Since You Asked…

Lately I’ve been on a kick promoting monasticism on social media.  I got a lot of pushback because of it, and that’s okay.  I think the crux of the matter was that people who were already married or are planning on getting married took it personal when I laid out the argument that monasticism is a higher path than marriage.  Where did I get such a ridiculous idea, anyway?  Allow me to explain.

First, I’ll cite a few sources.  I have two books called The Law of God.  One is by the priest Daniel Sysoev who was killed in a church in Moscow by a Muslim man who was angry that he had been converting Muslims to Orthodoxy, and who is generally known for his missionary work in bringing people from other faiths into the true faith.  In the section of his book dedicated to the sacraments of the Church he has a subsection on monasticism.  In this section he cites the apostle Paul who “says that one who remains a virgin is more blessed than one who enters into marriage…This does not mean that marriage is bad, however-only that monasticism is higher.”  The other book titled The Law of God is by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy and he quotes St. Athanasius who says “There are two forms and states of life.  One is the…married life; the other is the angelic and apostolic life of which there is no higher, virginity or the monastic state.”  If both of the catechisms that I own state the same thing there must be some basis for this claim.  I’m not out here just making things up, nor have I changed my tune over time.  I recorded a livestream over a year ago on how to choose between monasticism and marriage, in which I presented the teaching of St. John Chrysostom who taught that marriage is good, but monasticism is better.  There is no dichotomy here.  A person who is striving to love God should choose the higher path if he is able, but not everybody can do it.  Ultimately monasticism ends up being a path that few people are able to embrace.

What about myself?  In my path as a Christian I have followed the advice that I am giving to others.  Very soon after my baptism I told my priest that the monastic path was the path I was drawn to, and he had already noticed my monastic inclinations.  I’d say the biggest impact on me up to that point in my life regarding monasticism was Fr. Seraphim Rose.  Within the first few years of me being a Christian I had already read basically everything in print that was available by Fr. Seraphim.  In his writings it was clear that he loved monasticism and he likewise recommended it to others.  You could even say he spoke in a romantic way regarding monasticism, and I was swayed by his arguments.  I submitted to my priest in everything he said to me, even if it was against my own will and reasoning.  He tried to nurture the path I had chosen and helped me arrange for monastery visits within the Church Abroad.  My priest had heard good things about the monastery in West Virginia and he was keen on securing a place for me there but when I visited and had a talk with the Abbot, the Abbot knew immediately that he wouldn’t be able to accept me as a novice because of the history he had taken when we spoke.  I went on to visit all of the other monasteries in the Church Abroad in the States and the same thing kept happening.  I kept getting turned away.  This happened over the course of 15 years.  Finally, for confirmation and an end to all strife, we kicked the matter up to the bishops to make a ruling on the matter.  While at a clergy conference in San Francisco there was a meeting held to decide what to do with me.  Present at the meeting were my parish priest (who knows me better than I know myself), my spiritual father Abbot Tryphon, Bishop Theodosius, Bishop Irinei (then Archimandrite), Bishop James (then Abbot), and Archbishop Kyrill.  That’s practically a Synod!  With the combined wisdom of these men, I would not doubt that whatever they decided was what the Holy Spirit told them.  What was determined at that meeting?  It was determined that I had an impediment to becoming a monk.  You see, during the rite of tonsure of a monk one of the questions that is asked of the one desiring tonsure is whether you are of a sound mind.  Now I haven’t discussed this too much and it might be a topic for a future blog post but I have a serious mental illness.  I would not be able to answer in the affirmative to that question.  Unfortunately the same requirement exists for one who wishes to get married, so my fate has basically been sealed.  I’m alone in the world, and everybody is just going to have to get used to it.  Thanks for reading.