The Hermit

The hermit’s contribution to the world

The personalism of Orthodox asceticism in the life of a hermit is inseparable from the life of the Church. Saint Seraphim of Sarov tells us that if we acquire the Holy Spirit a thousand around us will be saved. Hermits, although distancing themselves from the world, enter into direct communion with God and become intimately connected to the community of the Church through their contact with God. Their prayers and asceticism build up the very community they’ve left behind because they’ve become closer to the life of the Church by entering the heart of God.

Think of this in relation to the spokes of a bicycle wheel. At the center of the wheel is Christ, and each spoke is that of a believer connecting to other believers as he is united to the center, Christ. The hermit only appears to be disconnected to his fellow believers, for in his remoteness from other Christians, he is connected, both in prayer and in spirit, to all other Christians.

The “height of holiness” one has to obtain before getting a blessing from one’s Abbot to go into seclusion is the practice of love of neighbor and selflessness – where one always puts others first (regardless of age or skill or rank or natural talents or anything) and serves them wholeheartedly.

One goes into seclusion to consciously and deliberately enter into open spiritual warfare with fallen spirits – with demons. This is why there is such caution on the part of an abbot for allowing one of his monks to “retreat into the wilderness” while having some sort of ridiculous fantasy painted in front of their imagination of “achieving spiritual bliss” and “obtaining great miracle-working gifts from God”, etc.

Needless to say, if one has not learned selflessness and been schooled in putting other people first, then the natural default when going away from everyone else (who are the primary context in which we work out our salvation) will be to … focus on the self. And being self-centered and self-absorbed like that means you have frankly already lost the battle, and will quickly become the plaything of the demons if you have any pretensions to “be spiritual”.

Nevertheless, true hermits, such as Saint Seraphim of Sarov or Saint Paisios of Athos, are great blessings for the world. But closer to home, all of us on a more humble level, should strive to meet God as our strength and spiritual maturity allows, in “the inner cave” of the deepest parts of our heart. It is there that we can truly meet and see the Risen Lord.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Photo: A winter scene of Mount Rainier, as seen from Vashon Island.

Thursday December 3, 2020 / November 20, 2020
26th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Food with Oil
Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
Venerable Gregory Decapolites (816).
St. Proclus, archbishop of Constantinople (447).
New Hieromartyrs Macarius bishop of Ecaterinoslav, Alexis, Alexander, Vladimir, John, Alexis, Basil, Nicholas, John, Emilian, Nocolos priests and Hieromartyrs Arsenius, Eutihius and Hillarion, Woman Hieromartyr Ioanicus hegumen (1937).
New Woman Hieromartyr Tatiana (after 1937).
Venerable Diodorus of George Hill (Solovki) (1633).
Martyr Dasius of Dorostolum (Romania) (303).
Martyrs Eustace, Thespesius, and Anatolius of Nicaea (312).
Hieromartyrs Nerses and Joseph; and John, Saverius, Isaac, and Hypatius, bishops of Persia; Martyrs Azades, Sasonius, Thecla, and Anna (343).
Martyrs Bautha and Denachis, who suffered with Hieromartyr Nerses of Persia (343). St. Isaac, bishop of Armenia (440). Venerable Theoctistus the Confessor (855). St. Edmund, king of England and martyr (869) (Celtic & British).
St. Sozomen of Cyprus (12th c.).

The Scripture Readings

1 Timothy 3:1-13

Qualifications of Overseers

3 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Qualifications of Deacons

8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Luke 16:1-9

The Parable of the Unjust Steward

16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.