In St. Petersburg, the first day of the round table “Worship and prayer as the focus of life of monastic brotherhood” ended

In St. Petersburg, the first day of the round table “Worship and prayer as the focus of life of monastic brotherhood” ended В Санкт-Петербурге завершился первый день работы круглого стола «Богослужение и молитва как средоточие жизни монашеского братства» print version July 25, 2019 12:03 July 24, 2019 in the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent of St. Petersburg began the work of the round table "Worship and prayer as the center of the life of monastic brotherhood." With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, monastic dioceses located in the North-West Federal District, as well as members of the board of the Synodal Department of Monasteries and Monasticism, take part in the event. The organizers of the round table were the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, the Commission of the Inter-Council Assembly on the organization of the life of monasteries and monasticism, the Resurrection Novodevichy Monastery of St. Petersburg. Before the start of the forum, the Divine Liturgy was held at the Resurrection Cathedral of the Novodevichy Monastery, which was headed by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Varsonofy . The Presidium of the meeting attended: Bishop of Tikhvin and Mordovia ; of the monastery of St. Petersburg, secretary of the Commission of the Inter-Council Presence on the organization of the life of the monasteries and monastics Abbess of Sofia ( Ileana), prioress of St. Alexander Nevsky Novo-Tikhvin monastery of Yekaterinburg Abbess Domnica (Korobeinikova). The opening speech of Metropolitan Varsonofy was announced by the bishop of Peterhof of Silvan. In his address to the monastics, the head of the St. Petersburg Metropolis recalled the importance of prayer for those who chose the monastic way, noting that church and cell prayer, as well as obedience assigned to each monastery inhabitant, should be sufficient for both time and effort. monastic feat. The prayer rule of the monk is a liturgical continuation of the church service, but it must correspond to the spiritual dispensation of man and intensify as he grows as a monk. In conclusion, the bishop wished the participants of the round table fruitful work. Then the Bishop of Peterhof Silouan presented the report "Divine services of the diurnal circle as the main" environment-forming "factor of monastic life." Vladyka recalled the history of the establishment of the rule on the performance of monastic prayers, dating back to the statute of St. Pachomius the Great (IV century). The life of the monastics was already fully regulated and ordered, first of all, by the divine services of the diurnal circle, moreover, that at about the same time there was a mandatory cell rule. “The gradual formation of the rites of the services of the daily circle found an ever more vivid and detailed display in the monastic statutes,” said the speaker. Participation in worship was closely associated with a certain obedience of the monks: for example, according to the statute of the Monk Theodore the Studite, the Psalter in the service did not participate in those who still had to study this holy book. It is characteristic that for the ancient Russian monastic hostel monasteries the obligatory participation of monastics in the services of the daily circle was so self-evident that it was not even necessary to specifically reflect this in the statute. In the XIX century, the implementation of labor, economic obedience already allows the brethren, with the blessing, to skip part of the services. “Participation in worship disciplines and strengthens the monastic brotherhood, the harmonious distribution of time between obedience and prayer at the services of the daily circle saves the monk's life from dangerous extremes,” Bishop Silouan summed up his speech. Metropolitan of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsky Daniel continued the theme of the significance of worship in the development and improvement of the life of monastic communities in the report “On the internal preparation for worship”. The report of Vladyka was read by Hegumen Varlaam (Dulsky), the head of the department for monasteries and monasticism of the Archangel Diocese. Vladyka Daniel drew the attention of the round table participants to two main groups of problems related to the preparation of the priest-in-law for worship. The first problem is “too everyday, automatic administration of worship”. Monastic services should serve as a model for all. In order to achieve this, the brethren of monasteries undergoing formation must have the opportunity to visit other monasteries, where there is a tradition, and to participate in exemplary services, where, in fact, "the spiritualization of the divine service is proceeding with a Christian spirit." “The service must be“ internally warmed ”- this allows the brethren to feel their unity in Christ,” the lord emphasized. Thanks to the efforts that the Synodal department of monasteries and monasticism makes, the situation of the closure of monasteries begins to change gradually. But having no such live communion, in monasteries they practically do not know what the Orthodox monasticism lives in the world, and even in other dioceses. It is very important that bishops, hegumen and abbess will invite people with significant spiritual experience to the monastery who, in conversations with the inhabitants, could “warm the heat and desire to participate in the service,” said Metropolitan Daniel. The second problem is internal disorders that prevent the monk from treating service as the central business of his life. Vladyka called among them the neglect of psychological compatibility in establishing the liturgical sequence and the appointment of co-workers; inattention to the physical condition of the cleric, sometimes overloaded with heavy obedience on the days of the services and not having the opportunity to internally prepare. The preparation itself must necessarily include an immersion in the spiritual sense of what is happening, as well as a competently set up confession, since it is no secret that many religious people in holy orders do not confess for years. This is connected with the formation in the monastic community of a climate of trust in each other. The last thing Vladyka Daniel dwelt on was the importance for the unservice brethren to take communion with the daily circle as often as possible for the Liturgies. Abbot Peter (Mazhetov), ​​rector of the Kosminsky desert of the Serov diocese, devoted his speech “On the upbringing of liturgical culture or on increasing knowledge of the Liturgy as the Sacrament of the Kingdom” to reflect that the Liturgy is a manifestation of Christ. Praying enter into fellowship with Him and are not spectators, but participants in the Sacrament. For the monks, the Liturgy is the prayer-opening of the Sacrament. In private, a monk sacrifices himself to Christ in order to grasp the heart of the sacrifice that the Savior made for man. Father Peter drew the attention of the audience to aspects relating to the sacrifice of the monks, which are consonant with the Beatitudes. By his monastic ministry - obedience, by cutting off the will - a monk in the course of the day in fact pretends to himself the right to sacrifice himself in Christ (blessed are the poor in spirit ... weeping and meek). But it is not enough to have the right, one must also desire to be sacrificed (blessed are those who hunger and thirst for truth). However, a person is almost always satiated with something — the joys of monastic life or work — and is rarely hungry, but that is why he has no strength for prayer. According to the thought of Father Peter, it is very important for a monk to leave the heart to those who are hungry for God-communion, not to let him get fed up with the worries and joys of the day. After all, if a person is not thirsty, he does not have the ability to strain for the sake of attentive prayer or bowing. Desire begets ability, and one must be able to thirst for Divine truth, to desire Christ Himself in prayer. The next aspect, considered by the speaker, is connected with the understanding of what sacrifice in prayer is. The Holy Fathers said a lot about attentive prayer. The ability to pray without thoughts, dreams and fantasies helps a person to feel that he is pardoned after asking "Lord, have mercy." Thoughts drift away, and the heart experiences a state of bliss - blissful are the pure in heart. Another important point in comprehending the interpenetration of the Sacrifice of Christ in the Liturgy and the sacrifice of a monk is determination. The Lord asked each of the monastics in his time: “Will you drink the cup that I drink?” And the one who became a monk answered it in the affirmative. This determination inevitably elevates a person to the top of the Commandments of Bliss, and he begins to understand what peacemakers are blissful about, comprehending the world within and around themselves. Having experienced a feeling of closeness with God, one experiences an internal readiness to be expelled for truth or to go through reproach from one’s neighbors. All this allows the monk to discover for himself the Mystery of the Eucharist, but often he cannot reciprocate Christ because his heart is cold and his mind is distracted. He cannot confess his love of God in the same way as God confesses his love to man. Christ waits for man every day, but man comes to Him once a week and often only to ask for something. Summarizing what was said, the abbot of the Kosminsky desert emphasized the main idea that the monastics should live differently. According to the speaker, the monks are the closest relatives of Christ, and if you create proper living conditions in the monastery, the soul of each inhabitant will be able to fulfill the commandments of bliss in due time and enjoy the communion with God. This is what should be promoted by monastic life, private rule and the Divine Liturgy. After the presentations, the roundtable participants asked questions to the speakers. In the afternoon, the discussion of questions of monastic life continued in the format of a discussion on the topic "Features of monastic worship: practical aspects." The Presidium was attended by the Bishop of Solnechnogorsky Alexy, the chief of the Smolensk monastery of the Holy Cross. Abbess Antony (Minin) of the monastery , the abbess of Polotsk Savior-Euphrosinievsky Stavropegic Convent abjects Evdokia (Levshuk). In their reports, the speakers examined issues relating to the modern practice of committing the daily liturgical circle and the Liturgy, special liturgical offices and their place in the life of the monasteries, told about the peculiarities of the charters of their monasteries and the traditions that were monitored by the participants of the round table today. During the discussion, the participants shared the positive experience of the formation of monastic communities and made a number of proposals concerning the development of modern monastic life. At the end of the meeting, Bishop Alexy headed the litia at the grave of the founder of the St. Vladimir School, the chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1880-1905), K.P. Pobedonostsev. On the first day of the forum, its participants also made a pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Sergius Primorskaya male deserts, widely known for the fact that for twenty-four years, its prior was St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The inhabitant of the monastery, hieromonk Filaret (Konoplev), conducted a tour of the territory of the monastery and introduced pilgrims to its history. Then they visited the Trinity Cathedral - the first basilica in Russia, built by the successor of St. Ignatius, Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev; † May 29, 1897). The participants of the round table were received by the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Nikolai (Paramonov). On July 25, the round table “Worship and prayer as the center of life of the monastic brotherhood” continued its work.