Abba Dorotheos: the life of the saint, books and soul-helping teachings of the saint

The canon of saints has its differences in individual autocephalies of the Orthodox Church, but the Monk Dorotheos of Gaza is revered throughout the world, among Orthodox and Catholics as a holy ascetic who wrote a number of moral works.

The day of remembrance of the saint is celebrated in the Orthodox, Jerusalem, Greek and Catholic churches. Throughout his life, he wrote 21 teachings, a number of messages and 87 answers to questions from the great elders of that time. The works of the Gaza monk are considered classic literature of asceticism or the “alphabet of ascetics.”

Abba Dorotheos is an ascetic elder from Gaza

Dorofey was nicknamed Gazsky in honor of the city of Gaza, although he did not come from it. Gaza is an ancient settlement. It has been known for more than five thousand years, mentioned in the Bible and other historical sources. But modern Gaza is not what it was before. The ancient city is buried under the dunes.

Abba Dorfei on an ancient icon

The prophet Jeremiah warned about this:

(Jer 47:5)

“Gaza has become bald, Ascalon, the rest of their valley, is perishing. Jeremiah"

And even more precisely in modern translation:

(Jer 47:5)

“Gaza will shave its head, Ashkelon will fall silent. Survivors of the valley, how long will you continue to inflict wounds on yourselves?”

As for the word “Abba”, it is not a name, but a respectful address. It translates as "father". It is also found in Holy Scripture:

(Mark 14:36)

“Abba Father! everything is possible for You; carry this cup past Me; but not what I want, but what You want"

The address “Abba” is a way to express trust, affection, love and submission. Although it is an Aramaic-Syriac word, it gained currency in Christianity. Since the 4th century, this is how they addressed the abbots of monasteries in Orthodoxy.

Ava

this is a way of addressing expressing trust, affection, love and humility

Today “Abba” sounds unusual to us, but the forms of this word are inherited by some Christian traditions. Abbot is the abbot of a monastery for Catholics, abuna is a monk or clergyman for some Afro-Asian Christians.

So why is Dorofey of Gaza an abba? Firstly, he was the abbot of the monastery. Secondly, this is what elders-ascetics are sometimes called in Orthodoxy.

A little bit of every virtue

Scripture mentions midwives who left the male children of Israel alive, because the women were afraid of God, having created dwellings for themselves (Ex. 1:21 ). Are sensual dwellings spoken of here? And what sense does it make: to build houses for ourselves out of the fear of God? We do the opposite: we are taught to leave, for the fear of God, sometimes even the houses that we have. Scripture speaks here not about sensory dwellings, but about the spiritual house that man builds for himself by observing the commandments of God. Scripture teaches us that the fear of God impels the soul to keep the commandments, and through the commandments a spiritual home is built. Let us, brethren, be attentive to ourselves, let us also fear God, and let us build houses for ourselves in order to find protection during the winter, during rains, lightning and thunder, because in the winter those who do not have a home suffer great misfortune. How is a spiritual home created? From the construction of a sensual house we can learn exactly how to do this. For whoever wants to build such a house must strengthen it everywhere and build a wall on four sides, and not take care of only one side and leave the others neglected; because otherwise he will not receive any benefit, but will lose everything in vain: intention and costs and labor. This also happens with regard to the soul: for a person who wants to create a spiritual home should not neglect any aspect of his building, but build it evenly and consistently. This means what Abba John said: “I want a person to acquire a little of every virtue every day,” and not as some do, who, holding on to one virtue and remaining in it, fulfill only that one, and about others don't care. It may be that they have this virtue by skill, or by natural property, and therefore are not disturbed by the opposite passion: and moreover, they are imperceptibly carried away by other passions and are disturbed by them, but do not care about them, but, on the contrary, think that they possess something great. Such people are like a person who builds only one wall, and raises it as high as possible and, looking only at the height of this wall, thinks that he has accomplished something great, but does not know that if one day he blows wind, it will knock it down, because it stands alone and has no connection with other walls. Moreover, no one can build protection from one wall, because it is open on all other sides. But it is unwise to do so; but on the contrary, whoever wants to build a house for himself and make a defense for himself must build it on all four sides and strengthen it from everywhere. And I will explain to you how.

In his early years, Dorofey moved to Gaza, a border city where philosophy and art flourished

Although the Monk Dorotheos was nicknamed Gaza, he was born in another city - Ascalon. And today there is Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast, although it is also not the same as it was originally. In 1270, the city was destroyed by the Turkish Sultan Bibars, and the harbor was filled with stones. Only the walls remain. For seven centuries Ascalon stood in silence.

(Zeph. 2:4)

"Ascalon will be empty"

By the time of the birth of the Monk Dorotheus, Ascalon had already experienced its dawn, destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II, and the Hellenistic period. The future saint was born in a great but fading city, which was a Byzantine autonomy.

Of course, Christianity had already spread to these lands, although it was not the only religion: Ascalon has always been inhabited by people of different nationalities and religions.

Abba Dorotheos was born in the city of Askalon

However, Dorotheus did not live long in Askalon and already in his early youth settled in Gaza. Christianity established itself in these lands, although this did not happen quickly or peacefully.

Gaza is not the last place in the ancient world: it was famous for philosophers, poets, rhetoricians, and many arts. A variety of cultures came into contact in it, and many of St. Dorotheos’ contemporaries sought a symbiosis of Christianity and ancient tradition.

But times were not calm. The border position of Gaza led to constant military clashes. The Persian Shahinshah Khosrow II Parviz repeatedly tried to conquer the city and even succeeded for a short time, and the Arabs did the same. By the way, in 634 they achieved their goal, but the Monk Dorotheos did not live to see it.

Biography

Despite the wide popularity of the saint’s works, moral and ascetic teachings, very little is known about his personal life and biography in general. It is known that the saint was born in Palestine (the city of Askalon) at the beginning of the 6th century, not far from the place where Abba Serida then lived. It is believed that his parents were rich and wealthy people, since they were able to provide their son with a good secular education: the boy spent his childhood and youth in the vicinity of Gaza, studying philosophy, rhetoric, Greek and medicine.

Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Palestine

It is believed that the teacher of the future saint was Procopius of Gaza, who instilled in the young man a love for Christ. Gaza at that time was autonomous from Byzantium and was a city in which many teachings and religions were mixed: many philosophers and scientists of that time lived there.

Even though Christianity had long spread in these places, it still had to compete with the Greek and Persian gods. According to surviving evidence and the words of the Abba himself, initially he was not particularly drawn to knowledge and science, but later he fell in love with reading and spent all his free time doing it.

Interesting! In his writings, Abba compares his initial attitude towards books as a “beast” that you are afraid of, but he also writes that after effort on himself and with God’s help, he fell in love with books and did not want to waste time on anything else.

The path to asceticism

Apparently, the boy's family was God-fearing, since it is known that his brother later built a hospital at the monastery, where Abba Serida was the abbot, with money from the inheritance. Dorotheos also visited this ascetic father.

It is not known for certain why exactly the young man decided to become a monk, because given his position and wealth, there were many different successful paths in life for him. After completing his studies, he lived for some time with the money of his family not far from the monastery of Serida; some historians claim that due to illness in his body he could not accept the novitiate and was very burdened by this.

At the same time, the young man began to regularly visit the monastery of Abba Serida and communicate with the ascetics living there: the Monk Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet. It is believed that it was they who influenced the young man’s life choice and encouraged him to become a monk, helped him overcome his illness and prepare for the long journey of a monk. After some time, he becomes a novice in the monastery of Serida of Gaza.

Monasticism

Having taken monastic vows (no one knows the exact date of this event), he fulfills his novitiate responsibly and conscientiously. His first duties at the monastery were to greet pilgrims and guests - he was the monastery's gatekeeper. A little later, he was also entrusted with the management of the hospice house - everyone who decided to visit the monastery, come for advice to the reverend elders, or wanted to learn more about novitiate was located there.

The young monk received guests, accommodated them and was responsible for the table and beds for wanderers. A little later in his writings, he will note that this allowed him to learn patience and humble his own pride. Dorotheus’s teacher was St. John the Prophet, who taught asceticism and love for God and people.

He and the wise Barsanuphius were hermits in this monastery, but countless pilgrims flocked to them for advice and prayer - the monk had to receive all of them, communicating along the way and clarifying the person’s anxiety and pain. He himself was a devoted follower of John the Prophet and did nothing without advice; it was the monk who instructed the disciple in such a way that he did not deviate from the Word of the Lord throughout his life, but, on the contrary, succeeded in it.

Icon of St. Dorotheos

After some time, Dorotheus was assigned to manage the monastery hospital, the same one that his brother built. The knowledge of medicine acquired in his youth significantly helped the novice to treat his brethren and strengthen his poor health. When this work became easy for the novice, and his spirit and mind became stronger, Abba Serida appointed him as a teacher to some monks - he began to distribute not only carnal food, but also spiritual food.

Dorotheus's first student was the young man Dosifei, who was a relative of the military leader and a new monk who did not fully understand what exactly he should do and how to live. The teacher tried to explain and convey everything to him, and completed his task - Dosifei was a saved and spiritual person, although he lived in the monastery for only 5 years before his death.

Dorotheos spent about 10 years in the monastery of Abba Serida, learning humility and obedience. He excelled in communicating with pilgrims and monastery novices, receiving everyone with care and sympathy. However, when Serida of Gaza died, and the wise Barsanuphius went into complete seclusion, and their student left the monastery and built his own not far from that place (it is assumed that with the family’s money). He went from being a novice and cell attendant to John the Prophet to hegumen and rector.

Asceticism and hermitage

After leaving the monastery, Abba Dorotheos became an ascetic and hermit - this is exactly what he always wanted. He lived the rest of his life in the desert between the cities of Gaza and Ascalon, strengthening his spirit and humbling his flesh. Asceticism or asceticism at that time was understood as a struggle against sin, during which a person had to humble the “old” person and acquire the virtues of the “new” person.

To do this, the ascetic fathers retired to the desert, lived as hermits, ate coarse, simple food, prayed all day long and fasted regularly. They slept on the ground, refused any comfort and coziness, striving to acquire the wisdom of God and humility.

Important! The venerable Abba chose the path of asceticism and it was at that time that he began to write his reflections on this; holiness and simplicity became the basis for ascetic works. God rewarded him for his choice of asceticism with deep wisdom - people began to flock to him for advice and prayer, and those who wanted to become disciples and settle nearby came.

Seeing that there were more and more of them, Abba decided to found a monastery - presumably this was done after 540. However, the monastery did not manage to exist for long - in 634 Gaza was captured by Muslims and the monks had to leave those places, saving their lives. The cells were destroyed and this place is not mentioned anywhere else in the documents.

The monk Abba did not live to see this time, since the Lord took him to Himself no later than 620 (the exact date is not known). The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast day of St. Dorotheus on June 18, and the Catholic Church on June 5.

Dorotheus had a student - Dositheus, now a venerable

Among the brightest events in the life of Dorotheus, it is worth noting the meeting with Dositheus, a relative of an influential military leader. This man came to the monastery after a miraculous vision. A certain woman ordered him not to eat meat and to pray often to get rid of torment. Dosifei accepted a new way of life and settled in the monastery of Abba Serida, where he became a student and assistant to Dorotheus in the monastery hospital.

Dosfiy diligently carried out any assignments, but quickly died - just five years later, and then appeared in a dream to Barsanuphius the Great, surrounded by heavenly monks.

It was Dorotheus who wrote down the life of his Dositheus, although work on the text was already completed by his students.

The first virtue is humility

First, a foundation must be laid, that is, faith: for without faith, as the Apostle says, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and then on this foundation a person must build the building evenly: if obedience has happened, he must lay one stone of obedience ; If you encounter grief from your brother, you should lay down one stone of long-suffering; if an opportunity presents itself for abstinence, you should put down one stone of abstinence. So from every virtue for which an opportunity presents itself, one should put one stone into the building and thus build it up on all sides, laying first the stone of compassion, then the stone of cutting off one’s will, then the stone of meekness, etc.

The builder must also put lime on each stone; for if he lays stone on stone without mortar, the stones will fall out and the house will collapse. Lime is humility, because it comes from the earth and is under everyone’s feet. And any virtue performed without humility is not virtue. The house must also have so-called connections, which are reasoning: it strengthens the structure, connects stone to stone and connects the walls, and at the same time gives the house greater beauty. The roof is love, which constitutes the perfection of virtues, just as the roof is the top of the house. Then after the roof there is a railing all around it. What do the railings around the roof mean? The railing is the essence of humility, because it protects and protects all virtues; and just as every virtue must be combined with humility, just as we said that lime is placed over every stone, so the perfection of virtue requires humility; for even the saints, having prospered, naturally come to humility, as I always tell you that the more someone approaches God, the more he sees himself as a sinner.

After the death of his mentor and abbot, Dorotheos founded his own monastery

Around 550, the abbot of Serid and Dorotheus’ teacher, John the Prophet, died. Further circumstances are described sparingly, but one way or another, the Monk Abba Dorotheos quickly left the monastery. There is an opinion that they intended to make him abbot instead of Serid.

Saint Dorotheus of Gaza himself founded the monastery.

This is controversial, since the life of John the Prophet speaks of Abbot Eliyan, who had already been elected to the position of rector. So the version of leaving the monastery out of modesty is doubtful.

In addition, Saint Dorotheus of Gaza himself founded the monastery. He gained more and more adherents, so that the monk held the position of rector until the end of his life.

The life of Abba Dorotheus reports that he died in 565.

About the reasonable doing of good

Here the house is finished, has connections, has a roof, about which we said that it is the perfection of virtues, here are the railings surrounding it, and in a word: the house is ready. But doesn't he need anything else? Yes, there's one more thing we haven't mentioned. What is it? So that the architect is skillful, because if he is not skillful, then he will bend the wall a little, and the house will someday collapse. He is skillful who performs virtues intelligently; for it happens that someone lifts up the work of virtue, but because he performs this work unreasonably, he himself destroys it. For example, someone serves a sick person, but serves in order to have a reward; It's not reasonable. And therefore, if something sorrowful happens to him, it easily removes him from this good deed, and he does not reach the end of it, because he does it unreasonably. And the one who serves intelligently serves in order to acquire a merciful heart, to acquire a feeling of compassion. Also, if someone fasts either out of vanity, or thinking in himself that he is doing virtue, he fasts unreasonably, and therefore begins to reproach his brother, considering himself to be something great; and it turns out that he not only put one stone and removed two, but is also in danger of destroying the entire wall through condemnation of his neighbor. And whoever fasts wisely does not think that he is performing virtue, and does not want to be praised as a faster, but thinks that through abstinence he will acquire chastity, and through this he will come to humility.

The soul-helping teachings of Abba Dorotheus have been preserved

The soulful teachings of Abba Dorotheus are the legacy that the great elder left us. We know with what zeal he strove for knowledge, developed the gift of speaking clearly and touching the subtlest strings of a person’s soul.

Audiobook “The Soulful Teachings of Abba Dorotheus” Buy on OZON.ru

They spoke about Abba Dorotheus as follows: “he had a great gift of speech.” However, this does not apply to the stylistic or artistic features of his teachings. On the contrary, these are quite simple, in some ways even too simple, texts. But their task is different - to help a person on the path of spiritual life.

The instructions of the Monk Dorotheus are a work on asceticism, a kind of guide for a person who has taken upon himself the burden of asceticism. Moreover, no other Christian books can replace the works of Dorotheus. Before the reader is one of the central works of the ascetic tradition.

But for ordinary lay people there is a lot of instructive and interesting things here. In addition to dry truths, the teachings of Abba Dorotheus contain stories from personal experience:

Abba Dorotheus

Reverend

“...one day a great and unbearable sorrow came over me, and I was in such suffering and oppression that I was ready to even betray my very soul: this sorrow came from the cunning of the demon. And such a temptation, inflicted by demons out of envy, can be difficult for a person, but short-lived: it is gloomy, heavy, inconsolable, there is no comfort from anywhere, but oppression from everywhere, oppression from everywhere.
However, the grace of God soon visits the soul, for if the grace of God had not visited, then no one could bear it. <...> I looked inside the church and saw a certain (husband) who looked like a Bishop. <…>At the end of the prayer, he <…> “having endured the Lord, and listened to me, and heard my prayer: and raised me from the pit of passions and from the clay of the mire: and set my feet on stones, and set my feet straight, and put into my mouth a new song, singing to our God (Ps. 39:2-4).”
He recited all these verses three times, hitting, as I said, on my chest, and so he left. Immediately after this, the sweetest light, joy, consolation and great joy settled in my heart, and I was no longer what I was before. When he came out, I hurried after him, wanting to find him, but I did not find him, for he had become invisible. From that time, by the grace of God, I no longer felt sorrow or fear bothering me, but the Lord covered me until now for the sake of the prayers of these holy elders.”

The spiritually beneficial teachings of Abba Dorotheus are based on the rich heritage of theologians of antiquity, the life experience of the author himself, and information he received from familiar ascetics. In this book you can find advice, hope and consolation, because the Monk Dorotheos consoled travelers during his lifetime. And now he continues to patronize people.

Abba Dorotheus

Reverend

“However, another may think: if someone does not have a person whom he could question, then what should he do in this case? True, if someone wants to truly, with all his heart, fulfill the will of God, then God will never leave him, but will instruct him in every possible way according to His will. Truly, if someone directs his heart according to the will of God, then God will enlighten the little child to tell him His will.
If someone does not want to sincerely do the will of God, then even though he will go to the prophet, and God will put it on the prophet’s heart to answer him, in accordance with his corrupted heart, as the Scripture says: and if a prophet is deceived, he speaks a word, “The Lord has deceived the prophet.” that (Ezek. 14:9). Therefore, we must direct ourselves with all our might to the will of God and not believe our hearts.”

Memorial Day of Abba Dorpheus: March 4 (movable) – March 4 (February 19) in a non-leap year / March 3 (February 19) in a leap year

Abba Dorfey, in memory of his writings, is often depicted with a book or scroll

In Orthodoxy there is a prayer by Abba Dorotheus against anger:

Merciful and humane God! By Your ineffable goodness, You created us from nothing, to enjoy Your blessings, and through the blood of Your Only Begotten Son, our Savior, Who called us, who had departed from Your commandments! Come now, help our weakness, and as You once rebuked the troubled sea, so now rebuke the disturbance of our hearts, so that You do not lose both of us, Your children, killed by sin, in one hour, and so that You do not say to us: “What good is it?” My blood, ever descend into decay,” and: “Amen I say to you, we do not know you,” because our lamps went out from the lack of oil. Amen.

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Not only ask, but also act

If we seek, we will find, and if we ask God, He will enlighten us; for the Holy Gospel says: ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; press, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). It is said: ask - so that we call on Him in prayer; and seek means that we should experience how virtue itself comes, what it brings, what we must do to acquire it; This is how you always experience and it means: seek and you will find. And push means to fulfill the commandments, for everyone who pushes pushes with his hands, and hands mean activity.

So, we must not only ask, but seek and act, trying, as the Apostle said, to be ready for every good work (cf. 2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Tim. 3:17). What does it mean to be ready? When someone wants to build a ship, he first prepares everything necessary for the ship, even down to the smallest nails, tar and tow. Also, if a woman wants to weave linen, she first prepares everything down to the smallest thread; this is called being ready, i.e. have everything you need ready for the job. In this way, we too will be prepared for every good deed, having complete readiness to intelligently fulfill the will of God, as He wants and as He pleases. But what does He want? He wants us to desire His good will, which happens, as I said, according to good will, that is, everything that is done according to His commandment: to love one another, to be compassionate, to give alms and the like - this is God’s good will. What does well-pleasing mean? It is pleasing when someone gives alms not for any human impulse, but for the sake of goodness itself, out of compassion alone: this is pleasing to God. The perfect will of God is when someone does alms not with stinginess, not with laziness, not with compulsion, but with all his strength and with all his will, giving as if he himself had received, and benevolent as if he himself had received blessings: then the perfect will of God is fulfilled. This is how man fulfills the will of God, as the Apostle says, good and acceptable and perfect. This means doing it wisely.

May God, the lover of mankind, grant us to hear and do what we hear, so that these words do not serve us for condemnation on the day of judgment. For to Him belongs glory forever. Amen.

Abba Dorotheus Soulful teachings

love thy neighbour

So, anyone who wants to achieve such a good dispensation with God’s help should not say that the virtues are great and he cannot achieve them, for whoever says so either does not trust in God’s help, or is lazy to devote himself to something good. Name any virtue you want: we will look at it, and you will see that it is up to us to fulfill it if we want. Thus, Scripture says: love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19, 18; Matt. 5, 43). Do not pay attention to how far you are from this virtue, lest you begin to be horrified and say: How can I love my neighbor as myself? Can I take care of his sorrows as if they were my own, and especially about those hidden in his heart, which I do not see and do not know, like my own? Do not get carried away by such thoughts and do not think that virtue exceeds your strength and is difficult to accomplish, but just make a beginning with faith in God, show Him your will and diligence, and you will see the help that He will give you to accomplish virtue.

Imagine two stairs: one leads up to heaven, the other brings down to hell, and you stand on the ground in the middle of both stairs. Don’t think and don’t say: how can I fly from the earth and suddenly find myself at the height of the sky, i.e. at the top of the stairs. This is impossible, and God does not require this of you; but at least be careful not to go down. Do not do evil to your neighbor, do not upset him, do not slander, do not slander, do not humiliate, do not reproach, and thus you will begin, little by little, to do good to your brother, comforting him with words, compassionate him, or giving him something in what he needs; and so, rising from one step to another, you will, with God’s help, reach the top of the ladder. For, little by little helping your neighbor, you will reach the point where you will begin to desire his benefit as your own, and his success as your own. This means loving your neighbor as yourself.

By the bookshelf. Reverend Abba Dorotheos. Soulful teachings