eBook: The Wondrous and Paradoxical Ethos of Monasticism

By His incarnation, the Lord overturned the fallen hierarchy of cosmic being, which Sant Sophrony depicted as a pyramid. He inverted it and placed Himself at its lowest point. As the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, He took upon Himself the inconceivable weight of the sins and tragedies of all men.

This inverted pyramid became the way of humility leading to eternal salvation — the way by which man delights for ever in the gift of eternal union with God. Having first walked this way Himself in utter self-emptying, the Lord filled it with His life-giving presence, with His companionship, and then offered it to man as a gift.

The Lord declares that He Himself is this way: first, downwards, from the bosom of the Father to the earth, and even further, to the nethermost regions of hell; and then, upwards, far above the heavens.

The monk follows this same path first by going downwards in the voluntary humility of self-abasement, in the strong crying with tears of repentance, and in the labour of keeping the commandments. Then, he is lifted upwards when his outstretched hand meets the Lord’s incorruptible hand of grace that pulls him out of the bottomless pit of corruption.

Therefore, the way of the Lord not only represents a way of self-denial and struggle, but above all a place where man can meet the Lord, find union with Him, and experience the dynamic increase in God, divine visitations and the universal enlargement of his being.

The mission of the monk is to learn the humility of Christ’s descent, that he may meet the Lord at the summit of the inverted pyramid. There, through union with Him, the monk inherits the universality of Christ — that ontological enlargement of the heart which is the very portion of those who are born of the Spirit and are citizens of the heavenly Kingdom.

— Excerpt from: The Wondrous and Paradoxical Ethos of Monasticism (p. 39-40)

To be bound to an Elder who transmits sacred tradition is an immeasurable gift from God. In monasticism, this gift is received freely within the Church of Christ through the mystery of Eldership. The Elder is the precious point of reference through whom the Holy Spirit speaks. His word has a constant effect on the heart of the disciple, cutting away whatever pertains to the old man. If the monk possesses what is most precious on earth, namely a close relationship with his Elder, his mind will remain in constant touch with the mind of his Elder, and through him, with the mind of Christ. He constantly examines himself against the judgment of his Elder, so that his nature is gradually transformed and even totally healed. Along the way, he learns to cultivate humble thoughts, to find the place of his heart and to discern the thoughts of the enemy.

Monastic culture cannot exist without a living point of reference, without obedience to an Elder. Only in such a relationship can the sacred tradition of the Spirit be transmitted. The disciple who is united to his Elder has unity of mind and unity with his brethren. Through this bond he grows into a true person.

— Excerpt from: The Wondrous and Paradoxical Ethos of Monasticism (p. 193-194)

The greatest paradox the earth has ever known is God assuming human flesh. In order to deliver man from the curse he had inherited, the Lord of Glory became Himself a curse. Taking the form of a slave, He placed Himself lower than all in order to lift all to His heavenly Kingdom. In the utter self-emptying of His love to the end, and in taking upon Himself the shameful death of the Cross, He became a ‘stumbling block’, a scandal to the wisdom of this world.

Monasticism is likewise a paradoxical phenomenon upon earth. It is the closest imitation of the way of Christ – His kenotic descent even to the lowest parts of the earth, and His glorious ascent above the heavens, whereby all the gifts of the Holy Spirit were poured forth as rain upon mankind. Through self-renunciation in the mystery of obedience, the monk voluntarily follows the Lord in His descent, even to hell, that he might be raised with Him already in this life.

The Lord Jesus Christ, His way, His Cross, and His commandments, are a scandal unto the world. And the mystery of obedience, of losing one’s life for the sake of Christ, and finding it anew in Him, appears as a disgrace in this age of apostasy and pride. That which scandalises is voluntary death: the kenosis of self-renunciation, the crucifixion of human reason, and Christ-like vulnerability. This is the madness of the inverted perspective of the Gospel: not defending one’s rights, not justifying oneself, but surrendering fully and freely to the divine will as it is expressed by our Fathers in God.

The victory of obedience is likewise foolishness in the eyes of this world, for it is wrought through holy self-hatred. It is a victory of a special kind: though ‘unseen by men’, accomplished in the deep heart of the monk, it has universal dimensions. It conquers sin and death; it overcomes the powers of darkness on the plane of eternity and brings down the sublime gifts of the Holy Spirit.

— Excerpt from: The Wondrous and Paradoxical Ethos of Monasticism (p. 19-20)