Commemorated on May 7, 2011 by the Julian calendar
Saint Nilus of Sora came from the noble family of Maikov. He was born in 1433 and made the beginning of his monastic life in the monastery of St. Cyril of White Lake. There he lived under the instruction of the strict elder Paisius Yaroslavov, who was later abbot of St. Sergius' Holy Trinity Monastery and refused the office of Metropolitan. However, the life of the White Lake Monastery had greatly declined since the repose of its holy founder, as St. Nilus indicates in a letter which has come down to us.
"Was not my departure from [the White Lake] monastery for the sake of spiritual profit? Yes, for its sake; for I did not see there the preservation of the way of life according to God's law and the traditions of the Fathers, but rather a life according to one's own will and human ideas; and many there were who, acting in such a corrupt way, imagined that they were living a virtuous life."
And so, in search of the true sources of Orthodox monastic life, St. Nilus went to the holy places of the East. Taking with him his disciple and fellow-laborer, St.Innocent of Kernel, who was of the noble family of Okhlebinin, he spent several years on Mountain Athos, where there was the Russian monastery of Xylurgou, and in the monasteries of Constantinople. Here Saint Nilus studied all forms of monastic asceticism, and in particular the form of skete-life. ["Skete" is a small hermitage.] Most importantly, he strove everywhere to enter into the meaning and spirit of so-called MENTAL MONASTIC WORK, the inward self-trial and practice of the Jesus Prayer, applying everything to his own spiritual life. He attentively studied and applied in experience the teachings of the Divinely-wise Holy Fathers - St. Antony the Great, Ephraim and Isaac of Syria, Barsanuphius, John of the Ladder, Abba Dorotheus and others.
On Mt. Athos the intention was born in him to start, on returning to his homeland, the new to Russia skete form of life according to the example of the Eastern monks. Before him there had been two forms of monasticism in Russia: the coenobitic and the hermitic. St. Nilus made the beginning of the third form: the middle path of asceticism, where a few monks would settle such a distance apart that they could still hear each other's voices but laboured each by himself.
Returning to White Lake Monastery, St. Nilus did not remain to live in it, but built himself a cell out of logs not far from it. Later he went some ten miles away, to the river Sorka (or Sora). The place which St. Nilus chose for his Skete was wild, dark and desolate. The river Sora barely flows through this marshy, low-lying region, and it resembles more a swamp than a river. There is forest all around. Here, having erected a cross, St. Nilus built at first a chapel and a solitary cell and dug a well. And when several brothers had gathered together to live with him he built a wooden church in honor of the Meeting of the Lord. Later another wooden church dedicated to St. John the Forerunner was added. Nearby he built a mill.
From this skete St. Nilus wrote to his friend St.Innocent.
"When we were living together with you in the monastery of St. Cyril, you know how I avoided worldly ties and strove to live according to the Holy Scripture, even though in my slothfulness I did not succeed in this. At the end of my wandering I came again to the monastery, built a cell near it, and lived as best as I could. Now I have resettled far from the monastery and have found by God's grace a place according with my ideas, a place little accessible to worldly people, as you yourself have seen. Living in solitude, I occupy myself with searching the spiritual writings: above all I search the Lord's commandments and their commentaries, and the Apostolic traditions; then the Lives and instructions of the Holy Fathers. I reflect on all this, and whatever I find after reflection to be God-pleasing and useful for my soul, I copy out for myself. In this is my life and breath. As for my infirmity and sloth, I place my hope in God and the Most Pure Mother of God. If there is something for me to undertake, and if I find nothing about it in Scripture, I lay it aside for a time until I do find something. I do not presume to undertake anything at all on my own will and according to my own judgement. Whether you live as a hermit or in coenobitic life, pay heed to the Holy Scripture and follow in the footsteps of the Fathers, or be in subjection to one who is known to you as a spiritual man in word, life and judgement. The Holy Scripture is harsh only for earthly ways of thinking, but rather desires to live according to his own passionate will. Others do not wish humbly to search the Holy Scripture, do not wish even to hear of how one should live, as if the Scripture were not written for us or need not be put in all times, the words of the Lord will always be words as pure as refined silver; the Lord's commandments for them are dearer than gold and precious stones, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb."
Both for himself and for his disciples, St. Nilus established the strict rules of skete-life. For the building of the first church of his Skete, a raised place had to be made by filling in the marshy ground, all the more because the monastery's sepulchre was to be under the church. By the hands of the Divinely-wise Elder and the skete-dwellers who lived with him, a high mound was made for the church and sepulchre. Cells were placed on this mound, each a stone's throw from the others and from the church. The skete-dwellers gathered in their church, following the example of the Eastern Fathers, only on Saturdays, Sundays, and feast days; other days each prayed and laboured in his own cell. The All-night Vigil of the Skete continued literally the whole night; after each kathisma of the Psalter there were three or four readings from the Holy Fathers. At the Liturgy only some of the hymns were sung; everything else was chanted, slowly. On Saturdays the monks went to the monastery sepulchre, where a pahikhida was served for the repose of the departed.
In his Rule to his disciples, St. Nilus thus depicts the outward side of skete-life:
"The monks should earn their livelihood by the labor of their own hands, but should not occupy themselves with agriculture, since because of its complexity it is not suited to hermits. They should accept alms only in case of illness or extreme need, but not any alms that might serve to give offense to anyone. They should not leave the Skete. In church there should be no adornments made of silver, even for the sacred vessels, but everything should fee simple. The young and healthy should wear out the body with fasting, thirst, and labour, while to the old and weak a relaxation is permitted to a certain extent. No women at all are to enter the skete."
These rules for outward life are not complex. The labor, a strict observation of the conditions of the soul, the purification of the soul by prayer and thought of God. This form of asceticism St. Nilus depicts in some detail in his Rule for his disciples, an extensive work which is called "The Tradition from the Holy Fathers on How to Live", or the "Rule of Skete-life". The characteristic that distinguishes this "Tradition" or Rule of St. Nilus of Sora from all other Rules written by the founders of monasteries is precisely that St. Nilus concentrates all attention on INWARD spiritual life in Christ, on the purely spiritual training of the Orthodox Christian.
The glory of St. Nilus shone out far beyond the walls of Russian monasteries. He was known and revered by Russian hierarchs. When the heresy of the Judaizers broke out in the city of Novgorod and the expectation spread everywhere that the world would end in 1492 (the year 7000 from the creation of the world), St. Gennadius, Archbishop of Novgorod, asked Ioasaph, Archbishop of Rostov, to take counsel from St. Nilus concerning his idea of these expectations. In 1490 a council was convoked against the heresy of the Judaizers, and the Elder Nilus was invited to Moscow to the council. There was another council in Moscow in 1503, and St. Nilus was present at this council too. It is worthy of note that it was St. Nilus who introduced into this council's discussions the proposal that monasteries should be relieved of the governance of patrimonial estates, i.e., the owning of villages. This question raised heated discussions. St. Joseph, Abbot of Volokolamsk, an eminent church figure of the time, defended monastery possessions. But the Blessed Nilus proposing that monasteries should not own villages demanded that "… monks should live in the wilderness and earn their livelihood by handiwork".
Many monks of St. Cyril's White Lake Monastery and even some monks of other monasteries, joined themselves to St. Nilus’ opinion. However, this opinion was not upheld at the council. After the death of St. Nilus, his idea lived on for a long time in the minds of his disciples. One of them, Prince Bassian Kosoi, fought strongly for the position that monasteries should have no villages, and with him there were other elders, and also monks from the Holy Mountain, including St. Maximus the Greek.
But most important in the life of St. Nilus is that to his very death he remained faithful to his Rule, embodying its principles not only in questions concerning society, such as the question of monastery possessions, but also in his own life and ascetic labors.
Quite some time before his death, St. Nilus, sending his disciple St. Innocent to establish a coenobitic monastery, pro¬phesied that this monastery would flourish, and referring to his own wilderness Skete he said:
"But here, as it was during my lifetime, so let it remain after my death; let the brethren live alone, each in his own cell."
These words were preserved as a testament and were observed after the death of St. Nilus. The great Elder departed to the Lord on May 7, 1508, on the third Sunday of Easter (or Pascha), being 75 years old.
When he was dying, St. Nilus left the following testament to his disciples:
"In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I give as my testament concerning myself to you, my constant lords and brethren who are of my way of life; I beg you, throw my body into the wilderness, that the beasts and birds may devour it, inasmuch as it has sinned much against God and is unworthy of burial. But if you do not do this, then, having dug a hole in the place where we live, bury me with all dishonor. And fear the words which the Great Arsenius gave as his testament to his disciples, saying: "I will stand in judgement with you if you give my body to anyone. For it was my concern, in so far as it lay in my power, that I should not be deemed worthy of an honor or glory of this world; as it was in this life, so let it be after my death. And I beg all to pray for my sinful soul, and I beg forgiveness of everyone. And may there be forgiveness also from me: may God forgive us all."
On the part of St. Nilus, this testament serves as an expression of his profound humility before God and men, which is worthy of being expressed in the words of the Prophet David: "I have been humbled, O Lord, exceedingly" (Ps.118:107).
This desire expressed before his death by the great zealot of poverty and humility was fulfilled: his monastery remained one of the poorest and least populated in the north of Russia; and his holy relics reposed, until late in the 19th century, under a humble wooden church. Once in the year 1569, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, having visited and prayed at St. Cyril's monastery, came to St. Nilus’ skete. Having had a moleben served and having praised God and the life of His Miracle-maker, Ivan IV commanded that a stone church be erected. But at that time St. Nilus himself appeared to him and commanded him not to build a stone church, and forbade any kind of adornments to be made either in the churches or in the cells, but commanded that there should be only what was needful. After this apparition the Tsar gave a certificate of bestowal to the skete with his own signature, giving an allowance of grain and money for the upkeep of the brethren.
The Holy Church, in course of time, by indication from above, added St. Nilus to the number of the Holy Fathers and established that his commemoration be kept in the Church Calendar on May 7, the day of his blessed repose.
There is a remarkable tradition concerning the sacred iconographic face of the Saint which is painted on the cover of his tomb. A wealthy man of the Moscow territory was captured by Tatars and remained in captivity to them for many years. He greatly grieved over his family and called on the saints of God to help him. Once at night there appeared to him in a light sleep a resplendent elder who ordered him to paint the icon of St. Nilus, promising to return him to his homeland. Awakening from sleep, he wanted to ask how this could be done; but the elder vanished like lightning from his sight, which was blinded by the bright light. The prisoner began to reflect: Who is this St. Nilus, of whom he had now heard for the first time, and where is he to be found? He began to call on him for help, even though he did not know him. And behold, the next night the same elder appeared to him and said: "The Nilus who is near White Lake, ten miles from St. Cyril's monastery." Jumping up from his bed, the prisoner wanted to look more closely at the elder's face and question him in more detail, but again, just as quickly as before, he became invisible, leaving behind a ray of light and a fragrance. Then the prisoner believed that indeed the Lord had sent this Saint to him, and he prayed St. Nilus that he would reveal his face more clearly to him; and on the third night the Saint again appeared to him and left near his head an outline of his face and said to him this word of consolation: "Man of God, take this leaf and go into the Russian land".
Hardly had the consoled prisoner come to himself than he actually found by his pillow the outline of the Saint's face. With tears he begged the Lord and His Saint to show him the path by which to be delivered from the hands of the unbelievers; and again a voice came to him: "Go at night into the steppe and you will see before you a bright star; follow it and you will escape the Hagarenes". The prisoner, strengthened by faith, boldly set out at night into the immeasurable, unknown steppe, taking with him a little bread, and a wondrous star led him, according to the promise of St. Nilus, until the first rays of the dawn.
Then he heard behind him the trampling of horses' hoofs and the yells of barbarians seeking their prey. In terror he fell to the ground, begging God to preserve him, and the Lord overshadowed him with invisible power from their gaze, so that with cries they passed by.
The prisoner wandered day and night over the desolate steppe and then he came to a deep and rapid river. It was not wide, but there was no one to take him across, and it flowed across the whole steppe. The barbarians knew that it was impossible to cross the river, and they chased him to its banks in the firm conviction that they would catch the fugitive. Catching sight of him from afar, they strove towards him with wild yells and bared swords, and he, seeing no deliverance for himself anywhere, signed himself with the sign of the cross and threw himself into the river. The waters carried him quickly downstream. The Hagarenes shot arrows at him from the bank but in vain, for the mercy of God preserved him. The river carried him faster than their horses could run, and they returned, considering him already drowned. But the river, in a dashing of waves, threw the man out on the opposite bank, and from there he walked across the steppe without hindrance, living on plants and ceaselessly calling in his prayers on the Lord and His Saint Nilus.
This river was probably the Donetz, which at that time served as the boundary between Russia and the Crimean Horde. The rescued prisoner successfully reached the Russian cities. Before he went to his father's house he sought out an icon-painter in Moscow and ordered him to paint the Saint's face for him from the leaf that had been given him, the size of the cover of a coffin; then he called priests and poor people and, having given them a dinner, gave them generous alms, telling everyone how the Lord had delivered him from captivity. And when the icon of the Saint had been painted, he made a great festivity in honor of St. Nilus and sent the honorable icon to his skete with a faithful servant, giving many gifts and church utensils to the skete.
This icon lays on the Saint Nilus’ shrine right up to this day and, by the prayers of St. Nilus, healings flow forth from it. The Saint depicted in schema, in the splendid repose of the contemplation after death which he had begun while still on earth.
Many other miracles occurred through the intercession of St. Nilus after his repose.
In accordance with the principles of skete-life, the number of monks in St. Nilus' skete was always small. During his lifetime this number attained no more than a hieromonk, a deacon, and twelve monks. Doubtless, the intention of St. Nilus in blessing his disciple St. Innocent to found a coenobitic monastery was to keep his own skete small.
In addition to St. Innocent, another Saint known to have been under the influence of St. Nilus was St. Cassian of Uglich, a Greek prince from Constantinople to whom St. Nilus wrote two letters which have been preserved. He founded his own monastery on the Volga. The influence of St. Nilus seems also to be present in the Rule of St. Cornelius of Komel.
The direct influence of St. Nilus on Russian monasticism is difficult to trace and it is actually of secondary importance beside the one undeniable fact that the contemplative monastic tradition of the North is based entirely on the Eastern Fathers of Greece, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. The Skete Rule of St. Nilus is wholly in the tradition of these Fathers and consists largely of citations from them. St. Nilus himself says:
"Like a dog picking up scraps from the table, I have gathered the words uttered by those blessed Fathers."
The subject of the Skete Rule is primarily not the outward order of the monastery, but the inward activity of the monk. The Holy Fathers call this activity the "Mental work", which means the practice of the Orthodox spiritual life, centering on the Prayer of Jesus. After an introduction emphasizing that all outward, bodily labors are precisely for the purpose of purifying the "inner vessel", St. Nilus gives an outline of the inward spiritual battle, which occurs in the mind, in the realm of thoughts. The victory or defeat which the Orthodox Christian sustains here is then translated into the virtues or vices which can be observed outwardly. Five degrees can be distinguished in the battle as one is led away from God-pleasing purity of mind:
First — a simple thought or suggestion which comes to the mind from outside; not depending upon us, such fleeting thoughts are not sinful in themselves, and even the spiritually perfect are not entirely free of them.
The second degree is so called "Conjunction" or conversation with the thought, granting it permission to come within, receiving and holding it in mind. This may be done with or without passion, and so may be sinful or sinless, depending on the outcome.
The third degree is called "Joining" or accepting the thought being defeated by it; this is judged more or less severely depending on one's state of advancement in spiritual life and on the basic orientation of one's heart: one may be defeated in thought yet still be determined not to sin in act; or one may accept the thought to such an extent that one is prepared to act according to its suggestion, in which case a penance should be given by one's spiritual father.
The fourth degree is called "Captivity". It is an involun¬tary attraction of one's heart to the thought, from which state one may be freed and return to oneself with God's help; or more seriously, the thought constantly settles in one's mind and the mind, carried away from its good orientation into evil thoughts, can no longer return to a peaceful state.
The fifth degree — "Passion" — is an inclination and activity that have nested themselves in the soul for a long time because of habit and become as it were the soul's nature. A man comes to this state at first voluntarily, but ends by being completely enslaved by it. "Passion" must be subject to penance in this life, or it will bring tortures in the future life.
Further, St. Nilus describes how to conduct the fight against evil thoughts, indicating also some of the experiences that may come to one on the path to spiritual perfection, and gives certain general rules of life for one engaged in this struggle. Then he names the eight principal passions from which, the Holy Fathers teach, the many others proceed, and tells how to fight the temptations that come with each of them. These passions are: gluttony, fornication, anger, sorrow, despondency, vainglory and pride.
The Rule concludes with separate sections on the thought of death and the Last Judgement; on tears, on renunciation and detachment; and on discretion and moderation in the practice of the spiritual life.
We wish to end the story with the words of Father Seraphim Rose from St.Herman of Alaska Brotherhood near Platina in Northern California. He said:
"The spiritual life of the true monastic tradition is the NORM of our Christian life, and we had better be informed of it before the terrible last day when we are called to account for our lax life… We shall surely be judged for not struggling on the path of salvation. If we do not live like these Saints, then let us at last increase our far-too-feeble struggles for God, and offer our fervent tears of repentance and our constant self-reproach at falling so short of the standard of perfection which God has shown us in His wondrous Saints."
Listen to the above
Part 1
Source: The Voice of Russia based the book The Northern Thebaid compiled by Fathers Seraphim (Rose) and Herman (Podmoshensky) of Platina
