. The Northern Thebaid by Ivan M. Kontzevitch (St. Herman Press, Platina, California, 1975).