The main source of information about the Monk Gregory the Sinaite is his life, written by the holy Patriarch Kallistos. This life is of particular value for us, since it was compiled by the closest disciple of the Monk Gregory, who "followed in his footsteps everywhere" and "received his spirit" [23, p. 23]. It is a praise to the beloved teacher and a glorification of God, Who is wondrous in His saints.The Life of the Monk Gregory, written by his co-mystery, gives, albeit brief, but the most reliable information about the life of the saint, his labors and feats. In addition, the author cites * The Greek text of the Life of St. Gregory the Sinaite was published by Professor I. V. Pomyalovsky [20]. This manuscript, judging by the postscript in it, was brought to Moscow by Arseny Sukhanov [20, p. II]. The translation of the text was made and provided with a preface and notes by Professor I. Sokolov [23]. The Slavonic edition of the Life was published by P. A. Syrku [24]. A comparative characteristic of the two editions of the Life is given by A. Yatsimirsky [134, pp. 300-331]. There is another Russian translation of the Life, placed in the Athos Patericon, published by the Athos Panteleimon Monastery in 1897 [1]. It is made from a Greek text published by Nicodemus Agiorite (+ 1809) and is a paraphrase of one of the manuscript editions of the complete and original life and the basic principles of the soul-saving teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite, shows how it was perceived by the numerous disciples of the saint. The first translation of the works of the Sinaite into the Slavic language was made in Bulgaria in the fourteenth century by his disciples. The second known translation was made by St. Paisius Velichkovsky. It was printed by the Moscow Synodal Printing House in 1793 and reprinted in 1822 and 1832. The first Russian translation (translator unknown) is published in the KhCh. (1824, Part XVI) under the title "Very Useful Chapters on Various Spiritual Subjects." The second Russian translation, published in the second half of the nineteenth century by the Athos Monastery of Panteleimon in the Philokalia, was made by St. Theophan the Recluse. The third translation was made by Hieromonk Veniamin (Milov) in 1920 at the Moscow Theological Academy.The homeland of St. Gregory the Sinaite was the village of Kukul, located in Asia Minor, not far from the city of Klazomen. At present, the village of Kelisman is located on the site of this Byzantine city. Kukul is probably the present village of Vurdakh, located to the south-west of Kelisman [114, p. 63]. Saint Gregory was born at the end of the 60s of the thirteenth century, approximately in the year 1268 or 1269*. His parents were rich and respected Byzantines. In addition to Gregory, they had several more sons. They gave their children a good education and brought them up in the spirit of piety. As the biographer says, the Monk Gregory was especially diligent in teaching and upbringing, and in general he lived "only a favorable and salvific life" [23, p. 35].When the Monk Gregory was 20 years old, his homeland was attacked by the Turks under the leadership of Sultan Osman I (1288-1326). This happened approximately in 1290, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II the Elder of the Palaiologos dynasty, who reigned in 1282-1328 [68, p. 72]. Having devastated Asia Minor, the Turks returned with a multitude of captive Christians, among whom was the Monk Gregory with his parents and brothers. The captives were taken to a Turkish military camp located in the Thracian province near the city of Laodicea. But God did not abandon His faithful servants. When the Ottoman Turks softened a little towards the captives, they allowed them to visit the Laodicean temple and take part in divine services. A group of captives, among whom was Saint Gregory, by their skilful performance of church hymns touched the Laodiceans who were in the church. Moved by the beautiful singing, they made efforts to redeem the captives from slavery. Having received his freedom, Gregory went to Cyprus, where everyone liked him with his good disposition and beautiful appearance, which harmonized with him. The inhabitants of the island even believed that with the arrival of Gregory, God's Providence had spread over the island its loving solicitude.The Monk Gregory had even earlier revealed an inclination towards a God-pleasing life, but now he nourished in his heart a great love and striving for virtue. He wanted to lay the foundation for an ascetic life under the guidance of an experienced mentor. And the Lord sent him a certain monk in Cyprus, who had chosen a silent hermit's life. The monk clothed Gregory in the rassophore and set forth the first fundamental rules of an active monastic life. For some time the Monk Gregory lived under the guidance of this wilderness-dweller. He accepted his ascetic instructions to such an extent that he became spiritually related to him. But in time, desiring more severe asceticism, Saint Gregory set off, perhaps at the direction of the wilderness-dweller, to Mount Sinai.Here, in the monastery of the holy Great-Martyr Catherine, erected on a sloping slope of the mountain by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the year 527, the Monk Gregory took the minor schema, that is, he became a monk of the lesser image, or mantle. He tirelessly and with all possible diligence fulfilled his first obedience as a cook and baker for three years. Serving the brethren, he believed that he was serving the order of angels. At the same time, the Monk Gregory always thought that God was looking down upon him from on high, and he considered the place of his ministry to be the throne and altar of God. At this time the monk was about thirty years old.The period of the Monk Gregory's stay at the Sinai monastery should be considered in more detail. It was not by chance that he chose the monastery of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine for his initial monastic feats. The fact is that since its foundation for many centuries, this monastery has been one of the largest centers of Byzantine-Eastern monasticism. And during the time of St. Gregory, the Sinai Monastery did not lose its significance. It was still one of the most famous centers of Christian enlightenment and spiritual life. A well-organized monastic life proceeded according to a strict rule, which included the daily revelation of thoughts to the elder-confessor [104, p. 417]. This correctly tuned the ascetics and contributed to their rapid spiritual growth. For this reason many Byzantine ascetics, striving for silence, withdrew precisely to Sinai and there began their life in the rank of novice monks.For about five years the Monk Gregory passed through a severe monastic school in the monastery of St. Catherine. All his attention was directed to learning inner work and pleasing God, to prepare for the subsequent contemplative life. The preparation consisted of strengthening the skill of cutting off one's will, strict fasting, tireless night vigilance and unceasing prayer. The daily food of the ascetic was a very small amount of bread and water. Every evening he came to the abbot and brought daily repentance, confessing his sinful thoughts with contrition of spirit. Having received a blessing from the elder, the Monk Gregory went to his cell, where he lifted up his mind to God, performing psalmody. Often throughout the night he knelt and did not abandon prayer until he had read the entire Psalter. In the morning, at the first blow of the beat, he was the first to enter the church, and after the morning praise to God, he was the last to leave it. In the intervals between work in the kitchen and bakery, the Monk Gregory diligently read and studied the Old and New Testaments, meditating on what he had read. In this he succeeded in such a way that soon he began to surpass everyone in the monastery in his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. As a skilled calligrapher, he copied sacred texts. This occupation was considered a great good deed and was very honorable. Meanwhile, it also brought great spiritual benefit to the Monk Gregory himself. It can be assumed that it was at this time that his writing activity began.The Monk Gregory never omitted the established fraternal rule. In addition, he ascended almost daily to the very top of Sinai to worship God at the place where great signs were performed. He performed innumerable genuflections on the sacred place and remembered the God-seer Moses, who once conversed with God here. Saint Gregory in a short time attained great spiritual heights. His feats amazed and amazed the monks. He brought obedience and meekness to the highest degree of perfection. Seeing the abundance of his virtues, certain monks began to ask the Monk Gregory to become a disciple. For his ascetic life on Sinai, the follower of Christ received the name of Sinaite. But the enemy of the human race, the devil, soon aroused in some of the monks of Sinai a strong envy of him. Learning of this, the meek and peace-loving Gregory did not wish that confusion and disorder should occur because of him, and he left the Sinai monastery.In the last decade of the thirteenth century, Saint Gregory, accompanied by his devoted disciple, the monk Gerasimus, left the monastery. He went to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord. Having venerated the holy relics of Palestine, the Monk Gregory and his disciple arrived at the southern harbor of the island of Crete, called the Good Harbors. He did not intend to linger there, but since because of a storm the ship could not sail soon, Saint Gregory began to select a place, free from worldly noise and vanity, for solitary prayer. After a long search, he found an uninhabited cave. As P. A. Syrkou suggests, it was located in the labyrinth of Minos [112, p. 64]. Here Saint Gregory and his disciple devoted themselves to the most austere ascetic feats.Fully trusting in the future eternal life, the Monk Gregory began to exert efforts and labors in the struggle with himself, with his sinful inclinations. His work and prayer were combined with strict abstinence. He ate only once a day and as much as was necessary only to sustain life—a small piece of bread and a little water. This measure had been taken by him as a rule even earlier. In all his labors and feats, the Monk Gregory of Sinai was never guided by his own will. He always "tried to find a guide in what he did not have time to read and learn in the books of the Divine Scriptures, or what he had not been spiritually taught by any of the Spirit-bearing and divine fathers and teachers" [23, p. 39]. The Monk Gregory lived in the hope that, having learned, with God's help, to work, that is, the initial podvig, he would by God's mercy be taught also podvig, which leads to the highest steps of asceticism, that is, contemplation, or silence, and active prayer. For this he did not cease to offer up fervent prayers to the Lord. And his prayers were heard. In a special revelation the Lord commanded a certain Arsenius, a man of great spiritual experience, adorned with work and contemplation, to teach the Monk Gregory the Sinaite the rules of a silent life. The Elder, who had been wise with many years of spiritual and ascetic experience, told him about the preservation of the mind, true sobriety and pure prayer, about how through the fulfillment of Christ's commandments "the mind is purified, and from this a person who has so God-lovingly pondered and exercised, illumined by light, becomes completely luminous" [23, p. 30]. Blessed Arsenius served as an instrument of the Holy Spirit and, knowing perfectly well the path that leads to the heights of virtue, without concealing anything, he told the Monk Gregory about this in detail and consistently, and "teach, leave nothing behind, but from grace" [22, p. 458]. Having passed on all his knowledge about active asceticism and mental prayer, he warned St. Gregory. and from the satanic schemes directed against the workers of the Jesus Prayer. Arsenius also pointed out that it was also possible for evil people to attack him, instigated by the devil.Having accepted the teaching of the elder Arsenius and having assimilated mental prayer, the Monk Gregory wished to find · monks engaged in the ascent to contemplation. For this purpose, apparently with the blessing of the elder, he and his disciple Gerasim set off to the Holy Mount Athos, which was at that time one of the main centers of monasticism. He believed that "no one should be left without attention, everyone should be seen for the sake of prayer and blessing and spiritual worship should be given to them" [23, p. 31]. During his visit to the Athonite monks, Saint Gregory met with a multitude of ascetics, often venerable in age, distinguished by their intelligence and remarkable spiritual qualities. But, to his great chagrin, all of them underwent only an exceptionally active asceticism, that is, they made every effort to work. When the monk asked them about silence, or the guarding of the mind and contemplation, the elders replied that they had not even heard of it. And only in the skete of Magula, located near the monastery of Saint Philotheus, did the Monk Gregory find three monks, who exercised not only in outward work, but also in a little contemplation. Having found like-minded spiritual people, he began to visit them. St. Gregory liked the skete of Magula for its strictly ascetic way of life. Soon not far from the skete, he and his disciple built themselves cells, or hesychastiria, for silence. The monk settled in a hard-to-reach place, in order to freely devote himself to contemplation, following the instructions of the elder Arsenius.

Ascent to the highest form of monastic activity — contemplation

Having established himself in the original form of monastic life – work, the Monk Gregory of Sinai approached the higher – contemplation.The first form consisted in withdrawing from worldly life and in purifying oneself from carnal passions by means of fasting, prayerful vigil, kneeling and many other bodily labors. This was the ascetic life of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite until he met the Cretan hermit Arsenius, who outlined for him the path of ascent to God. Implementing in his life the instructions of the elder Arsenius, the Monk Gregory developed his own view of the path to contemplation. "In him," says his biographer, the holy Patriarch Kallistos, "through his deeds the situation was realized: work is the ascent to contemplation" [23, p. 33].The teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite is set forth in a number of his works, and is also contained in the writings of his closest disciples. The basic principles of this teaching can also be found in the life of the monk. Saint Gregory began his mental work with the fact that, remembering the instructions of Arsenius, he gathered within himself all the senses and concentrated his mind in his soul. In the Slavonic translation of the life on this occasion it is said as follows: "Gather a good thought in the spirit, and, having gathered together and bound, give away the nailing of the cross of Christ" [22, p. 459], with deep groaning and tears of a contrite heart in a spirit of tenderness he repeated the same prayer in solitude: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" [23, p. 32]. Soon, through one amazing sign, the Lord showed how pleasing to Him was such prayerful labor. One day He poured out His grace upon Saint Gregory so abundantly, that the entire hesychastiry was filled with an indescribable grace-filled light, and the whole being of the worker of silence trembled with an abundance of joy. By asceticizing in this way, the divine Gregory attained the highest levels of communion with God. Whenever he came out of his silence to talk or pray together with the desert dwellers, inexpressible bliss and joy were involuntarily reflected on his face. This state could not be hidden from the eyes of the monks. Those who wished to undergo monastic feats under his guidance began to gather to the monk. He attracted them "also by the divine breadth and loftiness of his teaching talent" [23, p. 40]. The Monk Gregory did not limit the number of his disciples and gave to all who came "a share in the spiritual benefit" [23, p. 53], he brought up everyone and took care of the correction of each with great love and affection. The instructions that he gave to his disciples mainly speak of "concerns about the salvation of the soul, about the abstinence of those who go to salvation in one way or another, about patience and humility, and about the fact that hopes should always be placed in God, from Whom people have every correction, that they should not neglect the rule, but at all times have unceasing concern for death" [23, p. 51]. Under the guidance of an attentive teacher of mental activity, many monks ascended to the high degrees of contemplative life.The spiritual wisdom and great grace-filled gifts of St. Gregory the Sinaite could not remain known only to a small circle of his closest disciples. Gradually, Athonite monasticism became interested in his ascetic deeds and the teaching of silence. Almost all the Athonite monks conversed with the great teacher of silence. His speech, addressed to visitors, breathed a special Divine power. The power of God's grace, received by him, was transmitted to those who heard. He encouraged not only the hermits, but also the monks of coenobitic monasteries to pay attention to sobriety and hesychia.Thanks to the conversations, the principles of inner work and silence soon became known to all Athos. However, not everyone on Athos favorably accepted the preaching of the Monk Gregory. Scientists in the "external sciences" were especially displeased with his teachings [124, pp. 226-269]. They began to call Saint Gregory a new teacher who had come from somewhere [23, p. 55]. Some rose up against him out of envy, intending to expel the monk from the Holy Mountain. The envious complained to Archpriest Luke of Athos that Gregory taught without a blessing and taught "what they do not know." On the Holy Mountain, the prot was the supreme bearer of the spiritual and teaching power that had belonged to the protams since the time of Emperor Alexius Comnenus, given in the charter of 1095 [23, p. 96]. In order to put an end to indignation and ill-will, Saint Gregory with his disciple Isaiah appeared at the Protatus, where he expounded and explained his teaching. Having learned about the extraordinary virtues of the Monk Gregory, the archpriest showed him the greatest reverence, and "the truth clearly shone" [23, p. 32]. After this, the glory of the Monk Gregory on Athos increased still more. Crowds eager to hear the saint literally besieged him every day. This interfered with contemplation. And the Monk Gregory, "valuing anchoritism above all else," began to move from place to place, hiding from innumerable visitors [23, p. 58].Soon, however, Saint Gregory had to leave Athos because of the attack of the Turks. Probably, he did not want to stay on the Holy Mountain at that time because, on the one hand, he had experienced much suffering from the Turks since childhood, and on the other hand, he did not want to lose his priceless silence [112, p. 104]. In addition, the turmoil caused by his envious and ill-wishers did not subside. He decided to go to Sinai and remain silent on the top of the mountain. But having learned that the impious Saracens were rampaging there too, he abandoned this plan. Approximately in 1325, he arrived with his disciples in Thessalonica, where he lived for about two months [136, p. 44]. Leaving all but two of his companions there, he headed for the island of Chios, located in the Aegean Sea southeast of Mount Athos, and on to the island of Militina (or). The next place which the Monk Gregory visited in search of solitude was Mount Lebanon in Syria, but envious people did not allow him to settle there either. The monk was forced to leave and set off for Constantinople.A harsh winter detained him in the noisy capital of Byzantium for six months. Emperor Andronikos Palaiologos the Elder (1282-1328), having learned that the great saint was in the city, often invited him to his home and many times offered him a high ecclesiastical rank and position, but always met with a categorical refusal on the part of the Monk Gregory. The saint of God shunned the glory of man.The Monk Gregory and his disciples left Constantinople on a ship. They sailed along the Black Sea along the coast of Thrace, but a storm forced them to stop at Sozopol, located on the western coast. There they learned that in the northern part of Thrace there was a place very convenient for the hermit's life. It was located near the very border between Byzantium and Bulgaria, therefore it was called Paroria. The inner, most desolate part of Paroria was called Mesomiliion. In this place the monk Amirali asceticized. Having examined the area, Sinaite found it convenient for hesychia, since it was deserted and there were no convenient ways to get to it. Here the ascetics built cells. Judging by the hagiography, they arrived in Paroria in the last years of the reign of Andronicus the Elder, that is, before 1328 [112, p. 105]. But even here Saint Gregory did not succeed in receiving the long-awaited peace. Amirali, according to the author of the life, turned out to be an empty and vain man. He saw in the Monk Gregory a zealous ascetic and began to envy him. He demanded that Saint Gregory depart, threatening to send robbers against him.The Monk Gregory with his disciples crossed over to the neighboring mountain of Katakekriomeni. There, to the east of Skopo, in a hidden desert, his first monastery was located. But Amirali did not stop there. He began to persuade the disciples of the Monk Gregory to come over to him. A certain monk Luke succumbed to Amiral's suggestions. Soon, possessed by a passion of envy for his former teacher, he rushed with a sword at the Monk Gregory and almost killed him. St. Gregory not only did not show any complaint, but, on the contrary, repaid him with love and attention: for the spiritual benefit of Luke, he wrote sober words (chapters) [23, p. 62]. The monk, struck by such a loving attitude towards himself, repented of the sin he had committed and became one of the diligent disciples, and later an experienced monk.After some time, Amirali sent several robbers against the Monk Gregory the Sinaite, so that they would force the saint to depart. The robbers bound the Monk Gregory, put him in chains and began to demand from him and from his disciples gold and silver. But, having searched the cells and not finding anything to eat, they left them and departed [23, p. 63]. After these events, Saint Gregory left Paroria.Through Sozopol he returned with his disciples to Constantinople, where he settled near the church of Saint Sophia. About a year later he again went to Mount Athos, to the Lavra of St. Athanasius. Near it, in complete solitude, the Monk Gregory began to continue his silent asceticism. A new invasion of the Turks prompted the Monk Gregory to seek refuge within the walls of the Lavra. However, here he was burdened by his sojourn among the numerous brethren and did not cease to think about returning to Paroria.At the first favorable opportunity, taking with him his beloved disciple Kallistos, the Monk Gregory secretly left the Lavra of Saint Athanasius and set off through Adrianople to Paroria on the Icy Mountain. The second settlement of Gregory the Sinaite in Paroria dates back to 1331 [115, p. 162]. Soon a multitude of students of different nationalities gathered around him: Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs. There were so many disciples in the Paroria hermitage that four lavras were formed. The main one was built on a place called Pozova, in the Mesomilskaya Cave [112, p. 108; 65, p. 118].The numerous brotherhood of these monasteries led a severe ascetic life according to the skete rule given by the great founder and mentor. Here, according to the custom and tradition of the fathers, St. Gregory "prepared for the hermit's life some of the monks who loved silence, like the great Moses and Elijah the Tishbite" [23, p. 66]. In spite of the fact that the brotherhood of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite increased and Paroria gradually became a great center of spirituality and enlightenment, it did not cease to be disturbed by the raids of robbers. The Monk Gregory decided to turn for help to the Bulgarian emperor John Alexander (1331-1371). He sent to him disciples from the Bulgarians, who told the emperor about the Paroria monasteries, about their situation and needs, and conveyed the request of the monk to provide protection to the monastics. John Alexander, as a right-believing emperor, understood that the well-being of his reign and the prosperity of the state depended on the blessing of God through the prayers of the saints, and very generously, in a truly royal way, he bestowed upon the Monk Gregory the Sinaite and his disciples. At his own expense he built churches and good cells in the monasteries, gave them possession of the surrounding lands and provided them with everything necessary for it to become a major monastic center. In particular, to protect the monasteries from robbers, the tsar ordered the construction of a pyrg (tower). This tower, which gave the main monastery the appearance of a fortress, later became known as the pyrg of Sinaite [112, p. 154].As a result of such benefactions, the monasteries of St. Gregory the Sinaite became stronger economically, and the monks could safely perform feats of salvation. Soon the news that the Paroria hermitage was prospering spread throughout all Orthodox countries. Both the former disciples of the Monk Gregory and those who wanted to learn from him spiritual work rushed to Paroria. Among this host of disciples, the God-bearing elder spent his last days. Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, he had the gift of clairvoyance, and the day of his death was revealed to him. Three days before his death, the monk took with him one of his closest disciples, and withdrew to a hermit's cell, built near the Paroria monastery. There, for three days, in prayerful standing before God, he withstood a strong attack by demons and emerged victorious from this struggle. After this, the Monk Gregory of Sinai conversed with his disciple and revealed to him about his impending journey to Heavenly Jerusalem, and then quietly died. The saint's death occurred on November 27, as indicated in the life of the Monk Theodosius of Tarnovo [7, p. XI], in the year 1346 [2, p. 19]. The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Gregory the Sinaite four times a year. According to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, his memory is celebrated on August 8, in the Menaion of Metropolitan Macarius of the sixteenth century it is indicated as February 11, in the Greek Synaxarion of Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain – on April 6, and according to other Greek synaxarion – on November 27 [105, p. 239]. The real reason that prompted St. Gregory to move from place to place, in the words of Patriarch Kallistos, was that the monk "always had the desired deed to circumnavigate the entire universe in an apostolic way" [23, p. 68] and to enrich it with the knowledge of ascending to the heights of contemplation through active virtue. He fervently desired that by the grace of God all like him ascend to the Divine height. "At any time and in every place, under all circumstances of life and position, it was always a matter of the greatest concern for him to encourage everyone in general with zeal and to raise them to beautiful deeds... to try to bind everyone together in a union of love for each other and to inspire harmony in oneness of mind and unanimity towards the God-pleasing, beautiful and salvific things" [23, p. 72]. He was "a lamp and the greatest herald and teacher of the word of truth, preaching as if from the very central elevation", all this he "accomplished as a tireless apostle" [23, p. 61]. In the places of his travels, the Monk Gregory actively spread the ideas of a contemplative life and unceasing prayer. It was a kind of missionary sermon. Later, his teaching about the principles of a strict ascetic life spread not only in Byzantium, Bulgaria, Serbia, but also in other countries. In Bulgaria, one might say, he laid the foundation for a whole theological school [111, p. 61], making the Paroria hermitage "a spiritual workshop, as if melting and recreating for the better those who came to him there" [23, p. 70].The Monk Gregory of Sinaite not only tirelessly carried the teaching of the Jesus Prayer and sacred sobriety to those seeking salvation, but also encouraged other ascetics to preach about this God-pleasing work. For example, he persuaded the great ascetic and contemplative Maximus Kavsokalivsky not to conceal his work from the Athonite monks, but "to bring benefit and edification." "Do not hide your talent," said the Monk Gregory, "not for you, in fact, it was given to you by God, but in order that you might pass it on to others" [24, p. XVII]. The Monk Maximus listened to the advice of the great elder and "in a narrow, steep and stony appanage" he founded a skete, which became known as Kapsokaliv. For a long time, this skete became a place of refuge and a school of lofty asceticism for all those who wished to live a prayerful and silent life.Patriarch Kallistos compares St. Gregory the Sinaite with St. Anthony the Great, the teacher and lawgiver of all monastic life. He says that his mentor "inhabited the wilderness, loved the hermit's life with all his heart, received the gospel from God and observed the Divine law in the most beautiful way to the end, and, having become a guide and teacher, in a multitude, and not in a certain number, led those who are being saved to God" [23, p. 69]. "And he, to tell me briefly about everything," says St. Kallistos, "was a musical instrument, on which, according to the words of the Father of God David, the Divine Spirit clanked" [23, p. 71].During his lifetime, the Monk Gregory was known mainly as a famous teacher of inner work. In all places, and especially on Mount Athos, from where, in fact, his fame begins, he becomes a preacher of the contemplative life. In the Life of the Monk Maximus it is said about Gregory the Sinaite, that he "was very desirable for all the fathers of the Mountain, especially for those who lived in silence, because, having spent his whole life in silence and constantly engaged in mental prayer, he knew very well the snares and secret pretexts of demons, which constitutes a special dignity and an invaluable gift of a truly ascetic life. For this reason the silent borrowed the mysteries of mental prayer, studying from his conversations and reasonings the signs of the actions of grace and the hidden intrigues and subtle nets of demonic deception" [1, 7th ed., part 1, p. 41].The instructions of St. Gregory the Sinaite, set forth in his works, are to this day an effective guide for all those seeking salvation. "In the best and most perfect way, he introduces the mysteries of the art of mental and inner prayer, shows the passions and pure, moral virtues, and proclaims which signs of grace and which are charms. In general, these works of the Sinaite, like no other work, are very useful to beginners, and intermediate, and perfect ascetics. And what is the spiritual wealth hidden in them, and how great it is, will be known by those who read them attentively" [2, p. 97; cf. 5, p. 129]. It is reliably known that he wrote two canons. One canon is dedicated to the holy cross — "To the Almighty Cross, praise to the apostles." It is found in the text of the service for the day of Friday and in the Canon. Another canon, to the Holy Fathers, is placed in the Slavonic Canon, printed in Venice in 1547 [125, p. 336; 97, p. 209]. With the acrostic "The Song of Receive the Unworthy Sinaite", the second canon is also known from the Psalter of Metropolitan Cyprian, and under the title "The Canon of the Whole Summer to the Saints" from a seventeenth-century manuscript kept in the National Library in Belgrade. St. Gregory also composed the refrains at the end of the canon to the Most Holy Trinity at the Sunday Midnight Office. According to the research of Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky), the work of St. Gregory the Sinaite is also the "Touching Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ" [125, p. 336].In the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos there is a collection of church hymns, compiled on the Holy Mountain in the second half of the fourteenth century. It also contains hymns written by St. Gregory the Sinaite [40, p. 131].St. Gregory is credited with composing a service to St. Paraskeva of Epivata. In one of the Menaion of 1420, a note is given to the service to St. Paraskeva that it is "the creation of Gregory the Sinaite" [97, pp. 209, 213]. In the Paroria monastery founded by St. Gregory there was a church dedicated to St. Paraskeva, and it can be assumed that this prompted the monk to write a service to her [40, p. 131].

The Teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite

The ascetic system of St. Gregory the Sinaite was influenced by the "Ladder" of St. John, the abbot of Mount Sinai (7th century). In the works of the Monk Gregory there are many references to this work. In addition, "The Ladder" served as a model for him in many respects. Like St. John of the Ladder, he also reduced the teaching of hesychia into a complex but detailed system, which shows the ascetic the way to the highest stage of spiritual growth – contemplation and deification [58, p. 210].Once, in response to the question of Kallistos, what is the soul and how it is contemplated by the saints, St. Gregory of Sinai drew a scheme of man's successive ascent to God. "At first," says the monk, "the soul, intensely directing its attention to the mind, through active virtues humbles and subdues all the passions. Then, as if freed, the natural virtues begin to follow the soul, like shadows after bodies. They, surrounding and accompanying her, guide her in climbing the spiritual ladder and teach her that which is above nature" [23, p. 35]. Further, the mind is enlightened by the grace of Christ and unfolds for contemplation. To the extent of the grace bestowed, he contemplates the nature of existing things more clearly and purely. Finally, having received the betrothal of the Spirit through a multitude of contemplations, the soul is elevated to a higher and more divine thing. In such a state, the soul is left by fears and fears, and natural thoughts finally subside. The soul then clings entirely to Christ with love, converses alone with God alone, and only strives for Him. Having nothing alien and material attachment in itself, it becomes completely rational, as the soul of Adam was before the Fall.Later, the provisions of this scheme of man's ascent to God in the same sequence were revealed by St. Gregory in his works. In them, he presented not only spiritual and moral reasoning and reflections, but in a strictly Orthodox spirit systematically expounded the teaching about God and man in his sinful and sinless states. At the same time, he also offered instructions on how to get out of the state of sin and, having been renewed by the grace of Christ, to come to the state of deification. The teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite is based strictly on the writings of the Church Fathers and the ascetic works of the holy hermits. "The system of teaching of St. Sinaite embraces in a condensed form everything that asceticism had created before him, both from the theoretical and practical sides" [112: p. 235], or, as our compatriot St. Nilus of Sorsky said, "this blessed one (Gregory of Sinai. — I.P.) embraced the writings of all the spiritual fathers" [quoted from: 37, p. 177].The first part of the system of St. Gregory the Sinaite contains preparatory principles on the path to perfection. The second part of his teaching is the theory of monasticism, leading to the highest degree of perfection. The chapters of both parts of the teaching of the Sinaite represent only the theoretical principles of the spiritual and moral life of man or the dogmatic side of the teaching. Practical instructions or practical guidance on the path to virtue are set forth in the works "Instructions to the Silent", "On Silence and Prayer", "On Silence" [112, p. 191]. It should be noted that it was precisely this contemplation that at first seemed new to his contemporaries and caused great controversy.Contemplation, according to the teaching of St. Gregory, is preceded by a preparatory stage, which consists in active monastic asceticism. The Monk Gregory attached great importance to this period of the hesychastic path. First of all, he paid attention to it in his creations. During the period of active life, all the work of a monk consists in the struggle with sinful passions and purification from them. The main spiritual guide at this stage for St. Gregory and his disciples was the "Ladder" of St. John, the abbot of Sinai (see Appendix III). The successor of the spiritual traditions of the Sinai Monastery, the Monk Gregory, developed in detail the teaching about the passions of John Climacus. He showed the connection of the basic sinful passions with the three forces of the soul: the mental, the desirable, and the irritable. Having enumerated in detail the passions of irritation, the passions of lust and the passions of thought, he explains their origin in the following way: "The beginning and cause of passions is abuse, the cause of abuse is inclination, the cause of inclination is the preponderance of the desirable ability, the desirable ability is carried away by suggestion, and the suggestion itself is produced by demons, whom Providence allows to reveal through this the state of our freedom" [quoted from: 112, p. 177]. "The soul in itself," says St. Gregory of Sinai, "has the power of will and the courageous energy to act, which is an irritable force, but being created rationally and spiritually, it did not receive lust and anger along with existence; just as the flesh originally, being created incorruptible, did not have those phlegms from which lust and bestial fury were later born. Already after the crime, when a man fell into aphid and the debility of the flesh, lust and rage necessarily arose in him" [5, p. 194]. The appearance of sinful qualities in the soul, according to the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite, depends on the direction of the soul's power towards good or evil and on the extent to which it is able or unable to follow the path of good. "Virtues, although one is born of the other, yet they have their existence from the three powers of the soul. The beginning and source of virtues is good will, or the desire for good" [5, pp. 195-196].St. Gregory of Sinaite not only explains the origin of sinful passions and their nature, but also gives instructions for their eradication: "Whoever wishes to know the way of a strict life better and in short must have three main exercises: fasting, vigil and prayer, which serve as a firm foundation for all virtues. But fasting and obedience are of particular importance for ascetics, through which they again return to their former dignity (that is, the state of the firstborn Adam)" [quoted by: 112, p. 196]. The main thing for the belittling and eradication of the passions is "mental sobriety and heartfelt watchfulness, which is mental prayer, befitting that of deeds" [56, p. 79].The basis for the acquisition of virtues, according to the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite, should be silence, abstinence, vigilance, humility and patience. He considers the basis of the hesychast's God-pleasing occupations to be psalmody, prayer and reading, as well as handicrafts if he is infirm. "The beginning of mental prayer," says St. Gregory, "is the action or purifying power of the Holy Spirit and the mysterious sacramental action of the mind, and the beginning of silence is the abolition of everything or carelessness; the middle is the enlightening power of the Spirit and contemplation, and the end is the ecstasy or rapture of the mind towards God" [quoted from: 112, p. 211]. On the path of acquiring virtues, the saint attaches special importance to the action of grace: "... virtue without grace is like faith without works. Grace, or rather the sensation of grace, is the knowledge of the truth. Grace is not only faith, but also an effective prayer, which, being performed by the Spirit of love, reveals the true faith, which contains the life of Jesus" [quoted from: 112, p. 183]. At the head of any monastic activity, St. Gregory placed the memory of God: "A monk must have the memory of God instead of breathing" [5, p. 228], "The memory of God, or mental prayer, is above all deeds, it is the head of the virtues, as the love of God" [5, p. 223]. In his work "On Silence and Prayer" he gives instructions on how to perform unceasing prayer. "In the morning, force your mind to go out of your head into your heart, and keep it in it, and constantly cry out mentally and spiritually: "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!" — until you are tired. When you are tired, turn your mind to the second half and say: "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!" When you see the emergence and approach of thoughts, do not look at them, even if they are not bad, but, keeping the mind in your heart from the beginning, call out to the Lord Jesus and soon drive away the thoughts and their leaders — you will drive away the demons" [5, pp. 227-228]. Since "the mind... is led like a prisoner", because "we have separated ourselves from God... lost unity with Him and destroyed His intellectual feeling in feeling... And it is impossible for the mind to establish itself otherwise than if it obeys God and unites with Him, begins to pray to Him often and patiently, and every day intelligently confesses to Him... When, by virtue of such prayerful labor, the action of prayer is established in the heart, then it (prayer – I.P.) will begin to keep the mind to itself, cheer and not allow it to be captivated" [5, pp. 217-218]. In order to keep in mind the main milestones and stages of spiritual work, the hesychasts often presented it in a visual schematic form. One of these schemes, dating back to the 14th century, was found by Archimandrite Porphyrius (Uspensky) in the Iveron Monastery, which was a refuge for hesychasts, including those from the entourage of St. Gregory the Sinaite. The scheme is signed by the monk Theophanes. It is possible that he was a disciple of the monk or his followers, for their main spiritual traditions are partially reflected in the scheme.The hesychast spiritual traditions revived by St. Gregory did not cease to exist and develop with his death. Their successors and bearers were his disciples, who, as direct spiritual successors, having received from the monk all the principles of ancient monastic life, passed them on to others who wished to contain this teaching. Founding monasteries and sketes throughout the world, they organized monastic life in them and established a rule strictly according to the Sinaite-Hesychast type and principle. In these hesychast centers, the behests of the great Sinaite were sacredly preserved and passed on to subsequent generations. "It can be said with certainty," Bishop Alexis (Dorodnitsyn) asserts, "that the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite formed the basis of the entire medieval trend of Eastern monasticism in general and the mysticism of the fourteenth century in particular" [32, p. 138].

Chapter 3.

Spiritual Successors of St. Gregory the Sinaite in Byzantium

Among the multitude of disciples of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite were persons who had great faith in their teacher and zealously followed his instructions in everything. In turn, the monk also had a special disposition towards them. He devoted much attention to them, fully revealing to them the mysteries of inner work.These closest disciples of the Monk Gregory, being under the careful spiritual guidance, grew rapidly and, attaining impassibility, ascended to contemplation. They became the direct successors of his spirit and teaching, carried this treasure to the places of their further spiritual activity and, imitating their teacher, zealously spread hesychasm. First of all, they were the successors of the traditions of the great Gregory the Sinaite in Byzantium.