In monasticism, one can, if one wills, find the appropriate conditions for the healing of the wounds of the soul, for it turns fundamentally away from the causes of the fall and of sin. At the same time, in monasticism one finds a goal-directed way of life, a tested and wise “program” for following Christ in purity, selflessness, poverty, humility, and so on.

Monasticism, especially in the koinobion, the Holy Fellowship or common monastery, is the continuation of the life of the first Christians, who likewise held all things in common.

Over the course of the 1700 years since firm rules for monastic communities have been handed down, given by God Himself to the God-bearing fathers, such as St. Pachomius, we recognize again and again the greatness of God. These traditions have contributed to the perfection of the community of brothers, according to the word of the Lord: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

The monks freely hand themselves over to an elder, and they do so wholly. He is a bearer of the Spirit of God; from him flow wisdom, grace-filled power, discernment, peace, largeness of heart, love, and every virtue. Through obedience the monks put to death self-will, worldly cleverness, pride, presumption, and self-exaltation, and thereby gain the meekness and purity of heart of the Lord, who Himself was obedient to His Father even unto death on the Cross.

You see the disciple serving the brother as well as his lord and father quietly and joyfully, full of meekness and love. For the disciple, his elder is a perfect image of God; the elder is the place and manner of God. Christ says to the apostles: “He who hears you hears me; and he who rejects you rejects me."

The monk, whether in the guesthouse, in the garden, at table, in the church, or in other services, wherever and whatever it may be, working in brotherly love, friendship, and love, and always according to the directions and instructions of the elder, does not submit merely outwardly, but above all inwardly. He fits himself into the holy order. He does not follow his own cleverness, nor his own opinion, but the wisdom of his elder. Through the mystery of divine obedience, as likewise through prayer, he rejects every passionate, suffering movement of the soul and remains completely free of sin and evil thoughts.