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THE HERMIT FATHERS; The Spirit Born by FR. SAMAAN EL SOURIANY 1 2 H.H. Pope Shenouda III, 117th Pope of Alexandria and the See of St. Mark 3 Dedication To our earthly angels, the Orthodox monks and nuns who struggle diligently in the life of monasticism. "In the beginning there are a great many battles and a good deal of suffering for those who are advancing towards God and afterwards, indescribable joy. It is like those who wish to light a fire; at first they are choked by the smoke and cry, and by this means obtain what they seek. So we also must kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work." St. Syncletica, a great female ascetic. 4 CONTENTS SECTION ONE Foreword Prologue Introduction on the Hermit Fathers, by Father Samaan El-Souriany The Hermit Fathers in the Coptic Church Writers of the stories of the Hermit Fathers SECTION TWO Abba Kyriakos the Hermit Abba John the Hermit Abba Stephanos the Hermit The Female Hermit SECTION THREE Abba Khristozolos the Hermit The Hermit in the Glass Monastery Abba Zakaria the Hermit Abba Moussa the Hermit Mar Olag El-Sabaii, the Hermit Queen Annasimon the Hermit SECTION FOUR Abba Stratios the Hermit The story of a Hermit father 5 Abba Marcos El-Termaki the Hermit The Hermit Abba Elijah the Hermit Our blessed Hermit Fathers Abba Hermina the Hermit The Hermit Fathers SECTION FIVE Abba Paula the First Hermit Abba Noufer the Hermit Abba Ghaleon the Hermit Abba Karas the Hermit Abba Misael the Hermit St. Mary the Hermit Abba Yousab the Hermit Abba Thomas the Hermit Abba Bejimi the Hermit Abba Timothy the Hermit GLOSSARY SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 6 SECTION ONE 7 FOREWORD The Historical Background The great centre for monasticism was Egypt. By AD 400 Egypt was a land of hermits and monks. There were three main types of monasticism there, corresponding very roughly to three geographical locations. Lower Egypt - the hermit life. The prototype of the hermit life was St. Anthony the Great, a Copt and a layman. He was the son of wealthy Christian parents. One day in church, he heard the saying of Jesus: 'Go, sell all you have and give to the poor and come and follow Me,' as a commandment addressed to himself. He withdrew from an ordinary Christian society about 269, and later he went further and further into the solitude of the desert. St. Anthony died in 356 AD at the age of 105 and he is still regarded as the 'father of monks'. Upper Egypt - coenobitic (communal) monasticism. In a less remote part of Egypt, the break with society took a different form. Tabennisi in the Thebaid, Abba Bakhomious (290 - 347) became the creator of an organised monasticism. These were not hermits grouped around a spiritual father, but communities of brothers united to each other in work and prayer. Nitria and Scetis - groups of ascetics. At Nitria, west of the Nile delta, and at Scetis, forty miles south of Nitria, there evolved a third kind of monastic life in the 'lavra' where several monks lived together, often as disciples of an 'abba'. Nitria was 8 nearer to Alexandria and formed a natural gateway to Scetis. It was a meeting place between the world and the desert where visitors, like John Cassian, could first make contact with the traditions of the desert. Syria - The Egyptian monks created a culture of their own; they made a break with their environment and formed new groups to which the relentless round of prayer and manual labour was basic. In Syria, however, in the area around Edessa and Antioch, and especially in the mountains of Tur 'Abdin, the ascetic movement took a different form. The Syrian monks were great individualists and they deliberately imposed on themselves what is hardest for human beings to bear. Their most typical representatives in the fifth century were the 'Stylite' saints, men who lived for very long periods on the top of a pillar. The first to adopt this way of life was Simon the Stylite who lived for forty years on a fifty-foot column outside Antioch. Asia Minor - In Cappadocia, where a more learned and liturgical monasticism developed in the heart of the city and of the Church, the key figure was St. Basil the Great. He and his followers were known as theologians and writers rather than as simple monks of the Egyptian type. Palestine - The great monastic centre in the fifth century was Palestine. In the Judean wilderness, and especially around the desert of Gaza, there were great spiritual fathers in the Egyptian tradition: Barsanuphius and John, Dorotheus, Euthymius and Sabas. 9 The essence of the spirituality of the desert is that it was not taught but caught; it was a whole way of life. It was not an secret doctrine or a predetermined plan of ascetic practice that would be learned and applied. The Desert Fathers did not have a systematic way; they had the hard work and experience of a lifetime of striving to re-direct every aspect of body, mind and soul to God. That is also what they meant by prayer: prayer was not an activity undertaken for a few hours each day, it was a life continually turned towards God. Abba Agathon said, "Prayer is hard work and a great struggle to one's last breath"; and there is the story told by Abba Lot: Abba Joseph came to Abba Lot and said to him: 'Father, according to my strength I keep a moderate rule of prayer and fasting, quiet and meditation, and as far as I can I control my imagination; what more must I do?' And the saintly father rose and held his hands towards heaven so that his fingers became like flames of fire and he said: 'If you will, you shall become all flame.' For Abba Arsenius, this was a rule for the whole of life: "Be solitary, be silent and be at peace." The Hermit Fathers withdrew from ordinary society and sought the solitude of the desert. This was the first step in their 'spirituality'. Then they placed themselves under spiritual fathers. After that, the daily life was their prayer, and it was a very simple life: a small stone hut or cave, a reed mat for a bed, a sheep-skin, a lamp, a vessel for water or oil. It was enough. Food was reduced to a minimum, as well as sleep. They had a horror of extra possessions: "A disciple saw a few peas lying on the road and he said to his father, 'Shall I pick them up?' but the 10 elder said in amazement, 'Why? Did you put them there?' and he said, 'No.' 'Then why should you pick them up?'" The monks went without sleep because they were watching for the Lord; they did not speak because they were listening to God; they fasted because they were fed by the Word of God. It was the end that mattered, the ascetic practises were only a means. For the Hermit Fathers, (who have progressed from the community life of the monastery, to solitude in the wilderness), the aspect of warfare with the demons was a major concern in the desert. The desert itself was the place of the final warfare against the devil, and the monks were 'sentries who keep watch on the walls of the city'. Monks were always meeting the devil face to face, and once the great Abba Macarius asked the devil why he looked so depressed, "You have defeated me", he said, "because of your humility"; and St. Macarius put his hands over his ears and fled. The knowledge of how to deal with the passions was learnt slowly, by long, hard living, but it was the great treasure for which men came to the desert from the cities. It was this aspect of warfare with demons that was called 'ascesis', the 'hard work' of being a monk. "Abba Pambo came to Abba Anthony and said: 'Give me a word father,' and he said, 'Do not trust in your own righteousness; do not grieve about a sin that is past and gone; and keep your tongue and belly under control...'" About prayer itself they had little to say; the life geared towards God was the prayer; and about contemplation, who could speak? Abba Arsenius prayed on Saturday evening with his hands stretched out to the setting sun, and he stayed there until 11 the sun shone on his face on Sunday. The usual pattern was to say the psalms, one after another during the week, and to intersperse this with weaving ropes or palms, sometimes saying, "My Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me." The aim was ‘hersychia’, quiet, the calm through the whole man that is like a still pool of water, capable of reflecting the sun. To be in true relationship with God, standing before Him in every situation - that was the angelic life, the spiritual life, the monastic life, the aim and the way of a monk. It was life oriented towards God. The lives and the contemplations of our holy Hermit Fathers may help towards a valid interpretation of the Gospel in our own day; their words and their actions may come alive in contemporary life, whatever the particular setting. A short glossary of terms is included at the back of this book, and for this we are grateful to Father Daniel El-Antouny for his advice and suggestions. In addition to this, we must mention that the most accurate translation of the Arabic word “El Souah” is "Anchorite, the Spirit Born", however, we chose to remain with the word "Hermit" because it is more commonly recognised.
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