First of all, the Holy Mountain is the spiritual center of the Eastern Church, a perfect example of Christian asceticism, the "Kingdom of Heaven," as many called it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire history of Eastern asceticism would not have existed without the Holy Mountain. Eldership in general, and Russian eldership in particular, is the legacy of the spiritual development that took place over the course of many centuries on Mount Athos. And although in the course of time the insignificant aspects of spiritual life changed, its essence and purpose remained the same. What stood at the center of the Athonite mysticism became the central point of the teaching of the Russian eldership. And this was nothing more than the isihamm and his spiritual tool, mental prayer.

The beginning of monastic life on Mount Athos dates back to approximately the last quarter of the seventh century, and the first known hesychast was Peter of the Holy Mountain, who settled on Mount Athos as early as 681. He was a Greek, in his youth he was in military service at the imperial court in Constantinople. Then he was captured by the Arabs. After nine years of captivity, Peter came to Rome and took monastic vows there. In a dream, the Mother of God appeared to him, who said that Athos would become the greatest center of monastic life. Encouraged by this vision, Peter went to Mount Athos and lived there in a cave for 53 years until his death. He was canonized. In the stichera dedicated to him, we find the following words: "St. Peter of the Holy Mountain had a burning faith, like the holy Apostle Peter, and possessed true love, unshakable hope, patience, tenderness and weeping, meekness, overcoming the flesh, impassibility, purity of life and soul, silence in the sight of God." He died in 734 A.D. Some later information and traditions of the Byzantine court of the 9th-10th centuries point to monks who lived on Mount Athos independently of the monasteries.

Difficult times came for the Athonite hesychasts, when the leadership over them passed to St. Athanasius. His activity marked a new period in the history of Athos.

384

I

('v. Athanasius was descended from the >Lagorodion family. ()p was born and 'Ipaiic-yaoundé, studied at first in Constantinople, but very early it occurred to him to devote himself to asceticism!" He entered a monastery on Mount Kiminos in Asia Minor, where he was under the spiritual guidance of Hegumen Michael Maleinus. At the age of forty-six, he went to Mount Athos. For some time he observed with amazement the ascetic life of the Athonite people, but soon came to the conviction that such a way of life was possible only for a select few, and decided to introduce on Athos a coenobitic rule. He wrote the Typikon, that is, the rules of life for his coenobia. The activities of Athanasius did not find full recognition among the Athonite hermits. A struggle began between him and the hesychasts, which lasted more than a century. It cannot be said that this struggle ended in a complete victory for the Cynovians: although the subsequent period was characterized by the rapid development of coenobitic monasteries, at the same time there was also hermitage.

In the coenobia, the monks lived under the guidance of the abbot. They had no personal property, wore the same monastic clothes, and ate together. Monastic work and daily routine were determined by the abbot. In contrast, hermits lived alone. However, they also elected an abbot for a period of one year. As has already been said, the struggle between the two ascetic trends lasted a very long time and had a heavy impact on the condition of the hesychasts.

Only in the fourteenth century do we observe a new flowering of hesychastic mysticism. It is associated with the names of Gregory the Sinaite (1346), Nicholas Cabasilas (f 1371) and Gregory Palamas (t 1359).

St. Gregory the Sinaite considers the study of God to be the main goal of hesychasm. Mental prayer occupies the most important place in contemplation. A century after Gregory's death, his teaching on mental prayer was accepted by Nil of Sorsky and planted in the virgin forests of northern Russia.

Gregory the Sinaite is an outstanding personality in the mystical life of the eldership. He has the merit of reviving old and half-forgotten traditions. As a result, life was revived according to them. If St. Simeon in his hymns conveyed mainly personal experiences, then Gregory of Sinaite created a general teaching on hesychasm, no less important for the mystical life than the "Ladder" of John Climacus.

When Gregory the Sinaite came to Cyprus for the second time, he found there in a cave an elder named Arsenius. They talked with each other about ascetic exercises, and Gregory told about his solitary life on Sinai, about his separation from the world, about struggle and patience. Then Arsenius explained that all this was only work, and the real ascetic life consisted in contemplation. When Gregory heard this, he fell down on his face before the elder and asked him to teach him contemplation. Arsenius fulfilled his request, especially with regard to mental prayer, silence and guarding the spirit. Gregory, taught by the elder, took up spiritual work himself and later wrote three works, which tell about this in detail. These works, which contain a practical guide for ascetics and complement each other, have the following titles: "Instructions to the Silent",

385

"On Silence and Prayer", "On Commandments, Dogmas, etc." They played a great role in the revival and development of ascetic and mystical views of the inhabitants of Athos. The historical event on the Holy Mountain, the so-called "hesychastic dispute", is connected with the activities of Gregory the Sinaite. We must not forget that Gregory Palamas, who took part in these disputes as a representative of the Orthodox trend, was his disciple. Thus, the victory of the "Palamites" greatly helped to spread the teachings of Gregory the Sinaite. This teaching can be summarized as follows.

A monk who wishes to renounce the world must first live in solitude and possess the following five virtues: silence, abstinence, vigilance, humility and patience. His time should be divided between the following three activities: singing psalms, praying, and reading the Holy Scriptures. A monk begins his day with the thought of the 1st><me, with prayer and gathering of the soul. The first hour he must pray patiently, and the second hour read, the third hour sing prayers, the fourth hour omni pray, the fifth read, the sixth sing, the seventh pray, the eighth read, the ninth sing, the tenth can eat, the eleventh is deaf (if necessary), the twelfth sing vespers. And at night he must remain awake as long as possible, singing and praying; beginner – to a lesser extent than successful.