In the cell. About the Jesus Prayer

Stay in your cell - and the cell will teach you everything.
Venerable Moses of Ethiopia, 4th century

My soul is silent in Your presence, O my Lord,
to discern what You want to say to my heart.
Your words are so quiet that they can only be heard in silence.
Guigo II (1173 - 1180), Prior of the Great Chartreuse

The spirituality of the Carthusians is based on the principle - "Oh, blissful loneliness, oh, the only bliss" ("O vera solitudo, o sola beatitudo"). In other words, solitude is the only happiness that should be sought in the name of meeting God. Saint Anthony the Great (251 - 356), an early Christian ascetic, a hermit father, said that a cell is needed for a monk, like water for a fish. " Just as fish die if they stay on land for a long time, so monks lose their spiritual connection with God if they leave their cell for a long time, spending time with worldly people. Therefore, just as a fish rushes into the sea, so we must hasten to our cell, so that, remaining outside it, we may not forget our inner vigil.».

Archbishop Giuseppe Mani (b. 1936) recalls his experience in a Carthusian monastery as fundamental to his life. Fifteen days spent in the monastery of Certosa di Serra San Bruno, allowed him to understand that solitude is not loneliness at all. It is in silence and solitude that a person discovers the presence of God next to him. " The first three days in the cell, I confess, were very difficult.- recalls Giuseppe Mani. - But at some point I realized that I was not alone in the cell. That there is someone else with me - God. And then the cell turned into a sky for me». « How many people today live in their homes, feel lonely, suffer and are always waiting for someone - Giuseppe Mani continues . - Everyone is afraid of loneliness. That is why radios and televisions are always on in their homes. Oh, if only people would discover that they are not alone, their "imprisonment cells" would turn into a paradise.».

In the Charter of the Carthusian Order it is written: “ A cell is that holy place where God and his servant communicate on an equal footing, talking to each other as friends. In the cell, the soul heeds the word of the Lord, the bride unites with her Bridegroom, the sky meets the earth, the divine meets the human».

The cells of the Carthusian monastery, located along the perimeter of the large cloister, are much more impressive in comparison with the cells of the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. This is due to the fact that the Carthusian monks spend almost all the time in their dwellings, leaving them only three times a day to participate in worship in the church. Therefore, the cell is the place where the Carthusian spends most of his life. Being isolated from the rest of the monastery complex, it is the embodiment of the idea of ​​seclusion in seclusion. In addition to the common wall surrounding the monastery, each cell and even the garden adjacent to it are completely separated by walls from other cells and premises.

All the activities of a monk unfold within his cell. In it he prays, engages in handicraft activities, reads, meditates, sleeps and eats. With the exception of joint meals held on public holidays, the monks eat exclusively in their dwellings. As a rule, food is taken twice a day - a fairly hearty lunch and a modest dinner. And during the Great Monastic Lent, which lasts from September 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, until Easter, the Carthusians are limited only to dinner. Converse brothers (secular brothers who take on only part of the monastic vows and remain laymen by status), who are responsible for distributing food, carry lunches and dinners to the cells, passing food through the windows located next to the entrance to the cell.

This window is arranged in such a way that the monk could not even meet his conversion brother with his eyes. The shutters of this window should not be opened simultaneously from both sides, so that the innermost spirit of seclusion and solitude is not violated in any way. A recluse monk can, if necessary, leave a note in the window asking for what he needs, and this request will be satisfied in the near future. This idea of ​​a window through which a brother-convert passes food to a monk goes back to the story of St. Paul the Hermit (249 - 341), the first Egyptian hermit who lived almost his entire life in complete solitude. It is known that Saint Paul was fed by a raven sent by God, every day bringing him a piece of bread.

The Carthusian cell is actually a small two-story house with everything you need. Below is a workshop-laboratory with a lathe and different tools, as well as a woodshed where firewood for the stove is stored.

These rooms overlook a tiny vegetable garden, which is cultivated by each monk at his own discretion, but always with great care and painstaking work.

On the top floor there is a special room, the so-called "Ave Maria", with the image of the Blessed Virgin, to which the monk addresses with a prayer, each time kneeling. This is followed by another room - the real heart of the cell. This room is for prayer, reflection, reading. In it, the monk spends most of his time. This is where the recluse sleeps. The chambers are equipped with a simple bed, a table for eating and studying, as well as a place for reading prayers - a small chapel - with a stool for kneeling. The wood-burning stove is used for heating during severe cold weather, and is fueled by wood that the monk prepares for himself and stores in the woodshed.

The window of the room, as a rule, overlooks the garden, and the recluse can admire the beauty of nature, sitting at his table. " The view from the window was the only luxury that even the most strict ascetics allowed into their lives.", - wrote a Russian historian, art critic early 20th century Pavel Muratov.

Reading, studying written sources, working in the garden and on a lathe are important components of a monk's life, which allow him to avoid worst enemy lonely life - idleness. Physical labor necessary to maintain health and physical form, appropriately alternates with mental work and spiritual reflections.

By the ringing of the bell, as if by magic, each in his cell, but at the same time all together at the same time, the hermits raise their prayers to heaven. Then, also in unison, at the ringing of the bell calling for the Morning and Vespers, the cells are opened, and their inhabitants pass the cloister in complete silence, heading to the church for a joint service.

Sometimes, with the permission of the abbot, a monk may visit the library or his spiritual father. However, the rest of the time the hermit prefers to remain in the peace and quiet of his cell, devoting his life to waiting for a meeting with God in blissful solitude. The one who has the experience of an inner conversation with the Almighty, who has tasted the wonderful fruits of a solitary life, does not even feel the desire to leave his cell. For him, the cell is his fortress, his citadel, in which he not only feels safe, but in which he feels himself to be halfway to God.

The life of hermit monks, their ascetic feat in silence always aroused genuine, undisguised interest. The grandeur and charm of hermitage gave rise and still gives rise in many to what one Carthusian defined as "the temptation of a desert island." Theologian, professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Robert Chaib in his book Standing before God. Spirituality Embodied” tells a curious story that could be called a parable. One young man, interested in the life of hermit monks, decided to test himself in this role. However, very soon he realized that he was oppressed by the “deafening” silence in which the life of hermits proceeds, consisting of an alternation of chants, prayers and physical labor. Most of all, he was surprised by the imperturbable calm that radiated from the face of the monk even at the moment when, for example, he was weaving baskets. It was quite obvious that even during the implementation of this monotonous mechanical work, the monk offered his prayers to God. The young man asked for an audience with the abbot. Sitting in front of the abbot, he told him his doubts: “I came to your monastery in search of peace and tranquility. I wanted to understand the secret of your radiant, joyful peace. But, I confess, a few days spent within the walls of the monastery led me to complete confusion. Your life is so simple and unpretentious. I will be frank with you and apologize for my words, but such a life seems empty and boring to me. Explain to me what can be interesting in this silence. The monk listened attentively. Then, without saying anything, he took him by the hand and led him to the well, which was next to the cell. He threw a stone into the well and asked young man: "Look down and tell me what you see there?" “I see breakers and ripples on the surface of the water,” the young man answered frankly. After some time, the monk asked him again: “Now what do you see?” “I see the surface of the water and the reflection of my face,” he said in bewilderment. “Look closer. What else do you see? - the ascetic did not lag behind. The young man gazed down and exclaimed, overwhelmed with embarrassment and joy at his discovery: "I see the reflection of the face of the sky there."

Anastasia Tatarnikova

Adapted from materials courtesy of Roberto Sabatinelli.

Illustrative material: www. cartusialover.wordpress.com

A monastery is not only a stone or wooden religious building. People live in the monastery - novices, monks. And each of them has his own small dwelling - a cell.

The meaning of the word cell

There are words similar in sound and meaning in many languages. IN Greek there is a word κελλίον, in Latin - cella, in Old Russian - kelia. They all mean roughly the same thing. The meaning of the word cell is a small room, a modest dwelling of a monk.

Most likely, this word got into the Russian language at the time of the baptism of Rus'. Since Rus' was baptized on the model of Greek Orthodox Church, then the word itself is apparently of Greek origin.

Monastic cells

The cells are located in special buildings - fraternal buildings or hostels. In Russian monasteries, one or two monks live in cells. The rooms have a simple appearance. From furniture usually there is a table, a chair or a stool and a bed. Instead of a bed, there may be a trestle bed.

Often in the monastery cell there is a small individual iconostasis of small icons. There is a book shelf in almost every room. These are monasteries and religious books. All your own free time, which the monk has little, he spends in the cell. Here the monks spend their time in prayer, doing needlework or reading spiritual books.

In fact, monastic life has hardly changed over the centuries. Usually monks are busy with obediences or prayers. Obedience, speaking plain language- It's business work. The monasteries maintain their buildings and structures in good condition on their own. Only specialists from outside are involved in special or dangerous work.

Sometimes, especially in ancient times, monasteries were located in secluded places, sometimes in caves and mountains. And, accordingly, the cells were cut down in the rocks. The most famous such building is the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Of course, monks no longer live in these caves today.

Monks - chroniclers

When there was no book printing in the Russian state, books were written by hand. And it was the monks who wrote them in their cells. It took months and even years to produce and write one book. They were written on separate sheets, which were then fastened and closed with a strong cover.

Books were not only rewritten, but also rewritten. These were some kind of printers. Many copies were made from one book. Circulations, of course, were not in the millions, as they are now. It was still one of a kind. You can't write much by hand.

In general, in ancient times, education was concentrated in monasteries and churches. Until now, at the monasteries there are Sunday schools. And once it was the main type of education available to the bulk of the country's population. Then it was parochial schools.

Not only books were written in the narrow monastery cell. The history of the country was recorded in the cell of the monk-chronicler. It is from such annals that today it is possible to find out what happened in those distant times.

The most famous chronicler monk is Nestor. This monk lived in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra mentioned above. It was thanks to his labors that the Tale of Bygone Years was born in 1113. It tells the history of the Russian state from 852 to 1117. Subsequently, the chronicle was rewritten and supplemented many times.

Men's and women's cloisters

Monasteries are a complex of buildings and structures for religious and economic purposes. As a rule, several churches and temples operate on the territory of the monastery. And keep them in working and safe condition - the monks. They live here, on the territory of the monastery, in cells located in separate, special buildings.

How do people get into monasteries? Differently. Every person who decides to devote his life to the service of God has his own destiny. And those who come to the monastery are rarely asked the reasons that led him to this. Unless the person himself wants to talk about it.

Monastic cells around the perimeter surround the central courtyard monastery. Most of their windows overlook the cathedral square.
The first cells were log cabins made of wood. The beginning of stone cell construction in the monastery is attributed to XVI century. This is one of the earliest cases of the construction of stone residential cells in Russian monasteries. towards the middle XVII century almost all the cells in the monastery were made of stone.
Each cell then had a separate entrance. It consisted of two main rooms: a warm vestibule and a cell proper. A cold hallway led out into the back yard, where there was a toilet (toilet) and firewood was stored. The small windows, located in deep niches, were mica and closed with wooden shutters.
At the end of XVIII - beginning 19th century in the monastery there was a restructuring of cell buildings. They were arranged according to the corridor principle - the door to each led from a common corridor. The vaults were broken in the cells, stone ceilings were arranged, “stack” windows were hewn, the old doorways were bricked up. At the same time, decor was knocked down, roofs were rebuilt, some buildings were built on the third floor.
Each cell building has its own name. TO Church of Saint Philip adjoins the Holy Corps, to the south of Church of the Annunciation Blagoveshchensky is located, Nastoyatelsky continues its line, then Treasury is located. In the northern row of private buildings, the Viceroyal and Rukhlyadny buildings were arranged. The eastern row is formed by Povarenny, Kvasovarenny, Prosphora and Novobratsky.
In the cell buildings, in addition to living quarters, household services were also located. Their names speak about the purpose of many buildings: Prosphora, Cookery, Kvasovarenny, Laundry. The Viceroyal Corps housed a candle, locksmith, and printing workshops, in Novobratsky - a boiler service, in Rukhlyadny - for some time a tailor and shoe workshops.
Availability on site a large number services distinguishes Solovetsky Monastery from other monasteries, where they tried to take such services out of the fortress wall. This is dictated by the special border location of the monastery, the need to withstand a long siege when attacked by enemies. But even here, all the services were outside the Cathedral Square.

The brethren of the revived monastery currently live in the Governor's Corps. In the Rukhlyadny building there is a monastery shop, a church and archaeological office, a restoration department and other services of the monastery, in winter time the pilgrimage service is located here. The prosphora, Novobratsky, Blagoveshchensky and Laundry buildings are occupied by a museum-reserve. Restoration work is being carried out in all other cell buildings.

Monasteries today beckon the curious, and they look at the monk as some kind of curiosity that causes bewilderment: long-haired, bearded ("God's will, so that it grows and does not need to be touched!"), Taciturn, his face is stern ...
During the tonsure into the monastic angelic face, the first question of the abbot to the tonsured is: "Why did you come, brother, crouching at the holy Altar and this holy retinue?" And the first word of the newcomer: "To move away from the world, honest father"
“God called to atone for the sins of the laity. It’s God’s will for everything ”- approximately such an answer can be heard from a monk to a question about the reasons that prompted him to renounce his family and friends, from worldly life. Take refuge in the walls of the monastery.
Taking monastic vows, they will say: “That’s it! Never, never again should you think about worldly joys: about the family hearth, about cheerful feasts with friends, about cinema and TV, and about much, much more than ordinary worldly people live. Forget everything, to to which you were tied, die and be buried here!" But before that, he should be a novice for up to five years and the same amount as a monk (semi-monk). There is plenty of time for reflection, as you can see, to make the right decision.
The candidate, of course, is interviewed. And some monasteries require a letter of recommendation from the priest. Grounds for refusal: underage, debt obligations (alimony, loans, etc.), lack of citizenship or being wanted (the police regularly carry out passport control in monasteries), “playing hide-and-seek with the military registration and enlistment office.”
The future monk is introduced to the Charter of the monastery and assigned to a mentor (confessor). Are you ready forever, until the very last hour of your life on this sinful earth, to remain on that path, forever to renounce such a close, such a warm, such a worldly life-being, so dear to our heart? Will not a year or another pass, and, cold, hungry, bored, will he run with uncontrollable lust, waving his hand at all monastic vows, into the arms of his relatives and friends? The duty of every spiritual mentor, to whom young people who wish to follow the monastic path turn for advice, is to warn them in every possible way against haste, from thoughtlessness, from frivolity in this matter: to pass the test - to give irrevocable vows.
A future monk is only allowed to pray and work (perform obediences). “To have a modest gait, not to speak loudly, to observe good manners in conversation, to eat and drink reverently, to remain silent in front of the elders, to be attentive to the wise, obedient to those in authority, to have unhypocritical love for equals and lesser ones, to move away from the evil ones, to speak little, carefully to collect knowledge, not to talk too much, not to be quick to laugh, to be adorned with modesty" (St. Basil the Great) Conversations and reading - only on an Orthodox topic. He can leave the monastery at any time.
Monks who accept the great schema give even more stringent vows. They are changing their name again. Instead of a hood, they put on a cockle covering the head and shoulders. The diet of the schemnik is even more meager.
Most of the monasteries are self-supporting: they have sketes with gardens and orchards, a barnyard (the monks do not eat meat). Pay taxes and pay utility bills.
On average, there are about 10 percent of monks in a monastery, 30 percent of novices and monks, and about 60 percent of laborers and pilgrims.
In the Middle Ages the monasteries had great importance as centers of science and disseminators of education. Behind high and strong walls it was possible to repel the attacks of enemies. People settled next to the new monastery, forming a settlement that sometimes grew in Big city. Wanderers were received at the monasteries. Alms were sent to prisoners languishing in prison, who were in poverty during famine and other misfortunes. Often the greatest sinners were transformed in the monastery into the greatest righteous.
Monasticism is a wandering, a sad and tiring journey to a distant unknown country, which we know only by hearsay, it is a constant removal from the familiar, familiar, native.
In many collectives you can meet an individual about whom they will say behind his back: he is not from this world; white crow, etc. They are not like everyone else: overly honest, frank, unsophisticated, receptive. They cut the truth in the eyes - and they themselves often suffer from this. Many of them can be called "God's chosen one"! And these are the majority in the monastic brethren!
English word PRIVACY (privacy) - has become a legal term and is translated into Russian as - PRIVATE PROPERTY. More correct translation of this word - MY LITTLE WORLD (closed to strangers). It was not for this that the monks renounced worldly life, so that later we, the laity, would confess and give interviews.
In the Gorensky Monastery (Jerusalem), an elderly Arab who speaks Hebrew and his native Arabic has been working as a furniture maker for many years. “I tried to explain to him in English, German, French, but he doesn’t understand! Will you help?" - the new nun addressed me with a Moscow accent. "She owns three foreign languages!?” I thought. In the cell, the nun laid out the drawings and sketches, saying a couple of times: “Hi-Tech style” - Another shock! During the pause, I could not resist: “What is your education?” Artistic and Philological. I’m going to get a spiritual correspondence course” - “Sister, I’m sure you were approached with a question about the reasons that prompted you to take monastic vows? If I repeat this question, for you it will not become something offensive? “No, you won’t offend me with your question, but I’m sure you have already asked others about this. May I hear their answers first. Be a gentleman!" After my short story, she said: "You would not hear anything new from me - my reason is completely the same as one of your opponents"
In a small secluded gatehouse-cell lived a tall, handsome monk with good bearing (many stoop over time) and with thick wavy gray hair. He did not speak in a singsong voice, like most people from reading prayers, but in a well-placed commanding voice! I never considered myself suspicious, but with him I felt some strange chill over my body from his look and voice - this was the first time with me! The only and bad association: as if he was looking at me through the bar of the sight! Later I learned from others that the monk, a former officer, was obliged to torture and execute prisoners in Afghanistan. Returning to his wife and daughter, he could not get along in the family, nothing happened with employment. There was even a suicide attempt. So he came to the monastery.
I met "former celebrities" in monasteries. One of them was the pride of the Great Soviet Sports in the past!
A modest, quiet, slightly unkempt, short old man lived with me in a cell. As it turned out later - my age. The future monk rarely went to the temple to pray - perhaps he got tired after obedience: he was tending a herd of calves. He knew the history and legends of this monastery and was a good storyteller. Almost every day, young guys with girls came by taxi to my neighbor and had a picnic at the source: they set the table, grilled shish kebabs, and cooled drinks in the spring. The taxi, paid for the whole day, was waiting at the gate. "Petersky, come to us!" they often invited. It is not difficult to notice that the topic of conversation changed in my presence, and I quickly found a reason to leave their company. Once in a cell, a neighbor was changing clothes, and I accidentally saw his tattoos - “stars on the forearms”
I have heard (but not seen) that some monks in their cells have a telephone, TV, computer, Internet, and even their own cars. Modern monasticism is a special topic.
In the south, young monks are released to help their elderly parents during sowing and harvesting.
They put a guy in his twenties into a cell. His athletic figure was successfully emphasized by an expensive leather jacket and an imported sports suit. He wore a massive gold chain not in plain sight, but concealed it. Once a police UAZ came to the monastery - passport control. At the sight of the police, the guy twitched and quickly left behind the ruins of the old bell tower. "The guests have left!" I reassured him. "Give me a cigarette!" - "You don't smoke, do you?" Or, today is not a sin!?” We smoked and chatted... The Guy began to intensively read spiritual literature, entered the theological seminary, graduated, got married and became a priest.
We go with a neighbor to the temple on evening prayer and his cell phone rang. Moving away from me, he began to sharply give commands to someone. "Don't tell me anymore that you're standing at the conveyor belt in the pasta factory!" I smiled. "Split!" - “And what does the interrogation of the 3rd and 4th degree mean - what day will wake up !?” - "I'm here to forget about work at least for a while ..."
I found out with a monk - we lived on neighboring streets in St. Petersburg and studied at the same school! He asked about other monasteries. I'm talking about Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda ( Vladimir region): about the bell tower from which a peasant descended on makeshift wings, and Ivan the Terrible put him on a barrel of gunpowder for this, about the famous library and how 2,200 novices-brides were introduced to Ivan the Terrible. The Tsar pointed to Martha Sobakin! In the morning, the monk told me about his dream: he sits on the throne instead of Ivan the Terrible, and around him are 2200 novices!
Have you ever witnessed something unusual, mystical? In a word - a miracle!?
Easter. Old evening Jerusalem. Along Via Dolarosa in beautiful knightly costumes Procession at the Catholics. Drums, trumpets, bagpipes sound. Along the edges of the procession with torches are adults, and in the middle - children. People stretch their hands into the fire of torches - but the fire does not burn!
In the Holy Dormition Gerbovetsky Monastery is stored miraculous icon Holy Mother of God. Every year in Moldova with this icon the Procession is made. The monastery was destroyed and burned three times, but each time the monks found St. the icon in the ashes, undamaged and facing the earth (traces of fires on the scroll are barely visible). A bright young resident from a neighboring village worked in the monastery bakery. I decided to help her - to bring buckets of water from the well. He bent over the bucket, when suddenly - the chain with the cross caught, broke and - fell into the well! In the cell, he only told how he dropped a cross into the well, and the monk commented: “The warning of the Lord! He didn't like something about you!
Two brothers came to the monastery. The elder one is a doctor, candidate of sciences, and the younger one: abandoned school, contacted a bad company, was registered with the police. They gave the three of us obedience: to build a barn for hay. A few days later, the younger one was changed: he became scandalous, irritable, violent - it is impossible to work together! "Humble yourself! Him to take communion tonight. This is what Satan does to a person before communion! Tomorrow my brother will be different!” - I heard. It all happened!
In the basement of a monastery in the Kherson region, the monastic brethren were brutally shot, and for many years now, when painting the walls, the dark silhouettes of the murdered monks have appeared.
Getting to a remote monastery surrounded by impenetrable swamps, I wandered through the forest for a long time, winding extra fifteen kilometers! He approached the walls of the monastery long after midnight ("Satan led you!" - I heard later). With a bag strap over his shoulder and sneakers, he rubbed calluses, and became a haven for a forest tick. In the morning they gave me an obedience: to clean the croaker from the bark (there was a sawmill) and sheathe a hay shed for thirty cows with them. After a difficult, unaccustomed, labor day in the evening I plunged into the waters of the holy spring - fatigue disappeared, the pain from the tick disappeared, I forgot about the corns! "Here is your monastery!" I said to myself.