BECOMING A MONK IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

BECOMING A MONK IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

What is a monk?

Speaking from their own personal experiences, different Saints have found different ways to define what a monk is. Abba [Father] Zacharias stated: "He is a monk who forces himself in everything." Saint John of Sinai explained: "A monk is one who holds only to the commands of God in every time and place and matter. A monk is one who constantly constraints himself his nature and unceasingly watches over his senses. A monk is he who keeps his body in chastity, his mouth pure and his mind illumined. A monk is a mourning soul that both asleep and awake is unceasingly occupied with the remembrance of death." Likewise, Saint Efthymios the Great taught: "Brethren, strive for what brought you out here, and do not neglect your own salvation. You must at all times stay sober and awake. As Holy Scripture says, "Keep awake, and pray not to enter into temptation" [Matthew 26:41]. …[Monks] must always await and ponder the hour of death and the dead dread day of judgment, fear the threat of eternal fire and desire the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint Nilus of Ancyra wrote: "It is said that a monk is an altar on which and from which pure prayers are offered to the Most High God." Similarly, Saint Maximos the Confessor stated: "A monk is a man who has freed his intellect from attachment to material things and by means of self-control, love, psalmody and prayer cleaves to God."

Saint Paisios Velichkovsky gave the following definition of a monk:

"What is a monk? A monk is a fulfiller of the commandments of Christ, a perfect Christian, an imitator
of an a participant in the Passion of Christ, a daily martyr, a voluntary dead man who willingly dies in
spiritual struggles. A monk is a pillar of patience, a depth of humility, a fount of tears, a treasury of purity,
one who laughs at all that is considered splendid, sweet, glorious, and attractive in this world. A monk is
a soul that is pained, constantly meditating on the memory of death, boht in wakefulness and in sleep. A monk is one who constantly forces nature, and who guards his feelings without weakening. A monk is of
the order and condition of the fleshless ones, though preserved in material body, having in mind at all times,
in every place, and in every work, only what is Divine."

Saint Nektarios of Aegina described the monastic life as follows:

"A monk’s way of life consists of ceaselessly seeking God’s countenance, yearning for Him, possessing a strong love for Him,
and perpetually hastening toward Him. The monk offers his heart as a sacrifice to Him alone–an offering that is holy, pure, and
perfected in love. Truly, he does not live for himself, but for the Lord, and the Lord visits him mystically; He mystically reveals
HImself to the eyes of the soul of the monk who is devoted to Him, and such a monk receives the betrothal of the grace of the
future vision of the Lord’s countenance."

Several Saints emphasize the necessity of withdrawing from the world in order to be a monk. For example, Saint Isaac the Syrian said: "A monk is he who remains outside the world and is ever supplicating God to receive future blessings." And Saint Efstathios of Thessaloniki wrote: " A monk is primarily he who has formed (or rather renewed) his heart in solitude and understood all the works of God. This deep understanding is a manifestation of his theoretical training and virtuous life."

Saint Efstathios also gave the following advice to a monk to remind him of his calling:

"Bear in mind that you are an Angel of light even though you are wearing black. You have been appointed to stand
beside the True Light. You are now a close friend of God Himself and have vowed to acquire various virtues. Therefore,
you have a great obligation, O magnificent monk, so do not delay in fulfilling your duty.
A monk holds a torch from the Father of Lights, and from there he radiates light that shines and illumines, if not the
whole world as the Apostlesdid, then at least many places of the earth. This emit light that warns of an enemy onslaught, or
as lighthouses they show where rocks lie beneath the surface so that people avoid dangerous reefs, and they do other salvific
things."

Saint Symeon the Theologian declared that a monk is he who has withdrawn "truly from the world and the things in it" and has ascended "perceptibly to a height of spiritual theoria through the working of the Commandments," and "he clearly perceives the transformation that
has taken place within him." Elsewhere he added the following lofty characteristics OF A TRUE MONK:

"The monk is one who is not mixed with the world and always converses with God alone. Seeing he is seen,
loving he is loved, and he becomes a light mysteriously shining.
The one who is ONE WITH GOD is no longer alone, even if he lives alone or inhabits
the desert or even a cave. But if he has not found Him, has not known Him, and has not
received fully the Logos/Word become flesh, he is not a monk, absolutely not!
THE REAL MONK AND SOLITARIES ARE THOSE WHO ARE ALONE WITH GOD AND ARE IN GOD, detached from
every type of discursive reasoning, who see only God IN A MIND EMPTY OF THOUGHT, SECURED IN LIGHT AN
ARROW IN THE WALL OR A STAR IN HEAVEN, OR IN ANY OTHER MANNER WHICH I CANNOT EXPRESS."

Saint John Chrysostomos declared that a monk IS SUPERIOR TO A KING.

"Unlike the king, the monk displays self-control. Too often a king is a slave to his passions. His desire for
glory and wealth leads him to warfare. His love of luxurious living leads him to feast on rich food and drink
and to adornment in gems and gold and fine clothing. By contrast, THE MONK ENTERS BATTLES ONLY TO
OVERCOME THE WICKED FORCES IN THE WORLD. HE DRESSES SIMPLY, EATS LIGHTLY, AND DRINKS WATER WITH
MORE PLEASURE THAN THOSE WHO DRINK FINE WINE…
If you want to examine the warfare conducted by each, you will find the one fighting and resisting and defeating demons
and being crowned by Christ… but the king is [merely] fighting barbarians. Just as demons are much more fearsome than
men, likewise he who resists and defeats them is much more illustrious. And if you want to determine the motivation of each
for fighting, you will find them greatly unequal. One fights the demons for the sake of piety and the worship of God… whereas
the other fights barbarians for the sake of seizing places or mountains or money."

THE NOVITIATE

Whom to Accept

There are THREE CATEGORIES of people living in a monastery: POSTULANTS (υποψήφιοι), NOVICES (δόκιμοι). and MONKS (μοναχοί). A postulant is simply a layman who has been given permission to stay at the monastery for an extended visit because he is considering monasticism.
Elder Aimilianos recommended: "It is a good thing for postulants to visit the monastery often for a number of days or longer periods over a length of time before coming to reside there [permanently]. After the seriousness of his intent to become a monk has become clear to himself and to the Abbot (Egoumenos) (which is typically after one to six months), the Egoumenos can clothe him as a NOVICE. Only after being a novice FOR SEVERAL YEARS CAN HE BE TONSURED A MONK. The Charter of the Holy Mountain states: "In order to be tonsured a monk, one must have undergone A TRIAL FOR ONE TO THREE YEARS AND BE EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD." [Resources:  The Angelic Life.  A Vision of Orthodox Monasticism]

_________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George