“Confession of a former novice” was written by Maria Kikot not for publication and not even so much for readers, but primarily for herself, for therapeutic purposes. But the story instantly resonated in the Orthodox RuNet and, as many noticed, had the effect of a bomb.
The story of a girl who lived for several years in one of the famous Russian convents, and her confession made a revolution in the minds of many people. The book is written in the first person and is devoted to perhaps the most closed topic - life in a modern monastery. It contains many interesting observations, discussions about monasticism and the similarity of church structures with a sect. But our attention was drawn to the chapter dedicated to those who went to the monastery... and took their children with them.
Maria Kikot in her book “Confession of a Former Novice” describes life in the monastery without embellishment, leaving the reader the right to draw their own conclusions
“Since we got up at 7, and not at 5 in the morning, like the sisters of the monastery, we were not allowed any rest during the day; we could only sit and rest at the table during the meal, which lasted 20–30 minutes.
All day the pilgrims had to be obedient, that is, do what the sister specially assigned to them said. This sister’s name was novice Kharitina, and she was the second person in the monastery - after Mother Cosma - with whom I had the opportunity to communicate. Invariably polite, with very pleasant manners, she was always with us somehow deliberately cheerful and even cheerful, but on her pale gray face with dark circles around her eyes we could see fatigue and even exhaustion. It was rare to see any emotion on her face other than the same half-smile all the time.
Mothers of children who grow up in a monastery orphanage are in a special position. They rest only three hours a week, on Sunday
Kharitina gave us tasks, what needed to be washed and cleaned, provided us with rags and everything necessary for cleaning, and made sure that we were busy all the time. Her clothes were rather strange: a faded gray-blue skirt, so old, as if it had been worn for ages, an equally shabby shirt of an incomprehensible style with holes in the frills, and a gray scarf that had probably once been black. She was the eldest in the “children’s room,” that is, she was responsible for the guest and children’s refectory, where they fed the children of the monastery orphanage, guests, and also organized holidays. Kharitina was constantly doing something, running around, herself, together with the cook and the refector, delivering food, washing dishes, serving guests, helping pilgrims.
Children in the Otrada shelter live on a full board basis and, in addition to basic school disciplines, study music, dancing, and acting.
She lived right in the kitchen, in a small room, similar to a kennel, located behind the front door. There, in this closet, next to the folding sofa where she slept at night, without undressing, curled up like an animal, various valuable kitchen items were stored in boxes and all the keys were kept.
Later I found out that Kharitina was a “mother,” that is, not a sister of the monastery, but rather something like a slave working off her huge unpaid debt in the monastery. There were quite a lot of “mothers” in the monastery, about half of all the sisters of the monastery.
“Moms” are women with children whom their confessors blessed for monastic feats. That's why they came here, to the St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky Monastery, where there is an orphanage "Otrada" and an Orthodox gymnasium right within the walls of the monastery. Children here live on full board in a separate building of the orphanage, and, in addition to basic school disciplines, study music, dancing, and acting. Although the shelter is considered an orphanage, almost a third of the children in it are not orphans at all, but children with “mothers.”
“Moms” are held in special regard by Abbess Nikolai. They work in the most difficult obediences (cowshed, kitchen, cleaning) and, like the other sisters, do not have an hour of rest a day, that is, they work from 7 in the morning until 11–12 at night without rest; the monastic prayer rule is also replaced by obedience ( work). They attend liturgy in church only on Sundays. Sunday is the only day when they are entitled to 3 hours of free time during the day to communicate with the child or relax. Some people have not one, but two living in the shelter; one “mother” even had three children. At meetings, Mother often said to people like this: “You have to work for two. We are raising your child. Don't be ungrateful!
Kharitina had a daughter, Anastasia, at the orphanage, she was very young, then she was about one and a half to two years old. I don’t know her story, in the monastery the sisters are forbidden to talk about their lives “in the world,” I don’t know how Kharitina ended up in the monastery with such a small child. I don't even know her real name. From one sister I heard about unhappy love, failed family life, and Elder Blasius’ blessing to become a monk.
“Moms” get the hardest work and are constantly reminded that they must work for both – themselves and the child.
Most of the “mothers” came here this way, with the blessing of the elder of the Borovsky monastery Vlasiy or the elder of the Optina Hermitage Ilia (Nozdrina). These women were not special, many had housing and good jobs before the monastery, some had higher education, they just ended up here during a difficult period in their lives. All day long these “mothers” worked in difficult obediences, paying with their health, while the children were raised by strangers in the barracks environment of the orphanage.
Shelter "Otrada" at the St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky Monastery. At least a third of the students there are not orphans at all.
On major holidays, when our Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk, Kliment (Kapalin), or other important guests came to the monastery, Kharitina’s little daughter in a beautiful dress was brought to them, photographed, she and two other little girls sang songs and danced. Plump, curly, healthy, she evoked universal affection.
Often “mothers” were punished if their daughters behaved badly. This blackmail lasted until the children grew up and left the orphanage, then the monastic or monastic tonsure of the “mother” became possible.
The abbess forbade Kharitina from frequently communicating with her daughter: according to her, it distracted her from work, and besides, the other children could be jealous.
Do you agree with the author, who believes that modern monasteries are like a sect?
The stories of all these “mothers” always caused me indignation. Rarely were these some dysfunctional mothers whose children had to be taken to a shelter.
Alcoholics, drug addicts and homeless people are not accepted into monasteries. As a rule, these were ordinary women with housing and work, many with higher education, who did not have a good family life with their “dads” and on this basis went crazy towards religion.
But confessors and elders exist precisely to guide people on the right path, simply to “straighten people’s minds.” But it turns out the other way around: a woman who has children, imagining herself to be a future nun and ascetic, goes to such a confessor, and instead of explaining to her that her feat lies precisely in raising children, he blesses her to enter a monastery. Or, even worse, he insists on such a blessing, explaining that it is difficult to be saved in the world.
Then they say that this woman voluntarily chose this path. What does “voluntary” mean? We’re not saying that people who ended up in sects got there voluntarily? Here this voluntariness is very conditional. You can praise orphanages at monasteries as much as you like, but in essence they are all the same orphanages, like barracks or prisons with little prisoners who see nothing but four walls.
How can you send a child there who has a mother? Orphans from ordinary orphanages can be adopted, taken into foster care or guardianship, especially small ones, they are in adoption databases. Children from monastery orphanages are deprived of this hope - they are not in any base. How is it even possible to bless women with children in monasteries? Why is there no legislation that would prohibit would-be confessors and elders from doing this, and abbess, like Nicholas’s mother, from exploiting them with pleasure? Several years ago, some kind of rule came out prohibiting the tonsuring of novices whose children have not reached the age of 18 into monasticism or monasticism. But it didn't change anything."
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- Text: An excerpt from the book “Confession of a former novice” by Maria Kikot, published with abbreviations
- Photo: PhotoXPress.ru
- Date: November 30, 2016
1. April
Answer
2. Guest
Everything is normal, at least the children will grow up, not hungry, trained, always looked after, without beatings, not corrupted. It's much worse in orphanages. And how many cases are there when mothers become drunkards from hard life, beat their children, children die in fires or fall out of windows. Whatever the monasteries can do according to their capabilities and understanding, they give.
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3. Guest
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4. Guest
I read very carefully everything that this woman wrote. It seems that the book is custom-made, because... important points are missed, and the main emphasis is on the monstrous slave labor and other unjust things. The main thing is that they named the names of very good people, Elijah, who helps a huge number of people, does not rest at almost his age, he seems to be 80. Why is not a word said that each of these novices can pack up their things and leave at any moment, leaving Even the children are there, they won’t be taken to the orphanage. Unlike sects, people are not kept there. Money doesn't shake. This is even correct, you live, eat, drink, work, a cure for bad thoughts. There are excesses everywhere, and each abbess prescribes her own rules. And how many women voluntarily sacrifice themselves to men who do not love them or respect them. And here the author scolds me for my work. Often in monasteries they prescribe not drugs that make a vegetable out of a person, but work as a cure for suicide. We Russians know how to hate our own people. I am 100% sure that the book was ordered, and the woman was a sent Cossack, she looked and dashed off. To denigrate, to discredit. There is such a Russian actress, she played in the film Sorcerers. Before her death, her husband left her a video in which he said: “Darling, you are ruining yourself, and not your many abortions, drinking and partying, the main thing is that you sincerely hate people and mock them.” This actress wears a headscarf, she’s already old. And imagine that a person’s mind will remember all these things, so not only for a 10-hour shift, you won’t be able to sleep at all. The only institute that accepts, regardless of the conditions, mothers of abandoned singles, young people whose mothers forbade them to give birth, they told them to go have an abortion, I will not help you. And they find a family there; even circles are organized for such girls and their children. Yes, you have to work, but it can be useful. And the author probably never stood at the machine in two shifts to have enough bread. And that’s why she didn’t like the fact that she was forced to cut flowers 10 hours a day.
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5. Guest
Such a pace, so that a person does not commit suicide, is set instead of drugs that will turn a vegetable into a vegetable. Things taken out of context and emphasis on the unfortunate, tortured, hunted and, oh, horror, in the same skirt of beholding women)) The question is why the author went to the monastery and why, after all, everyone knows that it is strict there and they don’t wear miniskirts, but work and think about the soul. And that woman may have 10 abortions behind her, so she is blue in color, remembers and repents, but has no children, the partying did not bring happiness, and the only way out is not to think about getting wet. I know married women who do this, not just for 10 days, but for almost a day at a time, so as not to think about their misfortune. Okhaila is the only place where they help people and mothers for free without taking their children, but that’s right, it’s called working as gratitude, if the children have nothing to eat and were thrown out onto the street. And here you have a home and a warm bed, and even education and upbringing, and your mother can come. Yes, these women are happy with such a life, otherwise they packed their things and no one is holding them to go. Work, live at home, or rent, or contact another organization, but women go to church when they feel bad, they don’t think about selfies there, but about their mistakes so often it happens that they treat them better than in the family, and it’s right that they treat work they teach, now everyone likes to get rich or die trying. And the men lie on the sofas because they are not accustomed to work, grown men play at computers, while the wife is like a squirrel in a wheel. Or women waiting for a rich man and let the servant cook, the child only if there is a nanny, and in general where is my Cartier ring, otherwise Tiffany is already tired.
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6. Guest
You know, girls, what’s most interesting. The name of Hieromonach Elijah is mentioned. This is a kind-hearted person. He is revered by the Orthodox as a selfless, kind grandfather. There are a huge number of films about him, if you are interested, watch them. He is about 80 and the day begins early with people with whom he talks, stroking his head and calming him down, and so on until late in the evening. The article next to it is about a girl who jumped out on her birthday, so he helps such desperate people, whom their relatives have neglected. Instead, he pats them on the head, prays, consoles them, chooses words. And the monasteries are not rubber. They physically cannot accommodate everyone, they advise only some people for whom it is vitally important to live there, and not commit suicide, but die. Set up a daily routine. The team is there, working together. Oh, what a person they cursed. So sad and offensive. And for what? For the sake of papers. In difficult times. Why didn’t the author write in how many monasteries mothers are allowed to sleep on the same bed with their little children?! Well, why is it so unfair?
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7. Guest
Well, there was an unpleasant aftertaste from the book... or rather the part that is presented here. Maybe something was taken out of context and this feeling. You can understand only by reading the entire book, BUT somehow there is no desire. I will not condemn anyone and I have no right - everyone is the arbiter of their own destiny. Since we went to the monastery, it means something pushed us. I remember... Dyuzhev told how faith helped him survive a very, very difficult period of life, when his relatives died one after another. Faith and work at the monastery helped him... but often they can’t stand it or they become drunkards... or commit suicide, etc. So he himself said he thought about monasticism, but in the same monastery they dissuaded him by saying that it would be better for him to live in the “world”, in which they turned out to be right, everything worked out for him - both his career and his family. So don’t put everyone under the same brush. The human factor has not been canceled. Do I believe?... The answer is yes... but it came with time and naturally difficult circumstances. Yes, life hits hard... and if a person finds even the slightest consolation from religion - why not. Of course, without harm to others. Fanaticism and faith are two different things...if for someone they are one thing, then it is no longer faith. And of course, the saying “Trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself” has also not been canceled. We make decisions, look for exits...entrances...we live, and not by folding the handle, everything will settle down by itself.
Most often, the desire to forever leave the world of routine and ordinary human passions by becoming a monk arises out of severe mental trauma and disappointment in one’s life. Indeed, sometimes unfulfilled plans, unfulfilled hopes, betrayal from loved ones or awareness of our own shortcomings pushes us to desperate actions. And the desire to become a monk, although wonderful in itself, is still often a desperate step. Today we will talk about how a man can leave for a new life, how to prepare for a new life, and most importantly, how to understand that this is really what you need.
The most important thing to know before asking the clergy to accept you into a monastery is that a person “from the street” who suddenly decided to renounce worldly life will not be tonsured a monk right away. You will be asked to undergo a fairly long probationary period, which can last several years. This is necessary not only so that the clergy are convinced of the purity of your intentions; a probationary period is needed, first of all, for you.
When a believer attends services and spends a little time in a monastery, it may seem to him that the life of monks is peace, peace of mind, confidence in the future and righteousness. He feels uplifted and joyful, so the desire to stay in the monastery forever seems quite natural. However, in reality everything is not so simple. But let's talk about everything in order. First, let's look at what stages of preparation a person needs to go through in order to start a new life as an Orthodox monk:
It is also worth considering that people over 30 years of age are much more readily accepted into the monastery. This is due to the fact that at this age a person already has some life experience, so his decisions are more conscious. In addition, before you are tonsured a monk, you need to live in a monastery for at least five years. Over such a long period of time, you will be able to see for sure whether you are really ready to live the rest of your days, obeying a strict routine and renouncing everything worldly. If a very young guy wants to go to the monastery, then the permission of his parents will be required.
The Church is always ready to accept into its fold people who sincerely wish to devote their lives to serving God. However, there are some restrictions regarding those whose intentions are not so pure, those who have important unfinished business in worldly life, and people who have made a decision due to an unstable emotional state. Let's look at a few examples:
The most important thing is a sincere desire to devote oneself. Before a man enters a monastery, he must make sure that nothing holds him back in the world, no one depends on him, he is ready to humbly fulfill all the demands of the monastery leadership and accept his new life. It is important to understand that monasticism is not only peace, tranquility and prayer, it is also a constant struggle with one’s own pride.
The decision to enter a monastery appears at least once in the lives of many people. Young girls are especially guilty of this, because it seems to them that life ends after the departure of their loved one. But getting into the monastery is actually not so easy. Those who want to avoid worldly problems and find peace within the walls of the monastery must prove to themselves and other monks that this decision was not made spontaneously, because it will be difficult to leave the monastery for worldly life. Therefore, the monks recommend that exalted persons who come to monasteries first weigh everything and begin the difficult path into monastic life with ordinary work for the benefit of the monastery. This work is not paid in money, but it makes it clear whether a person is really ready for monastic life.
But it was only in ancient times that a person was imprisoned in a monastery without his desire, cutting off all his roads to the world. Nowadays, to become a monk, you need to have a strong desire and great patience.
Step One: Regularly Attend Church Services
So, you have decided to leave the worldly life for the monastic one. But how are you doing with attending church services, confession and communion? If you go to church from time to time to light a candle or order a service, then start confessing and receiving communion. Find your spiritual mentor from among the priests. Tell him about your desire to enter the monastery. If you are too lazy to wake up early in the morning to attend church services, if you are not ready for sincere confession, think about it! After all, in a monastery you will have to devote several hours a day to services, getting up at five in the morning.
If you are burdened by the problems of worldly life, go on a pilgrimage to monasteries. Perhaps there you will renounce your problems and find peace without going to a monastery for the whole time.
Step two: worker
Large monasteries have their own websites on the Internet, where you can study the history of the monastery and the monastic movement, write a letter to the leadership of the monastery, expressing a desire to come there as a worker. All monasteries require believers who are ready to work selflessly. You can come to the monastery on your own without warning in advance. You can count on simple food and hostel accommodation. And then approach the monastery leadership and negotiate a job.
A worker is a person who has to work a lot. If you want to enter a monastery as a laborer, be prepared for the work to be both dusty and dirty. On the monastery farm you will have to look after the animals, weed the garden, and clean the premises. If in worldly life you held a high position, and your work was mainly mental, you will have to work physically in the monastery. Here your regalia and diplomas do not count.
Step three: novice
Have you been in the monastery for some time as a laborer, are you not afraid of physical work and are happy to attend services? Well, you can think about the next level of novice.
How to get into a monastery as a novice? Write a special request for admission to the monastery brethren. If you have shown yourself to be a patient and hardworking person, the Abbot will meet you halfway. You will receive a cassock, then for several months or years you will undergo a probationary period, proving your readiness to renounce the world, devoting yourself to God. By the way, a novice can leave the monastery at any time if he realizes that he is not created for such responsible service.
Step Four: Monk
The novice who is to become a monk must know that he will have to take serious vows. When he decided to enter a monastery and become a monk, he must understand that a monk is a person who has renounced all worldly goods. The monk is even given a different name.
What do people refuse, what vows do they make? There are four ascetic vows in Orthodox monasteries:
- Obedience. The monk no longer has his own will; he is completely and completely subordinate to his confessor. Forget about your desires and opinions, about pride and self-will!
- Celibacy (for women - virginity). Monks cannot have sex, have a family, or have children. This does not mean that only those who are childless and celibate can go to the monastery. Often widows and widowers come to the monastery, whose children have already grown up.
- Non-covetousness. A monk cannot have any property; he is considered a beggar.
- Constant prayer. Even while doing routine work, a monk must pray in his thoughts.
Many confessors answer the question: “Can I go to a monastery?” They answer: “It is not people who are accepted into the monastery, but Christ.” But if a person in worldly life still has certain obligations to his family, then the monastery will definitely ask him to fulfill them first, and only then leave worldly life for monastic life. So, if there are elderly parents who need to be taken care of, then it is necessary to stay in the world and take care of them. Married women with small children will not be accepted into the monastery either. Of course, there are situations when the relationship with the husband and children is very bad in the family, but any confessor will explain that you need to establish peace in the family, and not get a divorce, give your children to your husband or to orphanages in order to become a nun.
A person who suffers from a serious illness and cannot care for himself needs to understand that there is no constant medical care in the monastery. We need to pray that God will give us the opportunity to recover.
Pros and cons. The monastery is a place where every person can go, leaving worldly life. There you can find peace and escape from problems. However, before deciding to take such a step, you need to weigh everything carefully, since life in this place may seem difficult to many not only physically, but also spiritually. That is why, before leaving for a monastery, you should weigh everything carefully, because this is a fateful decision. By accepting it, you need to understand that life will change completely, since sitting with arms folded is not accepted there, you will need to work physically, and also tame your flesh, observing all kinds of fasts. But meanwhile, life in a monastery will free a person from worldly worries, and will give him the opportunity to join purity, light and faith. It is important to understand the motives for this action so as not to regret it later. Although any person is given a rather long period of time to understand whether his calling is true or not.
Advice from a confessor. When thinking about how to join a convent, you should seek advice from your confessor, who can clarify many points and help ensure that a person is accepted without special checks. It is very important to explain to your confessor the reasons for your decision; this is the only way he can help and put in a good word for the woman. In the absence of your confessor, it is quite possible to address this question to any clergyman in the church. He will be able to help in many ways and will give several addresses of monasteries where you can go and see life, meet the nuns and the abbess. Perhaps after what she saw, the woman will change her decision, or perhaps strengthen in her faith and do everything possible to quickly become a novice and take monastic vows. It is very important to choose the right nunnery in which you will feel comfortable staying; it will be useful to know its rules, history and daily routine.
Strengthening in decision. After the decision has been finally made, you should think about how to live in a nunnery, because there are rules there, so you should go there in advance and get acquainted with everything, special attention should be paid to everyday life. If everything suits you, then you need to turn to Mother Superior with a request to stay and live there. She will be able to tell you what it will take to become a nun, as well as how the procedure for taking monastic vows will take place. The woman will first be accepted as a novice, and once she has proven her intention to become a nun, she will be allowed to take monastic vows. As a rule, this period is three years, but if a person proves that he is ready to spend his whole life in serving God, then this period can be much shorter. Often the Mother Superior decides to take on a woman as a worker, and then after some time she will become a novice. During this time, she should prove that she is well-behaved and morally stable.
Documentation. In order to get into a nunnery, you will need to settle all your earthly affairs. So, if there is property, then it should be transferred to relatives or sold and the money donated, but this is not necessary. To enter the monastery, you will need to write an autobiography and an application addressed to the abbess, present a passport and a certificate of marital status, since married women will have to get a divorce. If a person has minor children, then evidence must be provided that they are well settled. Even if the impulse to go to the monastery was momentary, the person will have time to think, so he can change his decision at any time.
What this includes and what requirements are required to perform this action is given below in this article.
Reasons for entering a monastery
The first question to answer is: why do they go to a monastery?
Often people sincerely do not understand the reasons why men and women at a fairly young age, after all, it would seem, have not yet begun to live, why should they go there? Unfortunately, for a long time, society has incorrectly believed that going to a monastery means nothing more than a death on one’s life.
And only monks know that this is not at all like that, not the end at all, but the beginning of something new and beautiful.
Many people believe that people often go to a monastery for the reason that they have suffered a lot of suffering in worldly life. However, if we rely on such an assumption, then logically it becomes unclear: why doom yourself to even greater grief within the walls of a monastery?
This knowledge is available only to those who are already within these walls. Such people know that peace awaits them within the walls of the monastery. In such places there are no problems and pains that burden the laity: you don’t have to think about where to earn new money, you don’t have to think about how to provide for your family members, you don’t have to think about what you need to buy and many other issues. Spending your life on such things is sad enough when people could spend it on something more important.
« I want to go to a monastery!“This is a normal desire. Within the walls of this place, people live as a friendly family, everyone has their own tasks and everyone carries them out in good conscience. The great advantage of monks is that they do not need so much and therefore, unlike secular residents, they have much more time for themselves, as well as things necessary for the monastery (for example, reading prayers).
At the same time, it is important to understand that, despite the advantages of the life of a monk, they also have disadvantages. In particular, the key disadvantage is that life is not simple and therefore it is not suitable for every person.
But despite all the difficulties, people who survive the tests and remain in the monastery are always very happy.
Information for women
If the desire to go to a monastery has arisen, then another important question that may arise is: how can a woman go to a monastery?
Entering a monastery is clearly regulated.
First you need to choose a monastery that suits your heart, stand at the services, talk to the nuns. The first monastery may not be suitable, in which case you will need to go to the next one.
- That is, the first stage is pilgrimage. Having chosen a monastery, you need to join the monastic life, live there, and help with the work.
- The second stage is labor. Age plays a small role in this. Special education is also not required.
Information for men
How can a man go to a monastery?
Video on the topic
In response to this, it is worth saying that the first step is to attend services, attend confessions and receive communion. Next, it is very important to find your mentor for spiritual life, who will guide you and help you realize how correct the decision was.
It is very important to go through a trial period and evaluate: is the person capable of performing the necessary tasks? If a person cannot get up early in the morning, then he will not be able to conduct the necessary services, in which case the monastery is not the place where he should be.
In order to decide on all this, it will be enough to come and stay in the monastery for some time, only then will you understand: is a person ready to leave worldly life here forever?
Labornik- this is the first step that should be tried while within the walls of the monastery. This role helps to understand the physical readiness and moral endurance that allows one to properly perform work in the monastery.
Novitiate - next stage. It begins immediately after a special request is submitted and the appropriate permission is received.
It is also important to know at what age you can enter a monastery. There are no special restrictions in this matter, but it is noteworthy that tonsures are performed exclusively after 30 years. This is due to the fact that this age is considered to be very conscious, when a person is able to make decisions of the required degree of responsibility.
At the same time, to take tonsure you must live in the monastery for at least five years. It is also important to know that if a person is a minor and wants to go to a monastery, then initially he needs to talk with a priest; without the blessing of his parents, he will not be able to go to a monastery.
If permission is received, then tests will begin within the walls of the monastery, which will help determine the person’s ability to follow the chosen path. If the tests are successfully completed, then you can contact the abbot.
Is it worth it?
Should I go to a monastery or should I not? A question that plagues many who have had such a desire.
Here it should be understood that you can go to a monastery to live for a while, take a closer look to understand whether this is a person’s calling or not.
When the decision is made, you should analyze the monasteries where you can go and choose the most suitable one for yourself. Which monastery should I go to? Each person must determine for himself, after careful analysis.
General requirements
Entering a monastery, what is needed for this?
This action should be planned only when a person has a real desire to serve the Lord and the parishioners who believe in him.
If a person goes to a monastery only because he is trying to avoid worldly problems, then he should not go to a monastery.
Going to live in a monastery is a responsible choice and it must be made extremely consciously; a priest can help determine the validity of such a decision in a personal conversation.
Especially if the person is under 18 years old, then the first thing that needs to be obtained is parental permission. Which monastery can you go to? It is best to apply and live in the monastery that the mentor tells the person about.
Initially, it will be necessary to be a laborer in order to find out how truly such a life suits a person and how capable he is of performing the necessary tasks. Next will be the novitiate and after successfully completing it you will be able to visit the abbot with the appropriate petition to become a monk.
Example of conditions for admission to a monastery
- The path of the clergy requires renouncing worldly life in the name of serving the Lord. Such a desire should come from a person’s inner faith and desire for improvement on a spiritual level. To do this, a person will need to renounce everything worldly: problems, desires and other things. Only this will save a person’s soul.
- If a person has sinned in worldly life, this is not an obstacle or refusal to be admitted to the monastery. Every soul that desires it can be saved.
- Before living and serving in the monastery, the following are not accepted: minors, a woman who is married to a living man and has not filed for divorce, a parent whose children need guardianship.
- Nuns who left one monastery without permission and are asking to enter another.
- Anyone wishing to live and serve in the monastery must present an identification document, as well as all other documents specified by the monastery in the lists for applicants.
- Beginners must go through a probationary period (up to three years) and if they do everything necessary, the abbot will ask the bishop for them to perform tonsure and issue the monastic rank.
- Depending on the circumstances, a decision may be made to reduce the overall test period.
- Upon acceptance into the monastery, all connections with the world outside the walls of the monastery must be abandoned; it is allowed to maintain only a connection of a spiritual type with one’s loved ones and relatives.
- No money is required from those who come to the monastery. However, if they are brought in the form of a voluntary donation to the monastery, then such funds can be accepted. At the same time, those who donate this money agree that there will be no demands to the contrary or any benefit from this action.
