Obedience is Greater Than Fasting and Prayer
May 2
(A word from the Paterikon, that obedience is greater than a life of fasting and desert asceticism.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
May 2
(A word from the Paterikon, that obedience is greater than a life of fasting and desert asceticism.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
They say that obedience is greater than fasting and prayer. Can this be believed?
Two blood brothers came to live in a monastery. One of them was a great faster, while the other was distinguished by great obedience, and whatever the elders commanded him, he immediately fulfilled without question; and through obedience he gained renown in the monastery. His brother, the faster, began to envy him and said: “I will test him, and then we shall see how much he has progressed in obedience.” And with these words he went to the abbot and said: “Father, allow my brother to go with me; we need to go to a certain place.” The abbot permitted them.
The brothers set out. When they came to a river, the faster said to the brother who excelled in obedience: “Enter the river and cross it.” The obedient brother entered, and crocodiles surrounded him and began in every way to fawn upon him. Seeing this, the faster said: “Come out of the river.” The brother came out.
As they went further, they saw the body of a dead man lying by the roadside. The faster said to his brother: “How unfortunate that we have nothing with which to cover him!” The obedient one replied: “Let us pray; perhaps he may even rise.” They began to pray, and after the prayer the dead man indeed came back to life.
Then the faster began to boast and said: “See, the dead man has come to life because of my fasting!” But in fact it was not so. It was revealed to the abbot that the dead man had come to life not because of the faster, but because of his brother who had excelled in obedience. The abbot summoned the faster and said to him: “Why do you tempt your brother? It was not through your fasting that the dead man rose, but through your brother’s obedience. Therefore, do not tempt anyone in the future, lest you destroy the fruit of your fasting.”
Thus, brethren, as you have now heard, truly obedience is greater than fasting and prayer; and it cannot be otherwise. Obedience brings peace and quiet into the monastery, and peace and quiet are the first conditions for the flourishing of monastic communities. Consider what would happen if, in monasteries, each person wanted to live according to his own will and ceased to obey the superior. There would be no end to quarrels and disturbances, and the monks would live in the monastery as in hell.
For only that house is good where there is one master; but when there are many masters, there is never either order or harmony. So it is also in the monastery — and especially so there. A monk must always be inwardly collected, must always have his mind and heart directed toward God, must always be ready for prayer. But what kind of recollection, what contemplation of God, what prayer can there be when around you there is self-will and disorder? Under such conditions nothing good can exist; rather, darkness upon darkness and impurity upon impurity will follow.
Remember this, brethren, and hold fast to obedience as the most reliable anchor for the salvation of yourselves and of others. Amen.
Source: Trasnslated by John Sanidopoulos.
