PROLOGUE
Silence for the monks is a rule of life. It protects them from
uncontrollable and unrestrained talk as well as from impugnation and
slander, which result in the death of the soul. It delivers them from
wrangle and strife and preserves in them internal peace which is
necessary for inwardness. Silence is the fruit of quietude, an internal
state which gives birth to spiritual discourse.
-When does the monk ought to keep quiet and when does he ought to talk?
Abbot Pimen offers a solution to the issue with great discernment: “A
brother asked Abbot Pimen saying: ‘which is best: to talk or to keep
quiet?’And the Elder tells him: ‘Whoever talks for the sake of God, does
well. Whoever keeps quiet for the sake of God, does equally well’”.
Silence is not the goal but the means. One uses it either to approach God or to talk about Him.
The Elders, those old warriors and much experienced strugglers in the
spiritual arena, are forced to become spiritual teachers and coaches
for those Christians who approach them either out of curiosity, or
interest, or because of a deeper spiritual need. They fire at them
demanding questions on serious and basic spiritual issues. “Father, tell
me something. How can I be saved? Give me a word! What shall I do about
my passions? Give me a command and I will obey! To what shall I adhere
in order to please God?”
Often the Elders give a brief, general reply like an apothegm. Their
words are not philosophical- i.e. the result of an intellectual process.
They are ripe and full of pain, direct, forceful and without frills,
which pierce the internal depths of the soul of the inquirer.
They use simple words, without adorned intellectual rhetoric; they
reveal the hidden treasure of spiritual life and hand out messages which
are always contemporary. Thus, they become beacons to those who are
wrangling in the dark seas of confusion and delusion.
The Elders- humble, unknown and undetected ascetics- penetrate the
souls of their interlocutors with discernment and their replies are in
accordance to their real needs. The purpose of their talk is “such as is
good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to
those who hear” (Ephesians 4, 29).
They avoid replying to inquiries if those who ask are able to see
their deeds and their example. Once, when a brother asked Abbot Sisoeh:
“Tell me something”, he replied: “Why do you force me to engage in idle
talk? Do as you see.”
The words which come out of the Elders’ mouths are practical and have
practical aims- to assist in the attainment of perfection and
sanctification “in Christ”. They are words filled with love. As one may
discern from the tradition of the Church, the Elders confess that “this
give and take is a matter of love to me”. The practical implementation
of the most crucial virtue, that of love, has created the term “act
lovingly” («ποιείν αγάπην») for monasticism.
When Abbot Theodore of Thermis approached Abbot Pamvo to ask for
counsel, he replied: “Go and show mercy to everyone, since mercy has
found favor in the face of the Lord”.
In the first part of this book, our most holy Elder Joseph, moved by
sheer love, has written the replies to the queries and worries posed by
our cherished visitors. In the second part, which is titled “Philokaliko
Apanthisma” we have translated into Modern Greek short excerpts from
passages from the book of Philokalia and the Fathers of the Church,
which are relevant to the questions posed.
We wish that this book assists those devout brothers, who are engaged
in the spiritual struggle while still in the outside world, to
accomplish sanctification without which “no one will see God”.
The Abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopedi,
Archimandrite Efrem
Sunday of the Myrrh bearing women, 2003
***
Excerpts from the book ‘Discourse on Mount Athos’ by Elder Joseph of Vatopedi.
Translated from the Greek: ‘Συζητήσεις στον Άθωνα’ του Γέροντος Ιωσήφ Βατοπαιδινού, by Olga Konari Kokkinou Eκδόσεις ‘Ψυχοφελή Βατοπαιδινά 13’.
Translated from the Greek: ‘Συζητήσεις στον Άθωνα’ του Γέροντος Ιωσήφ Βατοπαιδινού, by Olga Konari Kokkinou Eκδόσεις ‘Ψυχοφελή Βατοπαιδινά 13’.
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