ORTHODOX MONASTICISM

Orthodox Monasticism

as the Way of Life of Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs

Preface to the English Edition           

Introduction to the Greek Edition      

Part 1 - Orthodox Hesychastic Monasticism    

1. Orthodox Monasticism

a) Monasticism as the Way of Life of Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs         

b) Monasticism and Christ’s Commandments        

c) Monasticism and Healing         

d) Three Renunciations, Three Crosses and Three Births    

e) The Three Monastic Virtues      

f) Monasticism and “Dogmatic Consciousness”     

g) Monks and Bishops      

h) Hesychia and Mission  

i) The Monastic Life as an Angelic Life    

j) The Solitary Way of Life – “Monadikē Politeia”

h) The Timeliness of Orthodox Monasticism         

2. Characteristics of Orthodox Monks

3. The Spirit of Orthodox Monasticism

4. Orthodox Asceticism

5. The Monk’s Spiritual Reference Points

6.Monasticism and Theology

7. Addresses at Rasophorias and Tonsures

a) The Vocation to the Monastic Life        

b) Changing Name

c) The Monastic Life as Birth in Christ      

d) Death and Birth in the Monastic Life     

e) The Spiritual Arena      

f) Monks as Followers of the Lamb          

g) The Cross in the Monastic Life 

h) The Monk and the World          

i) The Sayings of the Fathers in the Gerontikon     

j) Love, Virginity and Theology   

8. The Role of the Abbot in the Monastery and the Church

Part 2 - Monasticism on Mount Athos and Mount Sinai         

Introduction   

A. Monasticism on Mount Athos  

1. The Mystery of the Mother of God and the Mystery of Mount Athos

a) Her Living Presence     

b) The Mother of God’s Promise   

c) The Mystery of Self-Emptying and Deification  

2. The Holy Mountain and Its Significance

3. Humble Pilgrims on the Holy Mountain

a) The Abbot’s Address    

b) My Reply (cassette recording)  

4. Faith and Love – an Expression of Monasticism as Martyrdom

5. The Holy Mother of God and Romanity

6. The Living Ark of God

7. With the Athonite Fathers

8. The Holy Mountain as the Living Golgotha and All-Holy Tomb

9. Two Monks from the Monastery of Dionysiou

10. Life in the Skete

11. Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast 

12. Father Ephraim of Katounakia

13. Counsels from the Holy Mountain

14. The Mystery of Man and the Mystery of the Church

B. Hesychasm on Mount Sinai      

1. The Ascetic Life and Mystical Theology in the Region of Mount Sinai

2. Moses as a Prototype of Spiritual Perfection

3. The Fathers of Sinai as Bearers of the Orthodox Tradition

4. Hesychasm on Mount Sinai

a) St John Climacus         

b) St Gregory of Sinai      

Part 3 - The Mystery of the Cross in the Monastic Life          

1. The Hesychastic Monasticism of St Basil the Great

a) St Basil the Great as an Ascetic        

b) The Ascetic Life According to St Basil the Great     

            1)   The Essence and Purpose of the Monastic Life         

            2)   Renunciation         

            3)   Obedience to the Abbot of the Monastery    

            4)   Asceticism in Christ

            5)   The Neptic and Hesychastic Life     

            6)   The Cenobitic Life 

            7)   Contact with the World      

            8)   Women’s Monasticism       

            9)   The Longer Rules and The Shorter Rules     

            10) Conclusion

2. The Theology of Elder Sophrony

3. The Mystery of the Cross in the Teaching of the Apostle Paul in Relation to the Experience of Elder Sophrony

a) The Mystery of the Cross According to St Isaac the Syrian and St Gregory Palamas         

b) The Mystery of the Cross According to the Apostle Paul    

c) Elder Sophrony’s Personal Participation in the Mystery of the Cross       

4. Concluding Remarks 

Part 4 - Orthodox Monasticism and Its Secularisation

1. Orthodox Monasticism and Its Secularisation          

2. Monasticism as the Life of Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs

a) Apostolic Texts as the Basis for Monasticism    

b) Secularisation as a Distortion of the Life of Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs        

c) Monasticism as a Reaction to the Spirit of Secularisation

3. Monasticism According to St Symeon the New Theologian

a) The True Monk

b) Prerequisites for True Monasticism       

c) The Secularisation of Monasticism        

4. The State of Orthodox Monasticism Today

a) Traditional Monasticism According to St Symeon of Thessaloniki          

b) Western Monasticism – The Monastic Orders of the West          

c) The Westernisation of Orthodox Monasticism    

d) The Position of the Bishop in the Church According to St Symeon of Thessaloniki          

5. Concluding Remarks 

Part 5 - The Canonical Structure of Monasticism and the Service of Tonsure        

1. Monks and the Sacred Canons

2. Orthodox Monasticism According to the Service of the Great and Angelic Schema

a) Professions and Promises         

b) Catechism and Profession         

c) Three Prayers   

d) Actions and Symbolism