Life in a monastery: how a woman can go to a monastery for permanent residence and become a nun

Required qualities

Going to a monastery - what is needed for this ? A lot is needed, first of all you need to have a number of qualities, namely:

Sincerely believe in God.
Have humility and great patience.
Constantly work on yourself, fighting your own passions, sinful thoughts and vices.
Give up any bad habits.
Refusal of any manifestations of worldly vanity.
Love of prayer.
Love for your neighbor and all living things.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that nuns are constantly engaged in hard physical labor to earn their living, so it is very desirable to have good physical health and endurance. You will also have to observe fasts and stand at services, which in the monastery last for several hours in a row . Therefore, in addition to physical strength , you also need to have spiritual strength. Each person must first decide for himself whether he can withstand such a life, because removing the monastic rank is very problematic.

Monk's Vows

Becoming a monk is an irrevocable action; By ceasing the ascetic life after tonsure, a person breaks his connection with God. Dedication to an ascetic life, deep obedience and service to God are the basic principles of life in the monastery.

After tonsure, a monk (nun) takes three vows:

Chastity. In other words, it is a vow of celibacy and renunciation of lust.
Obediences. This is a renunciation of one’s will, complete obedience to God and submission, humility with external circumstances.
Non-covetousness. Refusal of everything earthly in order to subsequently gain lightness of spirit.

In monasticism, the joy of closeness to God is above all, and it replaces all other joys of the world for those who have taken monastic vows.

How to start preparing for monasticism

So, how can a woman go to a monastery? If the decision is made firmly, you can begin to prepare for monastic life. First, you need to begin the life of a churchgoer - regularly attend church services, confess, take communion, observe fasts, and try to follow the commandments. You can, with the blessing of the priest, serve in the temple - clean candlesticks, wash floors and windows, help in the refectory and perform any other assigned work.

It will be necessary to resolve all issues related to worldly affairs - determine who will look after the apartment or house (often future nuns simply sell their real estate and invest in equipping the monastery), resolve any legal issues, place pets, if any, in reliable hands. Next, you need to talk with your spiritual mentor and tell about your intention .
The priest will help you choose a monastery and prepare for monastic life. It is imperative to receive the blessing of your confessor to leave life in the world.

conclusions

The novice is the second step on the path to the status of a monk, so the novitiate should be considered as a stage on the path to becoming a monk;
Any adult man with a stable psychological state who has no debts to the state or his family can become a novice;
If you feel that you need God, but are afraid to take on the serious responsibilities of a novice, try becoming a laborer in a monastery;
A novice can return to worldly life; this is not prohibited by monastic laws, but is not approved by the church either;
Before becoming a novice at a monastery, you must be completely sure of your readiness to serve God, that is, pray regularly, attend church, lead a righteous life and confess.

When using materials from thebestvideo.ru, a link to the source is required.

Trip to the monastery

So, the preparation is completed , the blessing has been received, the monastery has been chosen. Now you should go there to talk with Mother Superior. She will talk about the features of life in the chosen monastery, about traditions and living conditions. You should have the necessary documents with you:

Passport.
A short autobiography.
Marriage certificate or death certificate of spouse (if available).
Request for admission to the monastery.

You should know that tonsure is permitted only to persons who have reached thirty years of age. If a woman has minor children, she will need to present a certificate of the establishment of guardianship over them by the responsible persons (sometimes they may also require characteristics of the guardians). You need to know that in this case the confessor may not give a blessing for monastic life and the abbess will advise you to stay in the world and raise your children. Staying in the monastery while having a minor child in the world is possible only in exceptional cases. The same applies to situations where a woman has elderly parents who need care.

There is no mandatory deposit of funds, but you can bring a voluntary donation.

Ryasophorus

When tonsured into the ryassophore, a candidate for nun must live in the monastery for at least three years. If the candidate suffers from an incurable disease, the period may be reduced. In this case, the abbess may submit a petition for tonsure before the due time. Sacred rites include reciting prayers, cutting one's hair with a cross, changing or leaving one's name, not taking vows, and putting on a cassock. Although vows are not pronounced during tonsure, entering the Ionic Path is considered a commitment to pure living before God. It can be considered that the ryassophore is a kind of preparation for monastic tonsure. A woman after him can be called a nun, a ryassophore novice or a ryassophore nun.

What awaits in the monastery

It is impossible to take monastic vows immediately upon arrival at the monastery. Typically, a probationary period of three to five years is established. At this time, the woman will take a closer look at monastic life and will be able to understand whether she is ready to finally leave the world and stay in the monastery. Before taking monastic vows, a woman goes through several stages of monastic life.

Worker. At this stage, the woman performs any physical work that is assigned to her. This is a rather difficult period, because you will have to clean the premises, do laundry, cook, and work in the garden or barnyard - there is always plenty of work in monasteries. Time free from work is devoted to prayer. A woman will remain a worker for approximately three years. Usually during this period a person determines whether he will be able to live in a monastery for the rest of his days.
Novice. If the first period has been completed successfully, the woman has not been overcome by difficulties and she still intends to remain in the monastery, she must write a petition to the abbess. If the worker has proven herself well, she will be transferred to novices - a person who is preparing to take monastic vows. The novice puts on a black cassock - this indicates that she is one step closer to her goal. During this period, the novice, through constant work and humility, confirms her readiness to finally renounce worldly vanity. The length of stay as a novices is determined individually for each person. At this stage, you can still leave the monastery if you understand that your choice was wrong.
Nun. When both initial stages have been passed, and the desire to become a nun has strengthened, the abbess submits a petition to the bishop, after which the woman takes monastic vows. At the same time, it is necessary to take several serious vows, completely renounce worldly life and take a new name. The following ascetic vows are taken in the Orthodox monastery:

Obedience. A nun has no will of her own; she is completely subordinate to the abbess, confessor, and even other nuns. A woman should forever forget about her own opinion, desires, and self-will.
Celibacy (virginity). Nuns are not sexually active and do not have families or children.
Non-covetousness. A nun should not have private property.
Prayer. The nun prays continuously, out loud or in her thoughts.

These are all the answers to the questions of how to go to a monastery, what is needed for this. If a woman is not frightened by the upcoming difficulties, the desire to serve God and her neighbor is still strong, and leaving for a monastery is a decided matter, perhaps this is her path, because, as experienced priests say , it is not people who accept people into a monastery, but the Lord himself.

Basic Rules

First of all, you need to understand that no one will allow you to become a novice for one church ceremony. It may take several years to prove to other clergy his devotion to the ideas of religion and asceticism. During this time, a person is completely immersed in the religious cultural space, which allows him to build stronger and more exalted relationships with the Lord. However, if you follow some rules, you can receive the rank of novice within one calendar year, which is very little by church standards:

Attend services and go to confession regularly. If, for example, getting up early for Sunday services tires you, you should once again reconsider your desire to devote yourself to the church. We must remember that the rank of novice is directly related to the renunciation of one’s own comfort, full service to God and the search for truth in faith;
Agree with someone from the monastery leadership about becoming a worker; now you can do this online. A laborer is a person who helps with household work and acts on instructions from monks and novices. Such people do not have strictly standardized work hours, everything is decided on an individual basis, for example, some come to work annually, for several weeks, thereby people find physical and spiritual cleansing. But this is how you can test how ready you are for hard work on a regular basis;
Write a request to be accepted as a novice at the monastery. It must be sent to the rector. If approved, you will have the right to wear specific religious symbols, but you will still have your secular name and the right to return to secular life.

The next step after novitiate is the adoption of monasticism. However, you need to approach such a step with all responsibility. Don’t rush yourself; remember also that the Lord is guiding you in finding your religious path. And if you were refused tonsure or even novitiate, it would be better for you and for the church community.

Reviews

Here are some reviews published in the Orthodox Faith newspaper.

I was accepted as a laborer into this monastery and am very pleased with my position. I may have to work a lot (I was given obedience in the laundry) and pray, but I like this life. It's calm, quiet, blissful here. I'm starting to completely forget about the life I had in the world. If the Lord wills, I would like to take monastic vows and stay here forever.

Elizaveta, 57 years old, Perm Assumption Convent

My cousin took monastic vows about three years ago. Since that time I have not seen her; she permanently lives in a monastery in the city of Gorokhovets and does not go anywhere. True, there was a letter from her, where she briefly wrote that she was praying for all of us, that she was healthy. I don’t really understand why she made such a decision, because everything was good in her life - wealth, her children grew up, they helped her. I think it’s not very sweet in the monastery; this life is definitely not for me. But this is her choice and it must be respected; whether to leave or not is everyone’s personal choice.

Lyudmila Nikolaevna, Nefteyugansk

I was 19 years old when I quarreled with my mother and ran away to Yekaterinburg, Novo-Tikhvin Convent.
I was offered to work as a worker. I couldn't stand it even for a week! The monastery has a terrible schedule - getting up at 5 in the morning, praying, then working in the garden and kitchen, again service, I collapsed in the evening. Five days later she returned home and made peace with her mother. Girls, it’s very difficult in a monastery, don’t take rash steps, life in a monastery is not for everyone. Nina, Alapaevsk

The spiritual world of man

The spiritual world of a person is extremely diverse and in almost everything depends on state traditions and the characteristics of upbringing. Still, there are common points that are characteristic of virtually all nations. It is spiritual life that makes a person human; it is capable of revealing all the best that is in him.

A believer and his spiritual world

Faith in God aims a person at spiritual values that go beyond the boundaries of everyday life.
In addition, specifically spiritual life is the basis of human life and establishes moral and ethical standards. A person tries not to do bad things - in other words, not to harm anyone, not to do anything that could harm his soul. A truly religious person is a role model in almost everything, since he is very kind, peace-loving, modest, generous, and constantly ready to help in difficult times. Compliance with the spiritual precepts of the greatest religions truly makes a person much purer and takes his life to a higher quality level.

It is extremely important that a believer constantly sees around him countless proofs of the truth of his own faith. A large number of events show him the omnipotence of God and assure him that the Lord will never leave him alone. Just the awareness of this gives a religious person powerful spiritual support, and also helps to courageously endure various problems.

The spiritual world of an atheist

If a person does not believe in God, this does not mean that he does not have spirituality. After all, everything depends on the person himself. It has been proven that in practice many atheists are more conscientious and good people than believers.

For an atheist, the first place in his spiritual world is occupied by the main human values. Kindness, mercy, love, honesty, empathy - even as an atheist, these qualities are extremely necessary . It’s simply impossible to forget about them , you can’t ignore them. And also, other important values remain, such as the thirst for knowledge and research into the mysteries of our world.

We should not forget about conscience, which is an important spiritual property of a person. After all, a person who lives according to his conscience will never allow himself to act dishonestly, shamefully, or unfairly.

Other teachings

The overwhelming majority of other teachings currently available also pay great attention to the spiritual world of man. In the first place for them is the development of man, his capabilities, and knowledge of the world.
Even in occult teachings, which, based on the beliefs of conventional religions, are completely incorrect, spiritual development is considered not just necessary, but the most important and priority. For followers of alternative teachings, his path turns into a path of knowledge. And on this path there is no place for greedy, proud, bitter people. The path of knowledge is full of traps: to pass it, you need to have crystal purity. And here the most important values are the same - justice, honesty, selflessness.

Again, the motivation, the basis of spirituality, is the desire to understand our world. The thirst for knowledge, the desire to realize, to understand, have always been characteristic of man. There are usually no dogmas in the way of these teachings. In addition, doubts about the truth of certain aspects of the teaching and the desire to ask questions are only welcome. It is not enough to just read about something; you need to test everything from your own experience. As a result, life turns into not just following established dogmas and rules, but a journey into the unknown, which is full of adventure.

We hope this article will help you understand questions regarding entering a monastery and will be useful. Dedicating your life to God is a truly serious and difficult decision, but it has many benefits. Of course, this path is not suitable for everyone, but for those who want to find something new for the soul, something bright and pure, this choice is suitable.

Features of monastic tonsure

Being tonsured as a nun is considered a symbol of obedience to God. This sacrament is not officially included in the list of seven sacraments that modern priests consider second baptism. It is believed that true monasticism begins from the moment of tonsure into the minor schema. This ritual must be performed solemnly and takes quite a lot of time. It begins with the performance of the troparion from the week about the prodigal son. A candidate for novice must crawl on her stomach in a long white shirt from the vestibule of the temple to its center. There she must remain lying with her arms outstretched. This action should symbolize monasticism as the path of crying and repentance. After this, the abbot addresses the candidates with a speech and signals them to stand up. He must ask a series of questions and warn that the vows they have made will be accepted by Christ and the Mother of God.

A student at the Vietnam Police Academy shared how she takes care of her facial skin.

It’s good to wash often: myths about shampoo and hair care that only harm

Women's jeans: before you buy them, you need to pay attention to one detail

Great Schema

Tonsuring into the Great Schema is a very solemn and serious procedure. The novice is again given a new name. A cockle with analava and a great paraman appear in the candidate’s attire. After tonsure, a nun is called a schema nun. Usually in the Orthodox Church seriously ill and elderly people are tonsured into the Great Schema. The ruling bishop or the highest ranks of the clergy can perform the sacrament with his blessing.