A Story of Agapit Pechersky by Anastasia Novykh (reading strategies book .txt) 📕

only with a narrow window. This window served for the purpose of passing some frugal food though it later on. A recluse would often confine himself to some water and bread and even then not every day. And there he would live and pray until his death.”
“I should say!” escaped Kostya’s lips. “In complete darkness and solitude?”
“Certainly. In complete renunciation of everything earthly.”
“But what for?” the guy wondered sincerely.
“It’s one of the ways to reach Nirvana.”
“Oh, man, I wouldn’t endure such a thing,” our Philosopher shook his head negatively.
“I would try,” Andrew voiced.
“Do you think it’s so simple?” Sensei asked. “Before undertaking the technique of seclusion one should have learnt at least the basics – to control his thoughts... A person didn’t just seclude himself in a dark cave, praying to God. At first he learnt a special breathing technique, next he learnt controlling his thoughts, bringing them into a stable state of agathodaemon, a positive thought, that is. Only then could this person withdraw into seclusion, doing a consecutive series of meditations bringing him to a certain level, from the simple to the complex. Ultimately the person consciously passed to Nirvana, to God, that is he liberated himself from the chain of reincarnations. It’s not that simple. Though,” Sensei shrugged his shoulders and mused: ”from spiritual point of view this way is too easy and simple. Kind of a way for lazy ones. It’s very easy to retreat from human world and become a recluse-monk. However, to live in this world and come to God through doing good among people, that’s quite another story. That's what I call the right thing! It’s hard, but it’s really valuable.” Then he returned to the subject of his speech: “And the technique of seclusion is quite ancient. It had been practiced from time immemorial. Agapit imparted it to his disciples as a secret knowledge. Though, this technique was lost afterwards, because the last person, verily possessing it, simply found nobody deserving to entrust this knowledge to.
“Imitating the disciples of Agapit, many people tried to seclude themselves, knowing absolutely nothing of the practice itself. As a result, they either did not endure the seclusion or went mad. It’s natural. If a person cannot manage his fears, negative thoughts, has a constant domination of cacodaemon, it will only increase manyfold in seclusion. It’s almost impossible to endure a seclusion for an untrained person.”
A short silence fell.
“So, it means that Nestor was a bit insincere?” Victor asked.
“He just wrote what his dignitaries had charged him with writing. He was to prepare a book of Theodosius ‘Hagiography’ for canonization. In simple words, he was to create an image for worshiping. That meant that Theodosius was to be written about accordingly, up to the mark. So Nestor did. He took only some facts of Theodosius’ real life and copied the rest of his ‘holiness’ word for word from other sources. You see, the author wasn’t a witness of the actual events. When Theodosius came to Antony’s cave in 1056, Nestor was still singing in swaddling clothes, as they say. That’s why Nestor was charged with writing the work and that is why several followers of Theodosius from old monks, who had caught the period of his being a hegumen, were assigned to him, as helpers so-to-say, in order for the history to be more ‘veracious’.”
“Now, that’s a fine credible ‘history’!” Eugene sneered.
“What do you expect? There is more in it than meets the eye. At that time The Church needed an image of life of the first saint in Rus. So they chose Father-Superior Theodosius for his ‘outstanding service’. They couldn’t choose Agapit, could they?!” Sensei laughed. “Who was needed? A hegumen. So, Nestor did his best. He took a little from Theodosius’ real life, concerning his childhood and youth in the monastery, and cribbed the rest from various Greek and Palestinian Saints’ hagiographies, as his ‘fathers’ had incited him. In Rus there already were many translations of ancient patericons, ascetic and edifying treatises as well as ascetic hagiographies. The most readable and favorite ones were the hagiographies of Saint Antony, Theodore the Studite, Theodore of Edessa, John Chrysostom. There also existed less popular but in full versions ‘Hagiographies’ of Palestinian sixth century Saints, whom Cyril of Scythopolis had written about. Such were hagiographies of Euthymius the Great, Sabbas the Sanctified, Theodosius the Cenobiarch, John the Silent. In short, there was a lot to choose from for creating a new image.
“Nestor’s fancy, for example, was taken by hagiographies of Saint Euthymius and Sabbas. That’s why the new image of Theodosius turned out alike Sabbas’ in many respects. Sometimes even literal extracts were used in the text. Spiritual exploits he copied from the Oriental Asceticism, then added some elements from Saints’ hagiographies, and there you have the image of the great Theodosius, the father of Russian monasticism.
“In truth, however, Theodosius was far from being such as he was presented. It is true that he had a difficult childhood in a rich family. His father died when Theodosius turned 13. His mother used to beat him often. The chap’s state of mind was quite unbalanced. In short, he was a feeble fellow, always seeking to please those who were stronger. So, when he came to Antony in Kiev, having escaped from his mother again, out of kindness Antony accepted him, hoping to re-educate. At that time there was a small community living in the cave together with Antony. Agapit was among them. He warned Antony concerning that ‘meek’ fellow: ‘That’s a snake thou cherishest in thy bosom’. But Antony let the guy stay out of pity. By the way, Nestor described this episode of Theodosius coming to Antony and alleged refuse of Antony to accept him, in his own perspective, exactly duplicating it from the hagiography of Saint Sabbas, though it had nothing to do with what happened in reality.
“As for Theodosius, though shy when being around fraternity, inside him there was a ‘seething cauldron’ and far not of good thoughts. Theodosius felt that Agapit could see him through and that he knew his concealed thoughts. So, he did his best not to meet the Saint’s eye once again. And afterwards, throughout his entire life he experienced inner fear before Agapit, for Theodosius was performing deeds incompatible with spiritual life.
“What Agapit had foretold Antony about that guy, so it happened. Later when Varlaam, a son of John, who was the first boyar of Prince Izyaslav – joined the monkhood, there flared up a scandal with the high and mighty. From entire fraternity, Theodosius, due to his feeble spirit, became an informant of Izyaslav. He let Antony down more than once later on. And afterwards when Varlaam, being the first hegumen, came to Izyaslav asking for lands above the caves, Izyaslav agreed to give it, stipulating that a pleasing to him ecclesiastic would be heading the fraternity. Varlaam had no other choice but to agree. The same year Izyaslav transferred Varlaam (who was set in the head of the community by Antony in due course, when Antony himself became an ordinary monk) to the Dimitrievsky monastery; and his place was taken by the ‘insider’ – Theodosius. However, Nestor presented it in such a way that the fraternity itself had chosen Theodosius to become its Father-Superior for his ‘monastic exploits’.”
“‘Exploits,’ right,” Volodya sneered, “One would be certainly given a good dressing-down for such ‘exploits’ if it were with us.”
“An unspoken separation existed ever since that time in Pechersk monastery,” Sensei continued. “The followers of Agapit strived for spiritual life. While Theodosius and his followers, – including a prominent among them Nikon, who had made monk of Theodosius and whom Theodosius was smitten with a peculiar love for,” Sensei smiled, “exploited their position for their own enrichment. Having obtained what he wanted, Theodosius magnified and consolidated his power so much that life turned not so sweet even for Izyaslav.“
“Haw,” Nikolai Andreevich said pensively. “You shouldn’t expect anything good from a person like Theodosius, when he is given power. A stable depressive state in adolescence often leads to serious damages of mind and abnormal psychopathologies. Such adolescent poorly adapts to life among his peers, quite often loosing sense of reality in the world around. And this in turn may lead to sense of inferiority, self-deficiency, and understated self-appraisal, a whole complex of fears. As a rule such people are shy, timid, and tend to withdraw into themselves. But as soon as they get a chance to have real power over people, they show quite a number of mental illnesses...”
Eugene listened to the words of our psychotherapist and said: “Quite a Chikatilo portrait... He was all shy and modest in public too.”
“Well, where do you think maniacs come from?” the psychotherapist said seriously. “Megalomania has done even more sinister things to people.”
“Absolutely right,” Sensei agreed. “Theodosius was serving his own megalomania in the first place. As for the spiritual, he was awfully lazy at that. All his prayers were just an outward show. Looking at spiritual work of Agapit and his disciples, he taught the other monks to keep vigil and pray in the night. Meanwhile he slept and so well that he had to be waken up in the mornings. Later on it was presented as the secrecy of his asceticism. Jesus said once about those like Theodosius: ‘For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers’.
“Theodosius was painted in eulogies as a ‘bibliophile and enlightened person’. It’s a sheer anecdote taking into account his poor knowledge of grammar. But then he loved to edify others at every turn, to exalt himself so that others would bow low, and kiss on his hands, and call him the ‘holy father’. Showing himself as next door to God was an integral part of his nature. But, you know, Jesus said: ‘Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, He Who is in heaven’.
“Theodosius was fond of edifying not only his ‘flock’ but also ordinary laymen, showing himself as a fierce and irreconcilable stickler of Christianity, drumming them that ‘he who praises another faith, walks on the verge of heresy’. He used to repeat Agapit’ words ‘God is one and the faith in Him is one’. But while Agapit spoke about the one inner faith inherent to every human aspiring to God, which was the same as what Jesus had been teaching; Theodosius on the other hand twisted those words from religious point of view as well as that of his Animal nature, saying that ‘only my faith is true, and others are worthless’. He was especially fond of edifying wealthy people, regularly visiting their feasts. He had made believe his duty was to edify the princes while their duty was to listen to his precepts. That is, to call the tune over powers that be. Such ‘pharisees’ people were mentioned even in the Gospel, canons of which Theodosius was trying to proclaim: ‘But all their works they do to be seen of men. They make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge the fringes of their garments’; ‘And love the place of honor at feasts, and the best seats in the synagogues’; ‘the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called `Rabbi, Rabbi` by men.’; ‘But don't you be called `Rabbi` for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.’; ‘Neither be called masters, for one is your Master, the Christ’...”
And then Tatyana, offended by the words about the single faith, said: “Somehow I don’t see the difference between words of Theodosius and those of Agapit about single faith. I think Theodosius was right. As my granny used to say, one should have faith only in Christianity because it is the