Monastic Tonsure

Bishop Seraphim : Homily
Taking up the Cross and following Christ
(Monastic Tonsure)
Saturday of the 2nd Week in Great Lent
3 March, 2007
Hebrews 3:12-16 ; Mark 1:35-44


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

A Saturday in Great Lent is as appropriate a time as any for the tonsuring of a monk. The main point about being tonsured into monastic life is to embrace fully, formally, openly, the way of asceticism. This way of asceticism is entirely concerned with putting Christ in front of everything else in life. Everything else takes second or third place, but Christ is first. That is why the monk has to remember to take up the Cross and follow Christ. The monk is wearing the paraman (which is the Cross) on the chest and on the back all the time. The monk is always remembering Whom s/he is following and supposed to be emulating. The monk expects (as we heard from the instruction) to receive the same sort of treatment that Christ did.

N has experienced a fair amount of that already in one way or another, and it will not stop now. What she has been given with monastic tonsure is extra Grace so that she can go the whole way with the Lord : following Christ, and putting Christ first. It is true that with monastic tonsure does come a certain Grace because it is not for nothing called “second baptism”. The monk truly takes seriously and literally the baptismal hymn : “As many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

We all will hear (and n also, I am sure, has heard and will hear) various criticisms and comments about monks living by themselves and being part of a parish, and not a monastic community. However, the problem is that when you are in Canada, it is not that easy to achieve the coenobitic ideal all at once. In Canada there are only two canonical women’s communities, and they are Greek-speaking. Before n even began, she was already too old to be accepted by them (even if she had wanted to try them). In fact, she began this journey before they began.

What does this mean – the archdiocese having monks living by themselves here and there ? In the first place, there is more than one way to live the monastic life. Although the coenobitic life may be said to be the ideal and the best way to go about it, it is not the only way (and besides, there have always been solitaries). As we see from monastic history, there have been other ways. Monks have grown to be good examples of Christians in other environments as well. It is just harder. In Canada, we do not have much possibility to start any communities. We all have to begin somewhere. Monks began somewhere, too. It has been like that in Russia and other places, where people simply began to try to live as monks where they have been living and working. This is like what Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) said when he wrote that in order to start to pray, a person simply begins. A person simply prays. Thus it is the same in the life of repentance as a monk. How does one do it ? Just begin. Take up the Cross, and follow Christ.

A monk is not a “professional Christian”. Despite the propaganda or the misunderstandings to the contrary that we are surrounded with in the West, monks are just human beings like everyone else. They are people that have decided to take up the Cross single-heartedly and single-mindedly. In fact, wearing black and standing out like a sore thumb in the midst of people is actually to their advantage. Tempted as monks may be one way or another to one type of a fall or another, they are watched by their brothers and sisters and held accountable by these brothers and sisters. The fact that these spiritual siblings are looking to this person’s life of repentance for encouragement in their own perseverance can give the monk the courage to persevere, and not listen to the Tempter.

The benefit of living in a parish like this one in particular is that this community is truly quite honest and forthright. If n should seem to be getting confused or if n is barking up the wrong tree somehow in the course of the future of her life, and she seems somewhat to be wandering from the beaten path, one of her brothers or sisters will question : “Why are you doing this ?” “Why are you saying this ?” “Why are you thinking this ?” She will either have to show that she is not barking up the wrong tree and that she is not off the beaten path, or she will say : “Oh, I did get lost”, and she will come back onto the path. In some respects, parish life is not so different from a monastic community except that parish people tend to be rather too polite, and tend not to speak quickly or openly about things that need to be said. It is my experience that in this parish, people are rather forthright, and that is good. It is a good environment for n.

Being a rasophor is being a perpetual beginner and never in fact getting officially started. N has been a rasophor for so long that I do not remember what she looked like before. (I have known of monks being rasophors even for fifty years, but there are not many of those.) Perseverance as a rasophor certainly demonstrates a determination to follow Christ regardless of how ridiculous it may appear to others (or even to oneself sometimes). That is how it is with monastic life. Trying to be obedient, simply trying to follow Christ, the monk stands out like a sore thumb. Therefore, it is possible to become confused and to feel sometimes just plain ridiculous. On the other hand, both the prayers and the instruction are addressing this conundrum. People will say : “That is ridiculous”. However, some people also said that our Saviour was ridiculous. We hear it on the news these days. People are still saying that the Saviour is ridiculous. Nevertheless, He remains always the Saviour, always the Life-giver.

N has to demonstrate, as we all do as Christians (because, by the way, being a monk simply means being a serious and focussed Christian), perseverance in love for Jesus Christ. We have to be ready to try to show Who is Jesus Christ by this sort of life of service, of suffering, of endurance, but mostly of joy. None of this happens without joy. If there is no joy, then there is definitely something out of balance. That is one barometer for us all. If we feel joyless ourselves, we can tell that we need to go to confession quite badly because something is out of focus, and it is time for a check-up. If we see a brother or a sister whose joy has disappeared, that is the time to pray for that person, support and encourage that person because darkness has somehow come and distracted and confused him or her. This praying expresses our mutual responsibility as Christians. This is how we confess the Saviour. This is how we demonstrate that we are not ashamed of Him. We have hope, therefore, in this environment of love and joy that the Lord will not be ashamed of us when we come to face Him at the culmination of all things in the Kingdom. Rather, may we hear His voice say to us : “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord’” (Matthew 25:23). There may we all together glorify our Saviour for eternity, together with the Father, and the life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages.