~ A woman as well as a man may be called to this ministry, for Orthodoxy has its 'spiritual
mothers' as well as its 'spiritual fathers'. The elder sees in a concrete and practical way
what the will of God is in relation to each person who comes to consult him: this is the
elder's special gift.
~ From its very beginnings the monastic life was seen, in both east and west, as a vocation for
women as well as men, and throughout the ancient world there were numerous communities of
women monastics.
(Female monastic's live identical ascetic lives to their male counterparts and are
therefore also called monks, and their community is likewise called a monastery;
(The Emahoy/ Head Mother has absolute rule within her monastery).
~ Information about Ethiopian Orthodox Emahoys (Nuns) / women monastics is almost non-existent,
and perhaps even less if anything is written about our daily lives. ~
Even in Ethiopia and among the Ethiopian community very little is known about our daily monastic lives.
We are an enigma to many people outside of the monastery. Orthodox women monastics tend to live in the shadows of the Ethiopian monasteries and rarely if ever leave for any reason.
Then at the more modern monasteries such as Getesemani, in the town of Sebeta, some of the Emahoys including the Holy Mother do leave regularly for a few hours to go to the market or the bank in Addis Ababa (20 km away) or to visit the Holy Synod regarding monastic affairs. I have noticed that as we drive through the city people often stare endlessly.
I suppose in any setting, anywhere in the world; it is a wonderful sight to see a van full of us in traffic.
Most people in the West tend to think of a man when they hear the word monk and think only of Roman Catholics when they hear the word Nun, so for that reason I have tried to write a bit more geared towards the Female Monastics perspective; in hopes that more women in the West will find some interest in our daily lives and see that it is possible to embrace this ancient way of living in these modern times; thereby continuing the tradition of serving God by serving mankind.
† If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou has, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me
(Matt. 19:21)
From the beginning these words of Christ have been a clear call to all Christian monks that they
have felt impelled to obey to the letter.
In Orthodoxy a monk's primary task is the life of prayer, and it is through this that he serves others.
It is not so much what a monk does that matters, as what he is.
The main purpose of a monastery is to be a place of prayer and prayer is simply communion with God.
The early monks by their withdrawal from society into the desert fulfilled a prophetic and eschatological ministry
in the life of the Church. They reminded Christians that the kingdom of God is not of this world.
One who becomes a monk (or a nun) believes that he must turn his back to what the world represents.
He can then turn his total focus on God and what God represents. A monastic seek to find the true life, the real world which our Lord describes. They seek to be united with their real Father and get a glimpse of their real homeland. They seek the true freedom that only God can give.
The monastic knows that in order to find who he is, his real self, in order to experience true freedom, he must return to the Father in that mystical union which surpasses human understanding. He realizes that the freedom which the Prodigal thought he had when he left his father was actually slavery and that true freedom is only with God.
This is why the monastic seeks to find God within him. If he is made in God’s image, then he must recognize God inside of himself. He must find his birthright stamped on his very soul and know that he belongs to Christ Who died for him.
This is why monasticism is an enigma and an irony to the 21st century mind. People see it as submissive, highly disciplined, and with total loss of freedom. A monk and a nun see it as enlightening, spiritually growing, and the ultimate acquisition of true freedom which only the soul can experience.
MONASTIC LIFE
† DEBRE BERHAN SELASSIE †
ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHEDO MONASTERY
A Christian Monastic place of worship and living in the traditional ancient ways serving God ~ ~ ~ A place to share knowledge of our Faith and Practice of Worship ~ ~ ~
Although Christ lived and worked among men, participated in the functions of His day,
He counted women among His friends, and although He instituted no monastic order, monasticism may well be considered the sum and substance of His teaching. Once He had entered upon His mission,
He had no family life--in fact, He denied blood relationships (Matt. 12:48-50). He spent many hours in the wilderness in solitary communion with His Father.
† DAILY LIFE of EMAHOYS (women monastics) †
The Monastic Cell :
“When you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father
Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Matthew 6:6
Morning Prayers :
“Now is the time to arise from sleep. Let us open our eyes to the Light that comes
from God and our ears to His voice which cries to us daily from heaven. ”
Romans 13:11
Evening Prayers :
" Let my prayers be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:
Female monastic's live identical ascetic lives to their male counterparts and are
therefore also called monks, and their community is likewise called a monastery;
(The Emahoy/ Head Mother has absolute rule within her monastery).
~~Prayers
* The center of the monks’ life is prayer.
Monks rise on most mornings with the ringing of the bell at four O’clock and assemble in the church to chant the morning office (Sa’atat) which last two hours. On Sundays and Major Holy feast days the Sa'atat starts at midnight and then the Mass (Qiddase), finishes at dawn.
At the women only monasteries there is a male head monk priest who lives there in a separate area for the purpose of conducting the Holy Liturgy.
Unlike the large secular churches monks do not dance as the secular priests do
Some of the more ascetical monasteries do not even chant the office (Sa’atat)
and the Mass (Qiddase), but prefer simply to say them.
~ If attending a secular church a monastic may remove herself after
Holy Communion and eat and pray alone or with other monastics
At 6 PM the bell rings calling the monks to gather once again, usually in the assembly hall, or the church for a short office or evening Prayer of the Covenant, of about 30 minutes to 1 hour.Apart from these common prayers a monk is expected to pray frequently in private.
Each monk is free to choose their own method of private prayer, though certain ways are common. Some pray in the areas around the church building while others retire to their rooms or huts every
one or two hours and say the Lord’s Prayer and the Canticle of St. Mary "Waddasse Mariam". Others repeat ” Eeyesus Kristos, please save me ” or ” Through Blessed Mariam, have mercy on me. etc.
The Jesus Prayer is for Orthodox monks one of the most profound and mystical prayers and it is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice. Its practice is an integral part of the eremitic tradition of prayer. " Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner". Kyrie Eleison (My Lords have Mercy) is said 41 times after prayer by the congregation but is said hundreds of times throughout the day by monks. Monks also spend long hours at night in silent contemplation. "Quiet Time".
Our Monastic Clothes :
The Canons of the Church forbid clergy to adorn themselves, allowing even for the
excommunication of those who style their hair, wear rich silk garments, or shave their faces
for the purpose of looking better or more stylish.
The austere garb which Canons appoint to monks is designed, likewise,
to avoid vanity and worldliness.
We wear simple clothing to pronounce that we are dead to the world and to its notions of fashion.
We cover ourselves completely to obscure the fallen body and to take on the purity and dignity
appropriate to our bodies when they are kept pure and unspotted.
The very purpose of our habits is to keep us away from non-monastic settings.
We true monastics walk, talk, eat, and sleep in our habits, never remove them, and use them to safeguard our being in "non-monastic settings." Our clothes thus make us.
They make us careful, wary, cautious, and continuously aware of our calling.
Community : (Nefru Gedam)
We come together in the Community Room each morning where we listen to the Rule of St Basil. Important monastery issues are discussed and announcements are made.
Study: The love and pursuit of knowledge, truth and wisdom
~ We study those subjects that will enrich our monastic life and lead us back to the Father through Christ.
Some Monks in the USA attend University and achieve PhD's in Theology.
~ Weekly classes insure a solid foundation and growth in knowledge and wisdom.
~ Our studies includes: Theology, Liturgy, Geez, Amharic, (English for non- Eng. speakers),
Church Doctrine, Saints and Martyrs,St Yared, the Rule of Saint Basil, and Orthodox Church History.
Primary reference sources are Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, 9 Saints, and the Documents of the Church.
Exercise:
~ We must guard against laziness and poor health, Daily exercise helps with blood circulation,
balance and strengthens the body as one ages.
~ Walking the labyrinth, design in shape of the cross; anytime alone or with others.
It’s a meditative, prayerful, and reflective time, with oneself and with God.
~ Walking the stations of the Cross, meditative and reflective of the suffering of Christ and His Sacrifice for us,
Free Time:
~ Apart from the obligations of prayer and work, each Emahoy is free to spend her free time as she wishes.
Monks spend many of their leisure hours chatting with each other.
The Orthodox monastic community is not as strict or restrictive as those of the Latin Rite.
Outside of mandatory times of prayer, each monk has free-will.
Monastic life is the "last life" and as such must be
entered into completely by ones own free will.
The first one is obedience, the second one being chastity or virginity, and the third one being non-acquisition or poverty.
Although a monastic must practice these three basic rules at all times, each one can be looked upon as symbolizing the three systems of monastic living:
the Cenobitic, the Idiorrhythmic, and the Heremitic.
In all three systems voluntary obedience, chastity, and poverty are at all times practiced.
1. In Orthodox monasticism obedience is the first and foremost rule. However, it must be voluntary.
If a monk or a nun lives in voluntary obedience, he or she experiences more and greater freedom than a person in society who must live by the rules of society, whether he wishes it or not.
The monk must never believe that his obedience was forced upon him; for it was he who made the decision to live the monastic life.
He must desire it; he must believe that he is doing it voluntarily. Otherwise, he has no business becoming a monk.
A monk must have in his mind the same willing obedience that Jesus displayed to His mother the Ever-Virgin Mary and to Joseph, as Saint Luke records for us in his gospel (Luke 2:51).
In this respect a monk denies himself; he denies the whims and the desires of his ego and he becomes a slave of Christ. For he knows that only in this way will he find his true self, his real identity and his true freedom.
† A BRIEF MONASTIC HISTORY: †
Monasticism has taken three chief forms, all of which had appeared in Egypt by the year 350, and all of which are still to be found in the Orthodox Church today.
Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only a hermit, or in the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds; such as Debre Libanos Monastery.
Most people understand monasticism through this first system called the cenobitic life. Cenobitic monasteries are those which are administered by an abbot. Under his guidance the monastery operates with specific rules and daily schedules.
Each monk has his obedience or work assignment to do, besides attending the prescribed services and offices.
The Cenobitic or community life, was first established by St. Pachomius of Tabennisi (c. 315-320), where men lived together under a common rule in a regularly constituted monastery. There were also communities of women following this same rule. It is this rule which was used to a great extent by St. Benedict in forming his monastic rule upon which all other Western monastic rules are based.
Basil the Great (329-379) was a strong advocate of the community life. Because of his two books, the Shorter and the Longer Rules, his influence in Orthodox monasticism is profound, although he did not found an order as such. Separate monastic "orders" or "congregations" as found in the Roman monastic tradition, are unknown in the Orthodox Church.
~ Quite simply, all those who live in the monastic life are accepted as members of the great Brotherhood of Ascetics, and the same rule is used and the same habit is worn by both men and women, forming an integral and inseparable part of the Church's Body.
An Idiorrhythmic monastery is one made up of a cluster of houses in which the monks live in small groups, each group in its own house, rather than individually in cells as in the cenobitic.
This is a form of the monastic life intermediate between the first two, the semi-eremitic life, a 'middle way' where instead of a single highly organized community there is a loosely knit group of small settlements, each settlement containing perhaps between two and six members living together. In the idiorrhythmic monasteries there is no abbot as such; but each house has a senior monk who is looked upon as the guiding force of the group.
The Heremitic is the third system which is the life style which a monk imposes upon himself, it is entirely devoted to prayer and severe asceticism.
He lives by himself in a house or a hut or in a cave or among the branches of trees and comes down to the monastery whenever he attends the Divine Liturgy to receive Holy Communion or comes for basic food provisions.
The hermit's prototype is St. Paul of Thebes, whose life was written by St. Jerome. St. Paul settled in the desert several years before St. Anthony (251-356) who is generally regarded as the father of monasticism.
† BECOMING A MONK ~ THE CEREMONY: †
~ Monastic rite/ceremony must take place in a monastic church. It is normally conducted by the
Abuna (Arch Bishop) or Qomos (Head Monk Priest)
~ The monastic candidate's head will be first measured for their new "coif" (monastic hat), and also for the special ropes which he/she will wear under their garments until physical death. Their hair is cut or shaven by another monk, or the monk who will be your spiritual father or mother.
~ The candidate will abandon their civil clothes, and puts on a new long white robe (camise) which was made specially for the occasion as well as a new "natalla" (shawl) and stands or sits before the Abuna or Qumos.
~ The Orthodox monastic ceremony is performed early morning at 4 AM, and is a very solemn and private ceremony. The Abuna will read the Prayer for the Dead; as we are now dead to this world and is starting a new monastic life in Christ. It is in dieing that we are reborn in eternal life.
~ Upon making his monastic vows, the new "coif" (hat) is placed on his/her head, also a set of thin white ropes which has been tied to form a cross across your body is now placed on the body; the ends of which has been tied in a "cross knot" by the Abuna. All of this is done while prayers are being said.
The new monastic receives a new name and promises to always follow all the rules of the monastery and to live the monastic life. This is final and there is no turning back; which is why you must be tested for years to be sure before choosing this life.
The new monastic will then re-join the other monks who are chanting special prayers and will be the first to receive communion.
~ When the rite has finished, each member of the community comes to congratulate and welcome the new monk into monastic life. It is a joyous and celebratory occasion. They will ask, “What is your new name ?”
The new monk, according to tradition, spends 40 days and nights in seclusion reading the Psalter or the Gospel. Their meals are brought to them and they are not allowed to do any physical labor or to walk alone even across the monastic grounds to the sanctuary for communion. She is not allowed to wash the face or body or remove / change her garments during this time. It is a Holy time when the "Host" dwells within you.
Orthodox tradition believes that the first 40 days is the time when the Devil will seek to tempt the new monk and play tricks on the mind and try to introduce negative thoughts. All the monks will also pray for the new monastic during this time.
~ At the end of the forty days, there are special prayers said in the monastic church and
the new monk is given her monastic uniform and additional coifs.
~ Our Monastic Clothes : read below ~
She is now fully a member of the ancient monastic communities. A great feast is held and if
the monk is able she will prepare a special feast for the Abuna's / Qumos and all the elders.
It is also tradition to prepare a great feast on this anniverary each year for the poor people in the area.
As Saint Peter said, three widows (un-married women) shall be appointed.
We aim to practice the Monastic Traditions in accordance with the instructions of the contemporary church and the monastic leadership of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
1. The Prayerful Female Monastic: These Emahoys shall remain in the monastery all their days engaged in
prayer for the salvation of the world and involved in daily tasks for the upkeep and benefit of the monastery.
2. Female Hermit: Live the same as above, except they live alone in constant prayer.
3. The active Female-Monastic: She will take the monastic vows and live in a monastic community of one or
more monastics, according to the examples set forth by the early church Fathers and Mothers.
She may be allowed to travel and temporarily live outside the monastery in order to pursue the mission set forth by Christ in his instruction to the First Apostles, and the examples of the First Christian Mothers of the Church (St. Maryam-Mother of God and Mary Magdalene); to spread the word of God by reaching out to the spiritually hungry in the Diaspora, through missionary and evangelical work.
To be a bridge to help our sisters in the Diaspora navigate their way back to their spiritual Christian roots.
To further advance the establishment of EOTC Monasteries outside Ethiopia and to gain support for the existing ancient monasteries in Ethiopia and Jerusalem.
(They may be allowed a slightly different manner of dress, which may be distinguished by their different habit from the other Emahoys (sisters), which will allow for their considerable movements during work outside the monastery. They will however wear the “official traditional uniform” of their monastic community while at church, traveling, and at all official gatherings.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Lay sisters / Deaconess: can be unmarried, married or widowed women of the church, and their origin, like that of the lay brothers, is to be found in the necessity at once of providing the Emahoys with more time for Sa’atat and study, and of enabling the unlearned to embrace the religious life.
They serve as the "external sister" of the community: the sister with the task
of greeting visitors and handling relations between the cloistered Emahoys
and the outside world.
1. Our Lord Eeyesus Kristos has said: "Will thou be perfect ? Go, sell what you have, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in
Heaven; and come follow me." (Matt. 19: 21)
He said this to the person who said to Him: "What shall I do that I may have eternal life?" (Matt. 19:16)
Our Lord said to his disciples:
"He that loves his father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loves his son or daughter more than Me is not
worthy of Me. And he that does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." (Matt.10 : 37- 38)
2. He who has an evil spirit shall not take up monastic life. If someone desires to become a Monk without the permission of the Bishop who has
jurisdiction over him, he shall not be accepted in the monastery, in case he does it as a pretext (to abandon) his wife, children, mother, and the
like. Whosoever does this under the pretext of serving God shall be excommunicated.
~ If a man is married and his wife does not agree that he become a Monk, then he is forbidden to do so.
~ If a man is still young and under the care of his parents and they do not wish him to become a Monk, then he is forbidden.
~ Likewise it is forbidden for parents to force their son into monastic life or for a father to dress his daughter in monastic dress; but she can devote
herself of her own will. Monastic life must be embraced voluntarily.
3. What a monk must do with his wealth before entering monastic life: Whosoever wants to become a monk may dispose
of his property as he likes before becoming a monk, because once he becomes a monk, all his property goes to the monastery.
4. THE SIX (6) OBLIGATIONS OF MONKS / EMAHOYS
(1).The first is to give up marriage, to be celibate. There are some Monks (Nuns) who never married and there are those who were
married but are widowed, or leaves their husband / wife later on. In later years both husband & wife can decide to devote
themselves to monastic life. ~ If a young man wants to become a monk-priest he must be celebate and never married.
In Orthodoxy, it is only a Monk-Priest who may advance to Bishops and higher ranks. Married Priests will always remain a Priest
+ As for the first, they are those of whom Our Lord has said;
"There are Eunuchs who have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. 19 :12)
+ The second have adhered to His words which say:
"Every man (woman) who takes no wife (husband) for My sake shall have eternal life." (Matt. 19 : 29)
(2) The second is to leave one's blood relatives, riches, and worldly pleasure, as was spoken by Christ.
(3) The third is to dwell in the monastery or to spend their lives in service to the sick and the poor.
(4) The fourth is to abstain from meat unless it is absolutely necessary, and to eat sparingly what is ordered for the
health of the body and similar things.
(5) The fifth is that the brothers (sisters at their separate monastery) shall live together as a single soul, as stated by Basil in his homily, and
shall have one thought only in their bodies. Even if they are many in body, their chief is only one, namely God.
Who unites them into this single soul, which is made one by the bond of love. Each one of them lives not only for himself, but for another, to
please God. They serve one another equally and voluntarily, as a result of which peace reigns among them.
Each one takes the work of the other and there is none among them who suffers injustice.
(6) The sixth is that a Monk dedicates their lives to fasting and prayers, to fatigue and labour, remembering God constantly,
reading His Holy Books, learning the interpretation of them, reading the lives of His Saints to be like His beloved, meditating on
the perfection of His Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; 3 in 1, and 1 in 3), the greatness of His work, His primordiality, the
beautiful order of His creation, how He rules the creation in one way with no interruption, and the wonders of His ruling.
With this in mind, Monks keep their bodies far from worldly things which may impede them from obeying, and restrain their tongues from words that are useless both to him who utters them and to him who hears them.
They shall keep their external senses closed to what is improper to think or say, so that nothing will come to their minds except good deeds. They shall control the internal senses with which the mind works and imagines. Their minds shall not remember or think of or retain things other than those mentioned above.
2. An Orthodox monastic may not be married, for he has entered into the angelic life on earth. We know that the angelic life is on a higher plane than the married life. Therefore, one must leave his married life behind, if he desires the life of a monastic.
This means that anyone, man or woman, may enter into the monastic life. Aside from persons who have never married, men and women who have become widowed or who through mutual agreement decide to enter into the cloistered life of a monastery may do so.
If a person is a virgin, it is all the better. But if he is not, then he, as a monastic follows the second rule of monasticism which is chastity. The virgin, too, accepts this second rule which for him is called virginity. However, if a virgin has sinned with his mind in imagining himself involved in marital relations, then he is no longer a virgin and thereafter he must continue to practice the rule of chastity rather than of virginity.
3. Non-acquisition or Poverty, this for us is the greatest dicipline because it free us from worrying about possesions, and leaves your mind free to concentrate on prayers.
Our Lord Eeyesus Kristos has said: "Will thou be perfect ? Go, sell what you have, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in
Heaven; and come follow me." (Matt. 19: 21)
† WOMAN ~ BECOMING A MONK ~ EMAHOY †
Fetha Nagast chapter 10 : 8
+ If a woman's husband dies, she is at liberty to become a Nun. And blessed shall she be to remain in the
spirit of God. As Peter said, three widows (un-married women) shall be appointed.
+ Two of them shall give all their time to prayer for all those who are in tribulation and desire to know what will
come to pass.
+ The third shall stay with women who visit the sick, and the poor, who hasten to give assistance to them, who
watch over them, and who inform the priests of what happens
+ She shall not be greedy for personal gain, neither shall she be one who gets drunk, lest she becomes lazy
during the service she renders at night.
+ A widow must be tested for one (1) year to be certain of her choice, then she will be appointed only verbally,
for she offers no priestly service; she shall vow to not marry & to serve together with other Nuns. The sign of
the cross is made over her which means she will dedicate herself to prayer and service to Our Lord.
A widow is appointed when she reaches sixty years of age, to give her strength to avoid a second marriage. Young widows are not encouraged to join the Nuns lest she be overcome by the weakness of her nature. As she is still young she might remarry, and thus become an object of the devil's laughter. If she takes another husband after making a vow, she commits a sin and incurs great punishment.
Practical : The practical aspects to become a Ethiopian Orthodox monk in the west is to first
speak to your Abba ~ Spiritual Father to seek his advise and direction. Here in the US we
don't have a female monastic community as yet. I pray that by God's Will this will manifest
and more of my sisters in the West will join the monastic community here.
Emahoys enjoying some tea (chai) outdoors
† The 3 Female Monastics DBS: †
The ideal of a life entirely given over to God can be found on many pages of the New Testament.
We find many examples in Holy Scripture of men and women giving their lives unreservedly to God
and to the service of the Church.
The first instance there were the Apostles and the Seventy; and the women who followed
and ministered unto Jesus; then there were the deacons and men like St. Luke and
St. Barnabas, and women such as Dorcas and Phoebe, who worked with St. Paul.
"I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart." Hosea 2;16
TO BE A MONASTIC : In the Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk (female ascetics in the East are called Monks "Nun" is a Western tradition) is intentionally slow, as the monastic vows taken are considered to entail a life-long commitment to God, and are not to be entered into lightly. After completing the novitiate, there are three degrees of or steps in conferring the monastic habit
Monasticism is an inner and hidden life. It is absolute and the most radical expression of Christianity as a ‘narrow way’ leading to the Kingdom of heaven.
Monastic detachment and concentration into oneself, however, does not imply egoism or the absence of love for one’s neighbour. Being outside of worldly vanity, a monk does not forget his fellow humans, but in the silence of his cell prays for them.
Work:
~ Monks work in the monastery office, on the farm, weaving
preparing the meals for the entire monastery, and so on.
Some Emahoys also make items for sale in the monastic
gift shop. or to take to town for market.
In addition to this each Emahoy has her assigned chores which
they perform for the general upkeep and stability of the monastery.
Emahoy Fikerte Mariam~Our hard working
Head Monk at Getesemani in Sebeta, Ethiopia
Emahoys in Ethiopia
New Emahoy
in Jerusalem
Emahoy looking up at the Holy Cave of Saint
Tekle Haimanot at Debre Libanos Monastary
Numbers 6 verse 24~26
24 ~ May The Lord Bless you and keep you
25 ~ May The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you
26 ~ May The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you Peace.
† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †
"And they clothed Him with purple,
and platted a crown of thorns,
and put it about his head"
† WOMEN MONASTICS / EMAHOYS :
Therefore they inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Their mind is united in perfect obedience, to God and to the Abbot (Ichege/head of men monastery) or Emahoy (head of women monastery) and they live as they will in the life which will come at the end of time.
† Let us briefly examine the three basic rules of monastic life.
And their voluntary solitary life in this world is aimed at living in accordance with the words of Our Lord which were
spoken with respect to them: "In the resurrection, they shall neither marry or be married, but shall be like Angels of God."
~ Very close to St. Basil stood his sister, St. Macrina, who founded a
community for women in Cappadocia before her brother founded his on
the banks of the Iris.
REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A MONK / EMAHOY
Fetha Nagast chapter 10 : 2 - 4
Emahoy Hannah Mariam and Emahoy Fikerte Mariam
Abuna Mathias-Jerusalem
There are a few daily activities which are encouraged within our monastic community
Monastic Food :
A monastery's kitchen is directly linked to the church's liturgical cycle, and what food is to be prepared when and how. Most of the permanent pilgrims grow the monastery's food in the large organic garden. One of the gardens are behind the main church.
Monastic's eat one main meal a day after Liturgy and a light meal just before Vespers. If you are planning to visit the monastery and would like to bring either a food offering or other useful supplies, you also can ask ahead for the most needed items by contacting the monastery. Everything is shared equally in the monastery life, including the food.
The monastery constantly makes sure enough food is provided for all guests and those who come to the monastery for some food, and even shelter, which is provided to all souls! Every soul who knocks on the doors of the monastery is helped with great Christian love, no matter who this person might be, or where he or she is from, and needs assistance.
Monks are careful not to eat that which invites gluttony or attachment to food, but to partake of the "daily bread" that provides for sustenance. Monks generally grow their own food, spend long hours each day in prayer, and rarely venture out of the monastery. Food and a bed to sleep are provided entirely free, although the conditions are basic and visitors are expected to conduct themselves according to certain standards. Donations are also welcomed.
“Enter by the Narrow Way. . .
the gate
is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it
are few.” Matthew
7:13-14
