Vol: 3 Issue: 1
Tute 1725 / Jan 2009
Discipleship By: H.H. Pope Shenouda III The spiritual person becomes a disciple of the beneficial word. He searches for it from all sources: firstly from the Bible, then from the sayings of the fathers and the teachers who may be depended on, and then from any other source. Even if it should be a word that has come from the mouth of a sinner, it still might be beneficial. An example of this is the story of Saint Ephram the Syrian and the woman who gazed at him. This woman looked at St Ephram and stared so hard and for so long at him that he became embarrassed, and he asked her why she was fixing her gaze on him in that way? And she answered “It's natural that I should look at a man, because women, when they were created, were taken from the body of a man. But as for you, you ought to look at the ground, because you were taken from the soil of the earth.” The saint learned a useful lesson from this woman's words, and trained himself to look at the ground.
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Another similar example is the benefit which St Anthony derived from the words of the woman who took off her clothes to bathe in front of him! He said to her: “Aren't you ashamed of taking your clothes off before me, a monk?” And the woman replied: “If you were a monk, you would live in the heart of the desert, because this is not a suitable place for monks to live in.” So St. Anthony profited considerably from her words, and said to himself: “That was the voice of God coming to me, which He sent by the mouth of that woman.” He then went away to live far away in the desert. In the past, people would cross land and sea on long journeys in order to ask one of the fathers for a beneficial word. The book ‘The Paradise of the Fathers’ is full of such stories. The journeys of Palladuis, Jerome and Rufinus are some good examples. And their books have left us with a rich heritage which has been of spiritual benefit to the whole world... It was not only young people or ordinary people who used to seek a word of advice from the desert fathers, but wise and great peo-
ple used to do so too. There was St Theophilus (who was the 23rd Patriarch), who as Pope went many times to the monasteries to gain some beneficial advice from the saintly monks. His stories are well known from those of Anba Arsanius and Anba Paphnuti. As is the visit of Pope Benjamin (the 38th Patriarch) to the monasteries and places of recluse. It is also well-known that St Athanasius the Apostolic was a disciple of St. Anthony the great. We hear too, about how St Macarius the Great asked for a word of advice from the young Zachariah!! The boy was amazed, and said to him: “Are you, father, you who are the star of the desert and its light, asking me, a young boy, for a word of help?!” And St Macarius replied humbly: “I trust, my son, in the holy Spirit who is in you, and that you have something which I need to know.” There is also a story about how St Macarius received a beneficial word from a boy who was tending some cattle... Discipleship need not be hampered by a person's age or situation. Blessed are those who live as disciples, ready and willing to learn, throughout their lives... Our problem, however, is that we imagine that we already know something, or that we have reached a point at which we do not need to ask or learn any more... yet we find a group like the Lord's apostles asking Him, on one occasion: "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1). Who of the blessed apostles did not know how to pray?! Everybody knew... or they imagined that they knew. The apostles asked about a matter which seemed perfectly clear, but the result was that the Lord taught them the Lord's prayer, which was certainly of great benefit to them... From this we can deduce that one of the characteristics of discipleship is humility. It begins with a person feeling that he needs to learn, and to ask, and to seek guidance. That person then goes on to have the feeling that someone else has greater understanding than he, and that God is able to guide him through that other person. On the question of the humility of discipleship, look at what St Paul said about himself: “…I am indeed a Jew, brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law," (Acts 22:3). For the pupil was not permitted to sit on the same level as his master... One of the necessary conditions of discipleship is that he/she must take care to remember what they have heard and keep it within them, and not forget it. As the prophet David said: "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!" (Ps. 119:11).
A Group of youth going for a bushwalk in the monastery’s land. Page 2
St Bishoy tests the brothers And as it was his custom, St Bishoy was sitting and conversing with the brothers for the profit of their souls. He prayed that he might test them to learn if they were true in the faith. He said to them. “Behold, Satan provokes me to say something against the true faith. Or, that I will put into effect something which is not His, as a rule for the monks. If I put these things into effect, will you follow and come after me.” Now some from among them answered him. “Our father, you do not deviate, and even if God forbid, you have sinned and gone astray, we rely on you. We will never stop obeying you in all of these things.” Others said, “What we have seen you do, we too will do.” And lastly, one of them answered “but I came to you in order to know the path of God. So, if you have turned aside from God, I will not go after you. And I am not with you” Abba Bishoy stood up and kissed his head. and he said. “This is the one who keeps the commandments of the Lord.”
Fr James Spending his 40 Days in the Monastery
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What is Discipleship? By: One of the youth What is Discipleship? Discipleship is where God works in us through righteous persons who fulfill the spiritual task of teachers and father to illustrate the necessity for abiding in Christ’s word, love to show that a disciple is not above his teacher. Inherent in this, there seems to be two aspects which are part of one consistent element. All true Orthodox Christians are disciples of Christ. This is one consistent truth. Then there is also a discipleship before our teacher or spiritual guide. This is a precursor of the first point as a teacher is a qualified Christian who lives and is acquainted with the Spiritual life. It is through this second type of discipleship that the first is possible through a real living example of how to fulfill the commandments, as St. Paul says follow me as I follow Christ. The Bible has always played on spiritual fatherhood from examples like Abraham, who is seen as the father of all believers according to God's promise. The father teaches by both providing an example and teaching from experience to grant his son an opportunity to become a true disciple of Christ. A true disciple is a person who submits entirely to the will of the father, not blindly but with faith in the work of God in their teacher whom God has chosen for Him. What makes one a true Spiritual guide? A true Spiritual guide is a person who has done the things that the disciple seeks to do and can speak from experience and not just philosophically. This is also a person who genuinely loves the disciple who like St. Paul was torn between going to be with Christ which was better or to stay with his children, which was more needful for them. A Spiritual father needs to be very careful in how he treats the disciple given the great psychological problems that a sinner may be bearing as St. Paul said being not ignorant of the devils devices. This may require being gentle when encouragement is needed and being harsher when the disciple is resisting the good work. There is a story in the desert fathers about how St. Anthony was joking with some monks and a hunter came by and criticised him for this behavior. He responded by telling him to keep firing arrows at a target, he soon fired so many that he protested that his bow string would break and St. Anthony said it was the same with his children. Also beyond this there is a story about a father monk who wanted to stay with a junior monk who had committed sexual immorality. He stayed with him to lead by example to encourage him, so the father must also be long suffering, compassionate, kind and gentle. There are also very specific gifts for the virtue of teaching; wisdom, discernment and knowledge that the father must possess. Through experience the father will have a rich understanding of the workings of human nature. This will allow them to probe
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deep into the disciple’s life to ascertain their hidden sins and to discern potential problems from their thoughts. He must also give the necessary spiritual commands at the right times so that their child can grow up right like a gardener who knows when to put a rod to support a young plant and when to remove it. He must also compassionately intercede for his disciple before God for the forgiveness of his sins. What makes one a true disciple? A true disciple is a person who firstly trusts in God and from that they are lead to trust their father, God has chosen. Implied in this, are the various attributes like sincerity, seriousness, steadfastness, struggle and service as their father dictates in word and action. A disciple will truly believe in his father and follow him obediently as St. John the short did with his father when he planted the stick in good faith believing that something good would come of what outwardly looks like a pointless task. There is a desert father story about St. Arsenius who told his disciple to do some work, then come home to eat, unless he met a pagan and eat with him. The disciple started working and when it came time to eat he hadn't finished his work and so that he wouldn't displease his father he continued to work until late at night. St. Arsenius assumed that he had eaten with a pagan, so he didn't go to look for him until he came back late and revealed that he didn't want to disobey his father’s orders. It is also important to differentiate between a person who is a disciple to another as a human being and to a father elected by God. When the spirit descended on the 70 elders in Israel Joshua was jealous for Moses and complained against the elders who received the spirit and Moses replied that he wished that all the children of Israel would prophecy like they did. Through being a true disciple by following a father, the disciple becomes a disciple of God. They see the father as the one who will introduce them to Christ and how to live in Christ.
A Group of Ethiopian Orthodox youth doing praises for St Takla and St Shenouda at the Monastery
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Discipleship is the Secret of Strength in Monasticism One of the fathers said: “The secret of the strength and flourishing of monasticism in the early centuries was the system discipleship followed. The sweet aroma of Lord Christ, which was in the hearts of the fathers in the wilderness attracted many who became disciples to the Lord. That was why the deserts and wilderness were filled with thousands of saintly monks.” St John Cassian says: “A novice is given to a spiritual father to become his disciple. He teaches and guides. His only concern is to lift the novice up to perfection, teaching him how to conquer his desires.” The first lesson to a novice tutored by his spiritual father was to deny his will and submit it totally to his tutor. The Lord often blessed the obedience of the youth monks to their spiritual fathers, through miracles that deepen their need to obedience and its spiritual value. These rules were applied in the wilderness of Scetis, where each group of monks were under the supervision of one of the elders, following St Paul’s words, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17). A monk once asked an elder father for a word of benefit, so he said to him: “My son, if you want to be a farmer, how could you learn this without living for a while with a farmer, learning all about planting, irrigation, harvesting, etc. it is exactly the same, how can you learn about monasticism if you are not guided by an elder? If you keep moving from one place to the other, or just lived alone, you will spend your whole life without gaining any virtues. You should be a disciple to an elder, to get his final blessing, like Elisha who stayed with Elijah till he was lifted up to heaven, when he blessed Elisha, the latter got double of Elijah’s spirit.” St Bemwa (Pambo) told the elders before his departure about St John the Short who accompanied him: “This is an angel, not a human being.” St John who obeyed St Bemwa his father and brought to him the hyena and many others great works. Now, look what happened to Esau when he left his father and mingled with the nations whom God rejected; Gehazi was hit by leprosy when he didn’t obey Elisha, the disciples who left Jesus destroyed their souls. Here, I have told you about the way of life and death if you enter through the narrow gate, which is obedience to your father, you will reach eternal life, if you choose the wide gate which is your own desires you will perish. The Blessing of Discipleship: St Gregory the Theologian says: “My brother, leave the high chairs to those who love them and come down. Be like me, I preferred to be a lad and a disciple all my life.” He said these words because of his strong belief in the blessings of being a disciple to an experienced elder. Some of these blessings are: Continuous growth: in learning about fasting, prayer, love, mercy. Following the Bible’s words, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many
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generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders and they will tell you.” (Deuteronomy 32:7). Humility: Discipleship keeps the person humble, always feeling that he is young, under the supervision of someone else. Through humbleness, a person is lifted up to perfection. This story is written in “The Paradise of Monks”: A father monk said that he saw 4 ranks lifted up to heaven: An ill person living the life of patience and thanksgiving. A person hosting the strangers, helping the poor and weak. A person living in solitude struggling in the wilderness A disciple obeying his father for the sake of God. He saw that the disciple was the highest above all the other three, so he asked the angel, “how come that he is the highest although he is the youngest?” so he was answered: “Everyone of the other three is doing good according to his own free will, but this disciple is denying his will and obeying his teacher, and obeying for the sake of God – this is the best virtue.” One thought and One Spirit: among the whole group. Thus there are no divisions and envies, living in one monastery in love and peace, “God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” (Psalm 68:6). The solitary here means those who have one thought and one heart, like the believers of the early church.
Bishop Ashia’s Visit to the Monastery
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Question & Answer A brother questioned an Elder, saying: “Father, must I seek the counsel of the Elders for all of the temptations which come passing in my heart?” “It is not necessary,” answered the Elder, “for someone to be questioned about all the temptations which pass through his heart, for they pass away. For example, a man can be insulted by others, yet ignore the insults and not concern himself with them; if however, one of those insulting him bothers him or attacks him, then he must report him to the authorities. In other words, he will go to the authorities and submit a charge against the one who has attacked him. The same thing happens with temptations, too. That is, we must reveal to our spiritual Fathers only those things which attack us or remain in our soul for a long time.” The brother said: “How does it happen that I find fault with others after I have confessed?” “You criticize others even after confession,” answered the Elder, “because within you reigns a disposition toward vindication, which has not died; criticize yourself and not others and the condemnation will pass from you.”
A vailable in February 2009 P A R A DI S E OF THE H O LY F AT H E R S
THE
VOLUME II The Paradise of the Fathers is the classic compilation of the lives and teachings of the early monastic saints. It has been said that for a monastic to achieve perfection there are only two books needed: the Bible and the Paradise of the Fathers. This volume is translated from a Syriac manuscript discovered in 1888 by Dr. Ernest A. Wallis Budge. This edition is revised, edited and translated from old English into new by the Monastery of St Shenouda Volume II: Contains the Sayings of the Fathers and Questions and Answers about the monastic life. Page 8