How to take monastic vows?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Acceptance of monastic vows is one of the mysterious rites, during which a person takes monasticism for life and makes a promise to fulfill certain vows for life. In return, the Lord rewards a person with extraordinary grace, which can be immediately felt.

In the Orthodox religion, monasticism is divided into three different degrees, namely, cassock, mantle (small schema) and schema (great schema). The rite of monastic tonsure in each case will have its own form and features.

Torn in cassock

In order to be tonsured into the cassock, certain prayers are read. Hair is cut, and then a person receives a new name and no longer has the right to respond to the previous one. A person receives life from a clean face, but the rite is a kind of promise before the Lord that all vows will be kept. After that, a black robe is put on a person, and he must constantly stayin dark monastic robes.

Stages of the ceremony

The tonsure of the cassock was not the concept of monasticism. And this is completely logical, because the acceptance of this rank does not provide for the imposition of any vows on oneself. The acceptance of the rank includes the reading by the rector of several prayers in which he addresses the Lord with a specific request, namely, “live worthily in an angelic life.” Then hair is cut and put on a cassock, these actions are not accompanied by certain prayers. After performing these actions, another specific prayer is read over a person, in which a petition for grace is expressed. At the end of the service, the monk will get to know his spiritual parent, he is led by the abbot of the monastery with a prayer. More significant and solemn is the service when taking tonsure into the small schema.

Trenched in the small schema

The next stage is the initiation into the small schema, or mantle. There are also certain rules and vows. The cassock must take a vow of celibacy before God, as well as obedience and non-possession. Then the hair is cut, and the person again acquires a new name, which indicates that he has moved to another new stage in his life, now he will constantly be in grace. For all those who have seriously decided to connect their lives with the Lord and take monastic vows, rites are obligatory.

Features of covert action

Service may be performed at the end of the Liturgy. But in most cases for thistonsure is given a separate service to carry out all the honors. The dedication begins with a chant.

When the chanting takes place, the one being tonsured should be dressed in a long white shirt. At the same time, he needs to crawl from the threshold of the temple on his stomach to the center, while helping himself with his feet is not allowed. He must be accompanied by two senior monks, who during the process will cover him with their mantles. The process stops in the very center of the temple, the tonsured person should lie face down with his hands folded crosswise. The rector of the temple should address him with certain words glorifying the all-merciful Lord. At the end of these words, the rector should touch the person being tonsured, this is a certain sign that the person can get up.

If we take into account the Syrian traditions, then in their language the monk is translated as a person who constantly cries. He can cry about himself, and to a greater extent about the sinfulness of every person in this world.

According to this conception of a monk, there are the following thoughts of Isaac:“What other occupation can a monk have in his cell than weeping? Can he really find time for another thought besides crying? The monk's stay away from human joy, where he understands that his calling is crying. Even the very meaning of his name speaks of this, because his heart should be filled with bitterness. And all the saints have passed this way, settling in the world with weeping. That is why the monk's eyes are always filled with tears, this is his joy, that very crying. If he is without it, then his heart hurts and suffers. And this crying is caused by a simple spectacle, when a man mortified by his own sins lies before you, can’t this cause pity? After all, the soul is killed, and this fate is unbearable.

After the tonsured rises to his feet, the rector of the temple is obliged to ask him a whole series of questions to clarify why he is here, what he needs, and the like. He demands a clear and truthful answer to his questions. The person being sheared must pronounce all his words clearly and confidently. After the rector receives all the answers, he should remind that now all the saints are present here, led by the Lord, and it is they who listen to the spoken words. Further, the rector of the temple is obliged to ask a whole series of questions, these questions speak of the honesty, readiness and truthfulness of the words spoken, the person has the last chance to refuse. The rector must be firmly convinced of the voluntariness of the action, because a person must make such a decision on his own. Such a long conversation is necessary in order for a person to come to this not by someone else's will, because there are cases in history when tonsure was forced. Such cases are a gross violation, they completely destroy the whole idea, and are also a serious sin in relation to the neighbor.

Trenched in the great schema

The process of tonsure into the great schema is quite similar to other tonsures, but it has a difference. First of all, the service has a more solemn character and its own special severity.

Only a priest-monk has the right to perform the tonsure service, other holy fathers do not have this right. But before conducting the ceremony, it is necessary to receive a blessing from the bishop.

Monastic tonsure in a convent is performed by the Mother Superior, but with prior blessing.

Preparing for monastic vows

It is impossible to take monastic vows due to some kind of feeling. Behind this service is a certain time and a number of necessary actions. In the modern church decree, certain degrees are prescribed, which ultimately lead to monastic tonsure. These steps are labor, obedience and monasticism. After going through these stages, a person may consider taking the tonsure.

Who is a "worker"?

The word "worker" appeared already in modern Christianity, it was not used before. A laborer is a person who voluntarily visits a monastery and works there for good. As you know, help is always needed in a monastery, and a believer does a very right and good deed. It can even be a family man who comes for a certain time, and then again proceeds to his worldly affairs. Some people come here on vacation. Such a visit does not mean that a person is going to become a monk, because he may have children and other circumstances. But such actions are called work for good, so a person takes with him a certain grace that will help him survive in a cruel world. But the worker alsocan stay here permanently. That is, a person will begin to prepare himself for monasticism, that is, he must work not only physically, but also mentally. And after some time, such an employee can be transferred to another status, and he will continue to work on himself.

It often happens that a worker and a novice have the same duties, perhaps even together they perform certain kinds of assignments. But despite this, so to speak, close cooperation, these two classes have a huge difference. The worker is the most ordinary worldly person. Yes, he came to the monastery to help. And, of course, in the future he can become a monk and more, but at the moment he is considered a guest of the monastery and nothing more. But a novice is already one of the members of the monastery community, he, so to speak, has his own right to vote and lives on common terms with everyone, but he has a certain probationary period that must be passed with dignity. According to the monks, labor is not always an obligatory stage, it is the prerogative of worldly people who simply want to help the monastery. If a person has definitely decided that he will devote his life to serving God, then he can already begin with obedience.

Female monastic tonsure has the same sequence. A ceremony is performed either in a convent or in a women's community.

Obedience

There are also several forms for obedience. Everything is simple here: either a person wears a cassock, or not. An ordinary novice should walk in worldly clothes, but at the same time they should hide the body and be of dark shades. In the secondIn this case, you can wear a cassock, but a person must already be tonsured, and then he will already belong to the cassock class. This rank of monastic tonsure is one of the types of obedience, because a person does not take vows, therefore, with a new name, it is necessary to prepare for the next stage. Surprisingly, this type of obedience is given little attention in Orthodox documentation. Therefore, many of their rights and obligations are not entirely clear. At the same time, it is clearly stated that leaving the monastery is no longer possible, and will be a canonical crime. Based on this rule, it turns out that a person nevertheless takes on some promises and obligations. So, for example, for someone who has taken monastic vows, leaving the walls of the monastery and going into worldly life is a rather grave sin. But sometimes not everyone agrees with such formulations. But still, they must be observed if a person really wants to get closer to God.

Thus, if a novice is not sure that he is ready to remain within the walls of the monastery forever, then he needs to think very carefully about accepting a new rank and, perhaps, be an ordinary novice for some time. After all, a novice can leave the walls of the monastery at any moment, and at the same time, sin will not be laid on his soul, there is no need to rush into decisions. Is it important to follow the monastic vows?

History of the ceremony

If we take into account modern rules, then among the monastic vows there are also three steps, namely the cassock, the small schema (mantle) and the great schema. All these threerank came to Orthodoxy from Byzantine practice. It often happens that tonsure into the cassock is simply bypassed, and an ordinary novice immediately takes the vows of the mantle. If you turn your attention to the monastery of Mount Athos, then it also has its own peculiarities, for example, tonsure into the mantle is not performed here, it simply does not exist, but tonsure into the great schema takes place. But in the Russian Church, tonsure into the great schema is a rather rare occurrence. As you know, only monks receive this rank, most often they are already in old age and, possibly, even have serious he alth problems.

If you dig deeper into history, you can understand that initially there was absolutely no division into any degrees or titles. It was possible to accept monasticism with the help of a certain act, this decision was made once and for all life. And such a long time to think and try to live a monastic life was not provided. But already in the 9th century, the very division into a small and a great schema appeared. The first mention of this custom was found in the notes of Theodore the Studite, while this innovation caused outrage, thus it was said: “Do not give the so-called small schema, and then the great one, for one image, like baptism, as was the custom with holy fathers. But such a rule spread throughout Russia very quickly, and many began to use it, conducting tonsure rituals. The mention of this new rule was noticed by the Monk Theodosius of the Caves, and he wrote his narrative from the words of Nestor the Chronicler. During the life of Theodosius, such a rule already existedcompletely widespread, all the above ranks existed and, of course, tonsure services were held. But in those days, for example, the great schema was not considered a special rank; every monk could achieve it if desired. Therefore, with a certain spiritual growth, the monk was bestowed with this title. But already in the 12th century, the attitude towards this rank was somewhat changed, it was considered that it was quite honorable, and not everyone deserves initiation, so tonsure was intended only for weak and sick monks.

How to congratulate you on your tonsure?

Congratulations on monastic vows can be free. Usually a person wants to get the special mercy of the Lord. Also, when giving a new name, the story of the saint in whose honor the person was named can be told. Solemn prayers are said. You can congratulate in your own words.

A special stage in the life of every novice is monastic vows. The photo of this sacrament, its stages indicate that a person, refusing numerous worldly blessings, receives much more - love for the Lord and his inexhaustible grace.