Monasticism or monasticism
Monk is a translation from the Greek word meaning “lonely, solitary.”
In all old dictionaries, the words “monk” and “monk” are synonyms. So, for example, in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron we read: “Monk is the same as a monk,” actually “lonely” (nun) is a direct translation of the Greek μοναχός. In the complete Church Slavonic dictionary of Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko: “Monk, monk. It gets its name from the fact that otherwise one must lead one’s life from worldly behavior. To be a monk is to lead a monastic life.”
F. M. Dostoevsky in his novel “The Brothers Karamazov” called the hieroschemamonk Elder Zosima a “Russian monk”.
Indeed, initially a monk or monk was a person who lived at a distance from the world, praying to God. Later these words began to have different meanings. And in modern Orthodoxy, “monk” and “monk” are not the same thing. According to the “Regulations on Monasteries and Monastics”, it is possible to understand the difference between these two concepts, a person who aspires to become a monk after working in a monastery for three years or more as a novice can become a cassock-wearing monk. In a number of monasteries, in addition to tonsure, vestments in a cassock and kamilavka, a monk, unlike a cassock monk, is also given a klobuk (headdress).
Thus, a monk is a person on the first step towards becoming a monk. Sometimes the monk is given a new name. The monk makes a promise to remain in the monastery for life, serving God, the brethren and people. However, he does not yet take the vows that a monk takes, namely, maintaining chastity, obedience and non-covetousness.
Non-covetousness
Arbitrary poverty is the alienation of the heart from everything earthly and even necessary. Jesus Christ is the example of poverty. A monk must deprive himself of everything that could remind him of the worldly. Those seeking spiritual perfection should avoid luxury goods, and it is better to limit their needs. Christ does not command, but gives advice “sell what you have and give to the poor” (chapter 19 from Matthew). This is advice that leads to excellence.
The second duty is alienation from excesses. Whoever comes to the monastery as a migrant, with his own amenities, is not completely a hermit.
The purpose of the vow of non-covetousness
The purpose of the vow is that alienation from goods makes the monk free from worldly concerns. So he makes a free flight to the sky, his wings are light, not burdened by worries, when death comes, he leaves freely, nothing holds him back except his body, covered with rubbish. The Lord is the monk's portion. When he serves the altar, he has food and shelter, and nothing more is needed to set foot on the path of God.
Addictions and habits cannot free the soul from the desire for wealth. The Savior not only offered to sell the estate to the young man, but also asked whether he was keeping his commandments. And only when the young man assured that he was keeping the commandments, Jesus said that he could get rid of all the bonds by selling his property and giving it to the poor.
The importance and inviolability of the vow of non-covetousness. What bliss it is not to have anything that can bind you. Only the one who has risen above the corruptible can inherit the Kingdom of God. No acquisition captivates him, nothing distracts him from his love for Christ. The enemy is not afraid of the poor. They don't have estates. Self-interest or love of money is the root of all evil. A monk with an upset thought cannot have obedience, is not satisfied with his daily food, looks for excuses for anger, and leaves the monastery. The devil, like a wolf, prepares a lamb for devouring and does not allow daily prayers. A rich monk is like a loaded ship, overwhelmed by waves of worries and plunging into the abyss of sadness.
Monks should not have anything of their own. Everything must belong to the monastery. Do not distance yourself from God because of earthly goods. Pay attention to the clothes and remember the tears with which you watered them.
Monastic robes
The Patericon does not report the tonsure of ancient hermits. The Monk Ephraim the Syrian, denouncing the careless, writes: do not think that girdling yourself tightly and dragging your clothes behind you means becoming a monk; it can be assumed that the key event was the solemn ceremony of putting on sacred monastic clothes: a cassock (chiton, hair shirt), a mantle and a kamilavka (hood). And animals change appearance in accordance with the change of their attire, wrote Tertullian, defending his pallium, a cloak, in paganism a sign of poverty and low birth, and in early Christianity a symbol of belonging to true philosophy.
Degrees of monasticism
Novice
The monastic feat begins with novitiate. A layman comprehends the peculiarities of monastic life, takes upon himself “obedience” and with his patience and perseverance, the power of faith and intention to become a monk, proves the right to move to the next level.
Ryasophorus
When the spiritual mentor of a novice sees that his child demonstrates the firmness of his intention, he blesses the novice to become a ryassophore.
Robed Monk
The next stage is real monastic tonsure. A person makes vows in which he completely renounces the world, his head is tonsured crosswise, and he is given a new name. A new life begins, where self-interest gives way to serving God and people.
Skhemnik
The Great Schema is a complete renunciation of the whole world, even of the monastic way of life. A monk who has accepted the schema again receives a different name, because he renounces any previous life and lives alone in a cell or monastery. Schema monks do not participate in work common to the monastery. Their day consists of unceasing prayer. Schema monks often took vows of silence or seclusion. Imitating the ancient hermits, they undertake a great spiritual feat.
Monastic vows
In the cenobies, at first, apparently, they took an oath of allegiance, a single vow of monasticism in general, which implied all three: St. Anthony already taught about novitiate, renunciation of property and purity; Somewhat later, Basil the Great expresses the wish that men take a clear vow of virginity, but before that, being considered a monk silently implied celibacy. About the disciple of John Moschus Sophronia (VI century) it is already known exactly when, where and by whom he was tonsured. However, the order of tonsure in its current form appeared much later, when the monasteries became crowded and were moved from the desert to cities and villages.
Schima
The schema-monastic image is a perfect monastic image, and monasticism is perfect Christianity. Our main goal should be to fulfill God’s commandments, by which our heart is cleansed of passions and filled with spiritual fruits: peace, joy, love and others. Abstinence refines our carnal makeup, and with it, together with the prayer rule, the mind is cleansed, but with the fulfillment of God’s commandments and with the deepest humility, and without this, neither fasting, nor work, nor the rule will bring us any benefit. And if we only place the image of monasticism in this one thing, to fulfill the rule and observe fasting, and do not care about the commandments of love, patience and humility, then we will work in vain. The rule and fasting, of course, must be greater for schema monks than for a simple monk, and it is appropriate to force oneself to do this: but, however, God seeks from us, according to the strength of each, physical feat, and spiritual feat - love and humility from everyone: he also tortures the sick and the elderly can love their neighbor, and humble themselves, and receive God’s mercy; This is not my opinion, but I offer you the teaching of the holy fathers (Venerable Macarius).
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Naming
The change of name also has a basis in the Gospel: the Lord, by right of the Master of the universe, calls Simon Peter, the stone, and the Zebedee brothers with the no less telling title of sons of thunder; Saul (Saul - desire) is transformed into Paul (wonderful, chosen); the name expresses the distinctive semantic core of the personality; The poet said correctly: “come on, try calling a Macedonian or Pushkin something other than Alexander!” A change of name undoubtedly implies a change, a transformation of the being named, the beginning of a new life: Anthony the Great had a revelation that the Lord had blotted out his sins from birth; the countdown begins from the time when he became a monk and made a vow to God.
The choice of name belongs to the abbot (abbess) or the celebrant, but is not at all accidental, and everyone knows: the indication comes from heaven as a sign of selective affinity with the saint whose name you take, the patronage of this particular saint and imitation of him. Mother F., I remember, was saddened when she learned from the abbess’s cell attendant what, in her opinion, was planned for her, a completely secular name, and so the abbess was awakened in the middle of the night by the irresistible thought of calling her completely differently.
It is difficult to agree that tonsure is not a sacrament: “what I felt cannot be described... the night after tonsure I spent in the temple in indescribable delight and admiration... it was as if heavenly music was playing in my soul... something tender, infinitely affectionate, warm , an immensely loving touch touched her, and her soul froze, melted away, and drowned in the arms of the Heavenly Father...”
Not possessing the same ability to put emotions into words, anyone would probably agree with them and what was said in conclusion: “I would calmly, without any trepidation or excitement, go to death, to execution... I was so detached from the body at that time! " Such experiences are undoubtedly generated by God's closeness; they are a gift of His grace, which strengthens the soul with great power.
Order of tonsure
The rite of tonsure is inexpressibly beautiful; a white hair shirt, an uncovered head, socks instead of shoes symbolize the nakedness of the beggar, obscured by the robes of those accompanying him, the previous two two... candles in hands... quiet singing - and what words! “Open the embrace of the Father to me, and strive...”; a slow movement from the western doors to the sole, interrupted by three prostrations; in some monasteries they don’t walk, but crawl, freezing three times, prostrate with a cross, face to the floor... and, finally, the royal assurance from the pulpit: “Merciful God, like a loving Father, your humility and true repentance are in vain, child, like the prodigal son, he accepts the repentant ..."
Modern consciousness can hardly accommodate the majestic simplicity of question answers, the Church Slavonic linguistic construction - a tracing of the Greek Genetivus Absolutus: I promote her, God; tonsured people, worried, misinterpret, confuse them, especially women: moved, they cry, are afraid of making a mistake, are afraid of throwing scissors - but as a result, the feeling of their own unworthiness and even insignificance is fully achieved; As for the meaning, it is understood much, much later, and for a long time - throughout subsequent life.
The rank of monastic tonsure is full of military terminology: a monk is like a warrior going to battle; the mantle is called the armor of righteousness, the hood is the helmet of salvation, the rosary is the spiritual sword, the cross is the shield of faith from the arrows of the evil one: “our brother... has clothed himself with all the weapons of God, in his power to defeat all the power and warfare of the powers and the rulers of the darkness of the age these spirits of wickedness in high places.” All terms are borrowed from the sixth chapter of the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, the corresponding passage from which is read in the Sequence of the small image, which is the mantle.
Images associated with military service were deeply rooted in the Church's vocabulary from the very beginning: the Latin word sacramentum (soldier's oath) was applied to the Church Sacraments in early Christian use; The early Christians called pagans pagani - borrowing from Roman soldiers a word intended for civilians who were capable of deserting in a moment of danger. The betrayal of Judas was equated to military treason, and the concepts of “believer” and “faithful” were denoted by the same word, both in Latin (fidelis) and in Greek (πιστός). “Please Him for Whom you fight, and from Whom you receive your support. Let none of you be defectors. Let baptism remain with you like a shield, faith like a helmet, love like a spear, patience like a complete armor...”
Various decorations of priests and hierarchs, bestowed by the Roman emperors in the likeness of the degrees of military leaders, also signified the ongoing battle with the enemy. The concept of militem Christi - warrior of Christ - has forever become the title of every ascetic, true Christian, and monasticism is even called the church army, the guard of the clergy, the vanguard of the army of Christ; It is no coincidence that the brethren are increasingly being referred to as a collective, like a guard, although it sounds awkward: “the brethren went to a prayer service.” In Church Slavonic, the plural version is more accepted, for example in the “Monastic Breviary”: the brethren all go out into the vestibule... to the brethren who have spoken... the brethren sing...
The form also distinguishes the monks as men of duty, placed in the service of God; the form highlights the warriors participating in the cosmic war with the forces of evil on the side of God; The goal of monastic service is the battle with the devil, which, however, most often has to be waged on the field of one’s own heart. Demobilization is not provided for: tonsure cannot be crossed out either by marriage or by a change of intentions; renunciation of the honor of monasticism promises the shameful fate of the forever rejected Esau.
Flight is tantamount to desertion: the vows are preceded by a promise to remain in this monastery even until the last breath. There have been and probably are exceptions: everyone has their own path, plus we are great masters of complicating it. The Valaam Patericon tells about a monk who left the monastery, managed to get married within five years, bury his wife and children, and returned. Archimandrite Sergius (Biryukov, 1862 - 1925) changed several monasteries: he started in the David Hermitage, spent four years in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, four years in New Jerusalem, and claimed that the change of place had a beneficial effect on him, he felt more energetic and even cabbage soup seems tastier; True, then he spent forty years hopelessly in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Irresponsibility and deceit distort all orders: others understand monasticism as an honorable title, as a decorated privilege that they earnestly seek, and having received, they settle down with all the comforts outside the monastery, as in the old song: “Oh, if only we could serve on land, but only wear ribbons"; the world adores these affectionate, accessible and certainly perspicacious “fathers” and “mothers” who willingly accept advice from everyone and give out recipes for all cases with the guarantee: “I’ll pray.”
Vows
Chastity
Saint Ambrose of Milan argued that true chastity is possible only among Christians, for the sake of a voluntary desire to imitate God; Vestals and other pagan priestesses, bound by profit or coercion, essentially sold temporary virginity, barbarians even persecuted virginity, and other peoples did not know it at all. In the first centuries, virginity was praised and exalted, equating it with martyrdom, so that it even became necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage in the fight against the Manichaeans. But even then they distinguished between virginity, παρθενία, as the lot of the few, and chastity, σωφροσύνη, as a moral norm for a Christian, even if married.
The very composition of the word chastity indicates integrity, intactness, unity and a generally healthy state of inner life; the opposite of chastity is depravity, depravity of the soul, debauchery, i.e. vacillation, wandering along different paths instead of one correct one - fornication and, as a consequence, bitterness and inability in spiritual pluralism and discord to cognize the ways of the Lord.
John Chrysostom coins succinctly: an unclean life prevents the understanding of high truths; O. Pavel Florensky speaks of a soul turned inside out: the inner, which should be intimate and secret, turns out to be at the top, like an inverted layer of plowed virgin soil, and is put on display, and the motives of actions, according to Freud, are blocked by shame, driven into the subconscious; hence the corrupted thoughts and chronic lies: a blinded heart, avoiding the painful truth, interprets everything wrongly, towards selfishness, making it difficult to access repentance
Here’s either an anecdote or a tragedy: one girl, while studying at the institute, found an amazing priest in a monastery where she went to pray, and when he was transferred as a confessor to a women’s hermitage somewhere on the edge of the diocese, of course, she abandoned everything and rushed for him; three years later, after many admonitions about her excessive attachment to her confessor, which she did not deny, but did not renounce, she was asked to leave the monastery.
Arriving at another monastery, she, not listening to reasons and consolations, constantly struggled in sobs; when the abbess, glancing sideways at the huge color portrait of the hieromonk, first taken out of the suitcase and placed at the head of the bed, asked: “Do you have any icons?”, the sufferer showed the tiny face of the Savior, embedded in the New Testament, and again burst into tears: “I don’t I can succeed in virtues without a priest!”; she sincerely believed that one did not interfere with the other, quite the contrary; so passion, if given free rein, darkens, deprives joy, steals understanding.
Climacus himself, when asked how to bind his flesh, answers: I don’t know! Fathers advise, of course, not to pray, justifying the duty of memory, for former lovers, to abstain from fatty foods, to avoid idleness, to remember those sleeping in coffins, to imagine a never-ending worm, not to seek adventures, wandering around cities and villages, to care for the sick, to resist lust and do not listen to the demon, who assures you that you should do and desire the same thing, and then, according to the Apostle, it is better to get married.
It is not the body that sins, but the spirit; the vices are similar and closely related; St. Ignatius traces the development of prodigal passion from such a widespread habit of condemning, which betrays exaltation and pride: due to persistence in neglecting the commandment, grace becomes silent, and without it faith becomes impoverished, joy disappears, carnal sensations rule, a fall occurs, followed by hatred, bitterness and cold fearlessness, a harbinger of death.
Thus, the most important thing is the state of the heart, virginity of the heart, according to the word of St. Philaret; first you need to cleanse the heart, for the flesh is subject to its expression and power, to free the spiritual forces from all types of evil. It is not surprising that among the saints there are former harlots: awareness of sin and fall explodes the entire inner world and becomes a powerful incentive to repentance; It has been noticed that those with a past live more strictly and attentively in the monastery.
Moreover, infant purity, if it could be preserved, costs nothing, because it is natural, not voluntary, given freely; and innocence must be acquired, acquired, conquered, obtained in a feat, in a struggle beyond one’s strength; and the soul cannot win victory only through its own effort and labor, unless it is supported by Christ’s help and
The support of chastity can only be the uniqueness of love - for God and the free, voluntary, conscious election as a life partner not of husband and wife, but of Christ, with faith in this union as living, fruitful and eternal; and the path to it is very narrow, so that it does not even accommodate two people walking together.
Obedience
To demand obedience is to demand immediate holiness; the authorities, for the sake of convenience of management, crave uncomplaining submission, as in the army, punishing with hundreds of bows, undressing, i.e. deprivation of monastic clothing, exile to a cowshed; the authorities are in a hurry, not wanting to bear their cross of long-suffering and prayer in anticipation of the mercy of God, which disposes the inhabitants to understand and acquire true obedience - by their own reasonable will, and not out of obedience forced by fear.
Even Climacus, no match for us, glorifying the ideal and admiring the achievements of Isidore, Lawrence, Avvakyr, Macedonius, assessed the “cruel, regrettable, confessional” feat of obedience in emotionally negative terms: voluntary slavery, mortification of the soul, self-violence, bloody compulsion; It was not in vain that he emphasized the difference in success: and in his time, not many turned out to be bearers of this wonderful virtue, which requires, in addition to heroic courage, subtle prudence and caution.
Obedience is the body of love; not a commanding instruction, but an active expression of trust in Christ, readiness for service and sacrifice; rejecting the will of fallen nature allows you to go beyond your own egoism, see your neighbor, accept the divine call to love your brother; and then, if we hear Him, the Lord increases His presence in man; The opportunity to know God, to draw closer to Him opens up, what more could you want!
Abba Philix thought something like this in time immemorial, answering the question about the reason for the scarcity of mentors: the brethren only ask, but do not do what they hear; obedience, as a feat of Christ, as undoubted martyrdom, attracts the nurturing grace of God; That is why one who has not passed obedience does not grow to the standard of an elder.
The inability to obey reaches down to the most seemingly unprincipled little things: the teacher both demands and asks to sing and read in Church Slavonic according to the rules, as it is written: holy, what, wonmi, but year after year the stubborn sound of the saint, what, vanmi sounds. The dean shows the new girl her place in the church - she will definitely move to another. Unbridled self-will, our common defect, the fatality of which hardly anyone realizes, is considered a legacy of the era of totalitarianism: the suppression of the individual causes a protest response; indeed, many remember from their childhood as pioneers: when they command to the left, for some reason they are irresistibly drawn to the right.
However, is the capacity for obedience greater in countries that escaped our trials? The trouble, obviously, is in a godless environment that has excluded all Christian moral norms from everyday life: what arguments, other than the Gospel ones, can convince a child to obey his mother, a wife to fear her husband, a worker to follow the engineer’s decision, a student to respect the teacher, and all together to listen to God ... the economy, the family, the country are gradually falling into the gaping gap between learning and execution.
However, even with arguments, the thirst for freedom, promising space, often lures into a dead end of self-deception: “people are looking for freedom to do what they want; but this is not freedom, but the power of sin; in order to become free, you must first bind yourself,” teaches St. Silouan; you have to fight your way to freedom through the thorns of passions until you accumulate the strength to curb yourself for the sake of the only thing that matters.
“Only let your freedom not be a reason to please the flesh,” the apostle warns, and continues: “but serve one another through love”; those. the authenticity of freedom is tested by the measure of self-denial and responsibility. Let us not forget that it was the sin of disobedience that was committed first; it was this that became the cause of the catastrophe, the beginning of the falling away from God and the destruction of man. Consequently, churching, sanctification, and restoration of personality are in no way conceivable without the eradication of this sin, without victory over self-inflicted behavior: that is why the Lord was obedient even to the point of death.
For a monk to act as He acted should be not only necessary, but also natural; in Dragomirna, one of the disciples of the Monk Paisius (Velichkovsky), having shown self-will, at the prayer of the elder, as a warning to others, fell dead; Now it’s the novice who cheekily throws out “I won’t go into the kitchen, even if it kills me,” some don’t do anything at all or do whatever they want.
It is considered good manners to sigh for the elders, of whom, of course, there are none; some passionately desire certainty dictated by someone like a guru: how much to eat, sleep and pray in order to accurately please God; others lament, as if justifying themselves: since there are no elders, then there is no one to obey; for some reason they thought that only a mythical man of advanced years, spiritual, according to Basil the Great, in word, deed and understanding, is suitable for obedience.
But already the Monk Nil of Sorsky, foreseeing that such a person would not be found, taught to obey God and the Divine Scripture, and not to wordlessly graze in the monastery or, equally unreasonably, to leave it; the great saint noticed the tendency to be guided by their carnal will precisely among dreamers who dream of complete, impeccable obedience.
Obedience to anyone, if it is sincere, not out of fear or profit, is always obedience to God. When the Monk Simeon began his hitherto unknown feat, the strict Syrian fathers, neighbors in the desert, testing their brother, ordered him to go down, and he immediately began to go down. Then they pronounced a verdict: obedient, which means he is not proud, not in delusion, and they blessed him to continue the pillars. “Whoever cuts off his will, unknown to him, God grants His will and keeps it indelible in his heart, and opens the eyes of his mind so that he knows it, and gives strength to fulfill it.”
Did the Monk Dositheos, who became a saint in just five years thanks solely to the gift of obedience, weigh the merits and demerits of Abba Dorotheos? in Abba’s place the scolder and tormentor from “The Ladder” could well have been. Here one of the sisters becomes abbess; everyone has known her for many years as if she were peeling: she doesn’t look like a holy old woman and doesn’t inspire natural reverence; how to pronounce “mother”, “you”, “bless”? Situations are known when such an appointment resulted in revolutionary tension and division. But there is a recipe, tested many times: to bow down not for superiority, but because it pleases God, who placed her above everyone.
This is the Greek version: adherence to the hierarchical order, and the Russian model, following the example of St. Sergius, is to obey everyone, for the Lord is free to show the way through a child, and in any case to avoid his own will. The Monk Barsanuphius of Optina, when it occurred to him to give up everything and retire into solitude, was stopped by the thought: “there is no one to consult with, but I myself am afraid, I am afraid, like a sentry is afraid to leave his post - they will shoot him.”
The well-known and to this day possible phenomenon, when the burden that the confessor baptized becomes light, and the road on which he sent becomes safe, is explained, perhaps, not so much by the high spiritual advantage of the blessing, but by the trust of the blessed, the lack of reliance on himself and his own strength. One great regent selected voiceless, undistinguished people into his choir, so they had an elementary ear and sang well, but they had no voice, they knew, and did not think of themselves, relying only on the regent and obeying unquestioningly.
It is right to seek obedience, to “love instruction,” otherwise the spirit of resistance and obstinacy lives in us, first expressed in the arrogant satanic cry: I don’t want to serve! He who is receptive to advice and example succeeds; P.'s mother, while traveling, went to confession in an unfamiliar church to a priest who was nothing remarkable, rather unsympathetic, too polished and young, there were no others. When she named, as always, despondency among the sins, the priest opened his lips and said: “And you smile!”; She was taken aback, asked again and heard again: “just smile more often, that’s all.” The specificity is captivating; She started with a convulsive grimace, but little by little she began to grow and grumble less.
Virginity
Every Christian, therefore, must live according to the spirit and avoid everything that defiles the purity of his soul. So, the enslavement of the flesh to the spirit is a duty. But not every Christian is obliged to dedicate his body to Christ, to keep it pure and virgin.
The first example of a virgin is Jesus Christ himself, who was incarnated as a Virgin without a husband.
Once upon a time in paradise, in ancient times, there was virginity, which was corrupted by the serpent. And only when Jesus Christ came, then it appeared again. We see the purest example of virginity in the immaculate Virgin Mary, who became the unshakable foundation of angelic life on earth. The Virgin Mary always said that she should keep her flesh intact, like some kind of sacred gift.
John the Baptist, honored with the special love of the Lord, and Saint James, and the Apostle Paul himself were a virgin. Paul could not have achieved the gift of holy apostleship if he had been bound by marriage. He deprived himself of the help of marriage so as not to be distracted by preaching. And he wished the same for all the apostles, to devote themselves to piety in virginity.
Those who castrate themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven differ from those who are virgins, not being pure in thoughts. The Lord announced that not everyone is capable of truly being a virgin. “Whoever can contain it, let him contain it” (chapter 19 from Matthew). Jesus Christ does not demand, does not impose, but sets out that whoever can bear virginity, let him bear it.
Everyone knows virginity as a state preceding marriage. It is innocence without superior dignity. True virginity is when a person, disposed towards marriage, does not give in to the attraction of nature, decides not to join marriage, but to observe virginity forever. Mere withdrawal from the marriage union does not represent perfect virginity. Perfect virginity consists in purity of deed and soul. Not only must the body be uncorrupted, but the soul must also be adorned with righteousness. Physical removal from marriage is not yet virginity; it is only the first step towards it.
A true virgin will look with the same eyes at both animate and soulless things. And when looking at a beautiful woman, he will think about heavenly beauty. Or that God could create such beauty. What could be the crown of destruction for one person becomes the crown of glory for a true virgin.
The purpose of the vow of virginity is to please only your Lord. Everything that is not holy, eternal, heavenly will defile and humiliate the virgin. This is why a virgin leaves marriage so that attachment to an earthly being does not distort his desire for God. And if a virgin or a chaste widow cares about worldly things, then this concern blocks the path to heaven. Only one free from bearing children, nurturing children, or caring about a husband who has gone elsewhere can devote himself entirely to Christ and follow him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The importance and inviolability of the vow of virginity
There is nothing worse if a monk breaks his vow of virginity. In order not to violate the vow of virginity, the following remedies are prescribed - fasting, prayer and avoidance of dealing with women. It is the latter that you need to be careful of most of all. Women want to be liked. These are bonds that lure you into death. The woman's words contain snake venom. Only when you remember a woman and don’t think about the flesh, then you can talk about chastity. Prolonged thoughts about a woman corrupt chastity. A woman should not visit her cell; she should not often be under the same roof with her.
