Essential heritage of Slavic culture are Orthodox churches and monasteries. They attract not only pilgrims who truly believe, but also tourists. The last interesting thing is the architecture, the interior of the temples, the history of their existence.
General concept and meaning
The concept of "monastery" came along with Christianity to Kievan Rus from Byzantium. This state arose on the basis of Greek culture. From the Greek "monastery" is a "secluded dwelling".
In it, the monks observe a single charter. However, not everyone who comes to a monastery becomes a monk. First, he passes the test. If it ends successfully, the person is honored with tonsure. According to the rules established at the Ecumenical Council, regardless of the previous moral way of life, a person can become a monk for the correction (salvation) of the soul.
The meaning of the word "monastery" for many today means directly the communitymonks.
The first Christian monasteries
A monastery is a certain place with its own way of life. The first monasteries arose in Egypt and Palestine (4-5 centuries AD). Over time, monastic dwellings began to appear in Constantinople (the capital of Byzantium), which is referred to in Russian chronicles as Tsargrad.
The first founders of monasticism in Russia are Anthony and Theodosius, who created the Kiev Caves Monastery.
Types of Christian monasteries
In Christianity there is a division into a nunnery and a male monastery. What this means is easy to understand. The name depends on whether the female or male community lives and carries out activities at the church church. There are no mixed monasteries in Christianity.
Different types of monastic dwellings:
Abbey. Found in the Catholic (Western) direction. Governed by an abbot in the male community and an abbess in the female. Reports to the bishop, and sometimes to the Pope in person.
Lavra. This is the largest monastic dwelling of the Orthodox (Eastern) direction. This type of monastic dwelling is suitable exclusively for male communities.
Kinovia. Community monastery. This means that the organization has a dormitory charter to which all its members are subject.
Compound. This is a dwelling remote from the monastery, which is located in a city or village. It is used to collect donations, receive pilgrims, and manage the household.
Deserts. A home built with traditionRussian Orthodoxy, it is built in a secluded place away from the monastery itself.
Skit. This is the place where a monk who wishes to become a hermit lives.
Most of the monastic dwellings are under the control of diocesan bishops. Such monasteries are called diocesan. Certain Orthodox monasteries may have stauropegial status.
Stavropegic Monastery
What does this mean, will help to learn the return to the Greek language. Literally translated, "stavropegia" means "raising the cross." It is assigned not only to monasteries, but also to cathedrals and theological schools.
This status means that the monastery is directly subordinate to the patriarch or synod. The stauropegial monastery is a shrine in which the cross was erected by the patriarch himself. This is the highest status.
Due to the fact that the diocese of the Orthodox Church was divided into several branches, there are different lists of stauropegial churches. Depending on their subordination, they may refer to the Orthodox Church of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and so on. There are such shrines in other countries, such as Estonia, Italy, USA, Germany.
Modern stauropegial monasteries
The largest number of such monastic dwellings is represented in Moscow and the Moscow region.
List of men's dwellings in Moscow:
- Andreevsky;
- Vysoko-Petrovsky;
- Danilov;
- Donskoy;
- Zikonospassky;
- Novospassky;
- Sretensky.
List of women's dwellings in Moscow:
- Alekseevsky;
- Christmas Mother of God;
- Zachatievsky;
- John the Baptist;
- Pokrovsky;
- Troitsk-Odigitrievsky hermitage.
When and where should a new stauropegial monastery be opened? What does it mean? The decision on this matter is made by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia alone.
Forms of organization of monasticism
The monastery is the place where monks live. Depending on what form of organization they have chosen, the monastery can be with a communal charter or in the form of a hermitage.
For Christians, hermitage is a fairly developed form of monasticism. Even Jesus Christ himself spent 40 days in the wilderness.
The first hermits went to the desert, persecuted by the Roman authorities in the 3rd century. Later, this form spread from Egypt to Palestine, Armenia, Gaul and Europe. In Western Christianity, hermitism has disappeared; it has survived only in the Orthodox direction. Among the hermits who have dedicated themselves to asceticism and fervent prayers, there are both men and women. The most famous hermit is Mary of Egypt from Palestine, who lived in the 6th century.
Another form of monastic organization is called Kinovia.
Cenovia Charter
From Greek, the word means "living together", that is, a hostel.
The founder of the first cenobia is St. Pachomius, who created it in 318 in the SouthEgypt. As for the Russian Orthodox Church, the first common church was created by Theodosius of the Caves.
According to the general charter, monks accept everything necessary for their existence from the cinnamon. For example, food, clothes, shoes. They work without compensation, and all the results of their work belong to the coenobia. The monk, including the abbot, do not have the right to have personal property, they cannot make acts of donation or inherit anything. They have no ownership.
Rules of behavior in the monastery for a layman
The monastery is a special world. It takes time to understand all the subtleties of the monastic community. Misdemeanors of pilgrims are usually treated with patience, however, some rules are better to know when visiting a monastic dwelling.
What to look for in behavior:
- coming as a pilgrim, you need to ask for blessings for everything;
- you can't leave the monastery without blessing;
- all worldly sinful addictions should be left behind the walls of the monastery (alcohol, tobacco, foul language);
- talk should only be about the spiritual, and the main words in communication are the words "forgive", "bless";
- you can only eat at a common meal;
- sitting down at the table for a meal, you must follow the order of precedence, sit silently and listen to reading.
To plunge into the world of calm and harmony that exists in the monastery, it is not necessary to know all the rules of the monastic way of life. It is enough to adhere to the usual norms of behavior, in compliance withwhich includes respect for elders, restraint.
