Enter a monastery as a novice. How to get to the nunnery? The path of salvation or humility? Is it possible to enter the monastery for a while?

A monastery is not walls, a monastery is people! The monastic community is called a brotherhood and is compared to a family. Each family member is dear and priceless to us. And all of us in the monastery are parts of the body of Christ.

Thinking about choosing a path, every person wonders how to test himself, how to find that monastery that can become a place of salvation. First you need to look at the life of the monastery from the inside, its charter and spiritual structure. To do this, it is recommended to live in the monastery longer, participate in the life of the brethren of the monastery, and work on obediences.

An Orthodox Christian who comes to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, with the intention of staying there forever, begins his monastic path with labor. During the period of probation, the laborer lives in a common multi-person cell, eats together with the entire monastery brethren in the monastery refectory, walks in the usual secular clothes, bears obedience in accordance with his abilities and talents, and does what he can. prayer rule. In turn, the clergy and the brethren look at how the brother is obedient, attends services, and treats other monks. After all, he will have to be accepted into his monastic family.

At the first stage, the worker needs to “take a closer look” at the monastery, evaluate his strength and desire to stay in this monastery, he must test the firmness of his intention to completely devote his life to serving God and His Holy Church.

To come to Valaam as a worker, you must send a completed worker application form by email in advance. Application forms are posted on the Hotel Service (reception of employees) page. After receiving all necessary information An employee of the GS office reports the receipt of a blessing for a worker to come to Valaam or the refusal to do so. If a potential employee does not have the opportunity to take advantage of by email or by fax, he can provide his personal data to the employee of the GS office by phone (812-902-86-03).

After a certain amount of time has passed, usually from a year to two years, provided that the worker has a confessor, it becomes possible to enroll him in the brethren of the monastery as a novice. Seeing the worker’s readiness to enroll in the brethren, the confessor nominates his candidacy for consideration by the Spiritual Council of the monastery (which includes the abbot of the monastery and the elder brethren), and after a positive decision, the future novice begins to collect the necessary documents. Official entry into the fraternity occurs after approval His Holiness Patriarch relevant resolution.

A worker who has arrived at the Valaam Monastery and has a desire to devote himself to monastic feats should no longer have circumstances holding him back in the world, such as elderly parents or family abandoned to the mercy of fate, unpaid debts or prosecution.

Novice Timofey (in the world Timote Suladze) dreamed of becoming a bishop, but life in the monastery changed his plans, forcing him to start over from scratch.

First try

I went to the monastery several times. The first desire arose when I was 14 years old. Then I lived in Minsk, was a first-year student music school. Just started going to church and asked to sing in the church choir cathedral. In the shop of one of the Minsk churches I accidentally came across a detailed life St. Seraphim Sarovsky is a thick book, about 300 pages. I read it in one fell swoop and immediately wanted to follow the example of the saint.

Soon I had the opportunity to visit several Belarusian and Russian monasteries as a guest and pilgrim. In one of them, I made friends with the brethren, who at that time consisted of only two monks and one novice. Since then, I periodically came to this monastery to live. For various reasons, including due to young age, in those years I was not able to fulfill my dream.

The second time I thought about monasticism was years later. For several years I chose between different monasteries - from St. Petersburg to Georgian mountain monasteries. I went there to visit and took a closer look. Finally, he chose the St. Elias Monastery of the Odessa Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate, which he entered as a novice. By the way, we met his deputy and talked for a long time before the real meeting on one of the social networks.

Monastic life

Having crossed the threshold of the monastery with my things, I realized that my worries and doubts were behind me: I was home, now a difficult, but understandable and bright life, full of spiritual achievements, awaited me. It was quiet happiness.

The monastery is located in the very center of the city. We were free to leave the territory for a short time. It was even possible to go to the sea, but for a longer absence it was necessary to obtain permission from the governor or dean. If you need to leave the city, permission had to be in writing. The fact is that there are a lot of deceivers who put on vestments and pretend to be clergy, monks or novices, but at the same time have nothing to do with either the clergy or monasticism. These people go around cities and villages, collecting donations. Permission from the monastery was a kind of shield: just a little, without any problems, you could prove that you belonged, the real one.

In the monastery itself I had a separate cell, and for this I am grateful to the governor. Most novices and even some monks lived in twos. All amenities were on the floor. The building was always clean and tidy. This was monitored by the civilian workers of the monastery: cleaners, laundresses and other employees. All household needs were satisfied in abundance: we were well fed in the fraternal refectory, and they turned a blind eye to the fact that we also had our own food in our cells.

I felt great joy when something delicious was served in the refectory! For example, red fish, caviar, good wine. Meat products they were not used in the common refectory, but we were not forbidden to eat them. Therefore, when I managed to buy something outside the monastery and bring it into my cell, I was also happy. Without being a priest, there were few opportunities to earn money on his own. For example, they paid, it seems, 50 hryvnia for the ringing of bells during a wedding. This was enough either to put it on the phone or to buy something tasty. More serious needs were provided at the expense of the monastery.

We got up at 5:30, with the exception of Sundays and major church holidays(on such days, two or three liturgies were served, and everyone got up depending on which liturgy he wanted or was scheduled to attend or serve). At 6:00 the morning monastic prayer rule began. All the brethren had to be present, except for the sick, absent, and so on. Then at 7:00 the liturgy began, for which the serving priest, deacon and sexton on duty were required to remain. The rest are optional.

At this time, I either went to the office for obedience, or returned to the cell to sleep for a few more hours. At 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning (I don't remember exactly) there was breakfast, which it was not necessary to attend. At 13 or 14 o'clock there was lunch with the obligatory presence of all the brethren. During lunch, the lives of the saints whose memory was celebrated that day were read, and important announcements were made by the monastery authorities. Started at 5 p.m. evening service, after which there is dinner and the evening monastic prayer rule. The bedtime was not regulated in any way, but if the next morning one of the brethren overslept the rule, they were sent to him with a special invitation.

Once I had the opportunity to perform a funeral service for a hieromonk. He was very young. A little older than me. I didn’t even know him during my lifetime. They say he lived in our monastery, then he left somewhere and was banned. And so he died. But, naturally, the funeral service was performed as a priest. So, all our brethren read the Psalter around the clock at the tomb. My duty once happened at night. In the temple there was only a coffin with a body and me. And so on for several hours until the next one replaced me. There was no fear, although I remembered Gogol several times, yes. Was there pity? I don't even know. Neither life nor death is in our hands, so be sorry - don’t be sorry... I only hoped that he had time to repent before his death. Like each of us, we will need to be on time.

Pranks of novices

On Easter, after a long fast, I was so hungry that, without waiting for the common holiday meal, I ran across the street to McDonald's. Right in the cassock! I and everyone else had this opportunity, and no one made any comments. By the way, many, leaving the monastery, changed into civilian clothes. I never parted with my vestments. While I lived in the monastery, I simply did not have any secular clothing at all, except for jackets and trousers, which had to be worn under a cassock in cold weather so as not to freeze.

In the monastery itself, one of the novices’ pastimes was fantasizing about who would be given what name when tonsured. Usually, until the last moment, only the one who tonsures and the ruling bishop know him. The novice himself only finds out about his new name under scissors, so we joked: we found the most exotic church names and called each other them.

And punishments

For systematic lateness, they could be put on bows, in the most severe cases - on the sole (a place next to the altar) in front of the parishioners, but this was done extremely rarely and was always justified.

It happened that someone left without permission for several days. A priest did this once. They returned him with the help of the governor directly over the phone. But again, all such cases were like childish pranks in big family. Parents can scold, but nothing more.

There was a funny incident with one worker. A laborer is a layman, a secular person who came to the monastery to work. He does not belong to the brethren of the monastery and does not have any obligations to the monastery, except for general church and civil ones (do not kill, do not steal, etc.). At any moment, the worker can leave, or, on the contrary, become a novice and follow the monastic path. So, one worker was placed at the entrance of the monastery. A friend came to the abbot and said: “What a cheap parking lot you have in the monastery!” And it’s completely free there! It turned out that this same worker took money from visitors for parking. Of course, he was severely reprimanded for this, but they did not kick him out.

The hardest thing

When I first came to visit, the governor warned me that real life in the monastery differs from what is written in lives and other books. Prepared me to take off rose-colored glasses. That is, to some extent, I was warned about some negative things that could occur, but I was not prepared for everything.

As in any other organization, the monastery, of course, has very different people. There were also those who tried to curry favor with their superiors, became arrogant in front of the brethren, and so on. For example, one day a hieromonk who was under a ban came to us. This means that the ruling bishop, for some offense, temporarily (usually until repentance) forbade him to perform sacred functions as a punishment, but the priesthood itself was not removed. This father and I were the same age and at first we became friends and talked about spiritual topics. Once he even drew a kind caricature of me. I still keep it with me.

The closer it got to lifting the ban from him, the more I noticed that he was behaving more and more arrogantly towards me. He was appointed assistant to the sacristan (the sacristan is responsible for all liturgical vestments), and I was a sexton, that is, during the performance of my duties I was directly subordinate to both the sacristan and his assistant. And here, too, it became noticeable how he began to treat me differently, but the apotheosis was his demand to address him as you after the ban was lifted from him.

For me, the most difficult things not only in monastic but also in secular life are subordination and labor discipline. In the monastery it was absolutely impossible to communicate on equal terms with fathers of higher rank or position. The hand of the authorities was visible always and everywhere. This is not only and not always the governor or the dean. It could be the same sacristan and anyone who is above you in the monastic hierarchy. Whatever happened, no later than an hour later they already knew about it at the very top.

Although there were among the brethren those with whom I found great common language, despite not only the huge distance in the hierarchical structure, but also the significant age difference. Once I came home on vacation and really wanted to get an appointment with the then Metropolitan of Minsk Filaret. I was thinking about my future fate and really wanted to consult with him. We met often when I took my first steps in the church, but I was not sure if he would remember me and accept me. Coincidentally, there were many venerable Minsk priests in the queue: rectors of large churches, archpriests. And then the Metropolitan comes out, points at me and calls me to his office. Ahead of all abbots and archpriests!

He listened to me carefully, then talked for a long time about his monastic experience. He talked for a very long time. When I left the office, the entire line of archpriests and abbots looked at me very askance, and one abbot, whom I knew from the old days, said to me in front of everyone: “Well, you stayed there so long that you should have left there with a panagia.” . Panagia is a badge of honor worn by bishops and above. The line laughed, there was a release of tension, but the Metropolitan’s secretary then swore very much that I had taken up the Metropolitan’s time for so long.

Tourism and emigration

Months passed, and absolutely nothing happened to me in the monastery. I very much desired tonsure, ordination and further service in the priesthood. I won’t hide it, I also had bishop’s ambitions. If at the age of 14 I longed for ascetic monasticism and complete removal from the world, then when I was 27 years old, one of the main motives for entering the monastery was episcopal consecration. Even in my thoughts, I constantly imagined myself in a bishop’s position and in bishop’s vestments. One of my main obediences in the monastery was work in the office of the governor. The office processed documents for the ordination of some seminarians and other proteges (candidates for holy orders), as well as for monastic tonsure in our monastery.

Many proteges and candidates for monastic vows passed through me. Some, before my eyes, went from layman to hieromonk and received appointments to parishes. With me, as I already said, absolutely nothing happened! And in general, it seemed to me that the governor, who was also my confessor, to some extent alienated me from himself. Before entering the monastery, we were friends and communicated. When I came to the monastery as a guest, he constantly took me with him on trips. When I arrived at the same monastery with my things, at first it seemed to me that the governor had been replaced. “Don’t confuse tourism and emigration,” some colleagues joked. This is largely why I decided to leave. If I had not felt that the governor had changed his attitude towards me, or if I had at least understood the reason for such changes, perhaps I would have remained in the monastery. And so I felt unnecessary in this place.

From scratch

I had access to the Internet, I could consult on any issues with very experienced clergy. I told everything about myself: what I want, what I don’t want, what I feel, what I’m ready for and what I’m not. Two clergymen advised me to leave.

I left with great disappointment, with resentment towards the governor. But I don’t regret anything and am very grateful to the monastery and the brethren for the experience I gained. When I left, the governor told me that he could have tonsured me as a monk five times, but something stopped him.

When I left, there was no fear. There was such a leap into the unknown, a feeling of freedom. This is what happens when you finally make a decision that seems right.

I started my life completely from scratch. When I decided to leave the monastery, I not only had no civilian clothes, but also no money. There was nothing at all except a guitar, a microphone, an amplifier and his personal library. I brought it with me from worldly life. Mostly these were church books, but there were also secular ones. I agreed to sell the first ones through the monastery shop, the second ones I took to the city book market and sold it there. So I got some money. Several friends also helped - they sent me money transfers.

The abbot of the monastery gave money for a one-way ticket (we eventually made peace with him. Vladyka - the most wonderful person and a good monk. Communicating with him even once every few years is very great joy). I had a choice of where to go: either to Moscow, or to Minsk, where I lived, studied and worked for many years, or to Tbilisi, where I was born. I chose the last option and within a few days I was on the ship that was taking me to Georgia.

Friends met me in Tbilisi. They helped us rent an apartment and start new life. Four months later I returned to Russia, where I live permanently to this day. After long wanderings, I finally found my place here. Today I have mine small business: I individual entrepreneur, I provide translation and interpretation services, as well as legal services. I remember monastic life with warmth.

After a certain period of labor in the monastery, during which the firmness of the intention to completely devote one’s life to serving God is tested, by decision of the abbot or the Spiritual Council, a person can be accepted into the number of novices of the monastery. To do this, the worker submits a corresponding petition and expresses his consent to fulfill the regulations of the monastery he has chosen.

A novice is already a member of the brethren, preparing to become a monk and passing through new stage test - a test of how close this way of life is to him, how much of a calling he has for him. Usually the period of monastic ordination is at least three years, but it can be reduced to one year for those who have received spiritual education or is studying full-time in the spiritual department educational institution(another reason for a shorter period is a serious illness). Probation may be extended, the decision on this is made by the abbot of the monastery - individually or together with the Spiritual Council.

It should be immediately noted that those who wish to devote themselves to monastic feats should not be bound in the world by such circumstances as elderly parents, family and children under age left without help, debt and other civil obligations. All relations with the world must be resolved before entering the monastery.

Living in a monastery, a novice must strictly follow the rules. Moreover, even before tonsure, he can renounce his intention and return to the world without incurring any canonical punishment. In addition to being employed in monastic obediences, a candidate for tonsure participates in divine services and the Sacraments of the Church. During this period, he is under the special spiritual care of the abbot himself and the one assigned to him spiritual mentor.

During the monastic experience, one must especially carefully monitor oneself and one’s thoughts and understand what exactly is in at the moment is the basis of all monastic life. Monasticism is a special calling, special kind feat. The circumstances of coming to the monastery may be different, but the goal of a monk is always, according to the word of the Gospel, the desire for moral perfection and the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit by leaving the world, cutting off one’s will, through intense prayer and work.

The labor activity of novices and monks is an integral part of life within the walls of the monastery. The obediences imposed on the brethren are necessary not only because it is necessary to create some kind of material wealth to maintain existence. Coming to the monastery, a person brings with him his passions, which are the result of human nature changed by sin; habits that are detrimental to salvation. It is through selfless labor that the body, and with it the soul, are freed from passions, sinful will and desires are cut off, pride, self-love and self-pity are overcome. “General obedience contributes most of all to getting rid of pride. Through general obedience, a person learns spiritual art, if he wants, and when he looks at things simply...” (Reverend Ambrose of Optina). And often it is the wrong attitude towards the obediences imposed in the monastery that is the reason that a person, at the instigation of the enemy of the human race, leaves this grace-filled and saving path and leaves the monastery. Fulfillment of obediences is, first of all, sacrificial service to God and the brethren, in fulfillment of the commandments of Christ.

But novice work must be constantly accompanied by prayer, which is the foundation of monastic life.

During the monastic experience, the novice must try to carefully and actively study the Holy Scriptures and the ascetic works of the holy fathers, first of all, the Teachings of Abba Dorotheos, the “Catechumenate” of St. Theodore the Studite, and the “Ladder” St. John Sinai, “Guide to Spiritual Life...” by St. Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet (starting with answer 216), works St. Ephraim Sirin, the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and others - with the advice and blessing of the abbot or abbess of the monastery.

When accepted as a novice, the wearing of a cassock is blessed. At the same time, a ritual is performed, which is called “changing the vestments” or “taking off the world”: the laborer (trudnitsa), having made three prostrations in the Altar in front of the Holy Throne (and the laborer in front of the Royal Doors) and one bow to the abbot (abbess), accepts from him ( her) hand cassock, monastic belt, skufya and rosary. From that moment on, he does not wear secular clothing in the monastery.

In some cases, if this is provided for by the internal regulations of the monastery, with the blessing of the ruling bishop and with the written consent of the novice, the rite of vesting him in a cassock and hood can be performed. After this, the novice is called a novice or monk, which imposes on him a more serious responsibility. When leaving the monastery, the novice no longer has the right to wear the special clothes in which he was dressed during the period of probation. The abbot of the monastery, carefully observing the novice's monastic experience and seeing his readiness to accept the angelic image, himself, or together with the Spiritual Council, presents the candidate in writing to the ruling bishop, asking for blessings for monastic tonsure.

The time of novitiate is a special period in the life of a monk. Many remember him fondly. Here is what, for example, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), the abbot of the Moscow Sretensky stauropegic monastery, writes about novitiate in his book “Unholy Saints”: “Novice must be recognized as a unique and, perhaps, the happiest time of monastic life. It is then that the monk will experience spiritual upswings and events that surpass all imagination, which a worldly person cannot even imagine. There will be victories and defeats in invisible ascetic warfare, amazing discoveries - of the world and of oneself. But still, the years of novitiate are incomparable to anything.

Once the elderly Patriarch Pimen was asked:

– Your Holiness, you have reached the highest level of the church hierarchy. But if you could choose now, what would you like to be?

The usually taciturn, self-absorbed patriarch answered without hesitation:

– Novice, guard at the lower gates of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery<...>

This only reminds us of the bright joy of a carefree childhood - life consists of nothing but wonderful discoveries in a new, endless and unknown world. By the way, two thousand years ago the apostles, in fact, for three years were the real novices of Jesus Christ. Their main occupation was to follow their Teacher and discover with joyful amazement His omnipotence and love.

Exactly the same thing happens with the novices of our days. The Apostle Paul made a great discovery: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. These words are confirmed by the entire history of Christianity. Times and people change, but Christ remains the same both for the generation of the first Christians and for our contemporaries.

True novices receive from God a priceless gift - holy carelessness, which is better and sweeter than any other freedom.”

1. Currently, the decision on admission to the number of novices is approved by the ruling bishop. The draft “Regulations on Monasteries and Monastics” proposes to transfer the right final decision on the reception of novices to the abbot/abbess and Spiritual Council monastery Today this issue is within the competence of the Inter-Council Presence.

A. Pokrovskaya
Photo by A. Olshanskaya

When a woman is unable to cope with problems, illnesses or grief, when she cannot pray, there is nothing left but to fall into convent. Any person can come to this place, regardless of their position in society, their rank or class. As a rule, people who end up in a monastery are strong in spirit and body, because the service requires a lot of strength, patience and will.

Are you ready to enter a monastery?

Before you decide to take such a desperate and fateful step, you need to weigh everything, think carefully and come to the only correct conclusion. By entering a monastery, you will forever lose your worldly free life. The main thing for you will be obedience, humility, physical labor and prayers.

You will have to work hard, subdue your flesh and sacrifice a lot. Are you ready for this? If yes, then you need to follow these tips:

Seek advice from a clergyman. He will help you prepare for a new life and advise you in choosing a monastery.
Settle all worldly affairs. Prepare documents, resolve financial and legal issues.
Talk to your relatives and try to explain your decision to them.
Apply to the abbess of the monastery with a request to accept you into the monastery.
Prepare necessary documents. This is a passport, marriage certificate (if you are married), autobiography and a petition addressed to the abbess.

If everything is in order, you are a single adult woman who has no children or they are well settled, you will be accepted into the nunnery for a probationary period. In total it is 3 years. Subject to complete humility, obedience, and fervent prayers, after this period of time you can take monastic vows as a nun.

Devoting herself entirely to the service of God, a woman goes through the main stages of life in a monastery:

Pilgrim. She is forbidden to pray with the nuns or eat at a common table. Her main occupation is prayer and obedience.
Worker. This is a woman who is just getting a closer look at monastic life. She still continues to live a secular life, but when she comes to the monastery, she works equally with everyone else, following all the rules and obeying the internal regulations.
Novice. She becomes the one who has already submitted an application to enter the monastic life. If the abbess is confident in the seriousness of a woman’s intentions, then she soon becomes a nun.
Nun. Once a person has made vows, nothing can be returned. If you change your vows, it means cheating on God. And this is one of the biggest sins.

Preparing for care

If the decision is made and the woman is ready to devote herself to the Lord, she must follow these rules:

pray daily and attend worship services;
do not break these vows;
do big and difficult things physical work;
be silent and think more, do not gossip and do not have idle conversations;
give up bad habits;
limit yourself in food, refuse meat dishes;
fast;
leaving the walls of the monastery, going out into the world only on important matters;
refuse frequent meetings with family;
rest only in holy places;
behave humbly and meekly;
give up money and other material goods;
read only church books, it is forbidden to watch TV, listen to the radio, or leaf through entertainment magazines;
do things only with the blessing of an elder.

A nun is an ordinary woman with her own character and weaknesses, so it will be very difficult to do everything at once. However, following these rules is mandatory for those who really decide to change their destiny.

They will not accept into the monastery walls someone who has unfulfilled obligations in life. If you have frail elderly parents or small children, you first need to take care of them, and only then think about entering a monastery.

How to get to the monastery?

A man who understands that his destiny is inseparable from the Lord, that his purpose in life is to serve God, will definitely want to enter a monastery.

The first step, of course, is to ask for the blessing of your spiritual mentor. After talking with you, the priest must decide whether the decision you want to make is sincere and whether it is an escape from social life. If the priest decides that you are ready for such changes in life, you can move on.

First you need to become a laborer or a novice. The main activities are studying church literature, observing fasts, and physical work. These periods can last up to 10 years. It often happens that a person, having rested from the hustle and bustle, returns to his usual life. Those who pass all the tests take monastic vows.

Rasophorus. This is a monk who takes a vow of chastity, obedience and non-covetousness.
Small schemamonk. Takes a vow of renunciation of all earthly things.
Angelic (great) schemamonk. The same vows are taken again and tonsure is taken.

In monasticism there are 4 main vows that a person takes:

Obedience. You cease to be a free person. Give up pride, your desires and will. Now you are the executor of the will of the confessor.
Prayer. Constant and unceasing. Pray always and everywhere no matter what you are doing.
Celibacy. You must give up carnal pleasures. You can't have a family and children. Nevertheless, any people can come to the monastery, even those who have family and children left in the world.
Non-covetousness. This is a renunciation of any material wealth. A monk must be a beggar.

Remember that monks are often called martyrs. Are you ready to become one? Do you have enough patience, chastity and humility to follow the commandments of God until the end of your days? Before you enter a monastery, think again. After all, serving the Lord is one of the most difficult things. Try to stand on your feet for many hours. If this gives you pleasure, your calling is monasticism.

Is it possible to enter the monastery temporarily?

In moments of doubt and hesitation, a person needs to turn to God. Only in prayer, obedience and strict life you can make the right decision and understand the meaning of your existence. Therefore, sometimes you need to live in a monastery for a while. To do this, it is advisable to ask permission from the boss in advance. Now it's pretty simple. Almost every monastery has its own website where you can ask questions.

Having arrived there and settled in a special hotel, you will have to work equally with everyone else, be obedient and humble, limit yourself in carnal affairs and listen to the orders of the monks. It is allowed to take part in preparations for holidays and other events. For this you get food and shelter.

You can return to worldly life at any time, and it will not be considered sinful. Such a return is possible only before you take monastic vows.

As soon as you are tonsured, you become God's servant forever. Any violation of the rules of monastic life is a great sin.

In difficult moments in life, many people wonder how to get into a nunnery or a men’s monastery. They think it is very difficult. But that's not true. Absolutely anyone can take monastic vows. Anyone who feels a sense of love for God, patience and humility can take advantage of this chance. The Lord is ready to accept everyone who chooses such a path for themselves, because before His face everyone is equal. Churches, monasteries and monasteries are always happy to welcome a person with pure thoughts and faith in his soul.

People who are tired of the bustle of the world come to the monastery and want to find salvation from everyday worries. Are you one of these people, but don’t know how to go to a monastery? Think about your choice and lifestyle, because this is a serious decision.

How to enter a monastery - think carefully about your decision

In order to enter a monastery, you must have the following qualities:

sincere faith in God;
patience and humility;
obedience;
daily work on yourself;
complete rejection of worldly vanity;
absence of bad habits;
desire for prayer;
love for neighbors.

Don't take it spontaneously important decision. Life in a monastery is hard. You will have to fast there, constantly pray and do physical labor. You must have spiritual and physical strength, because in the monastery there live people who deeply believe in God. They work every day for the benefit of the monastery, earning their living. If you can withstand all this, you are ready to enter a monastery. The unique monastic atmosphere will allow you to forget about worldly worries and devote yourself to God for the rest of your life.

How to go to a monastery - where to start

If you have made such a responsible decision, you must first often visit the city temple. Confess, take communion, keep fasts and fulfill the commandments of God. Talk to your confessor, tell him about your decision. He will understand perfectly and help you choose a monastery, as well as prepare for leaving. Get your affairs in order and settle all legal issues so that you are not distracted by worldly problems later. Transfer the care of your apartment to relatives or friends, they will pay for everything public utilities and conduct all your other affairs. Be sure to receive the blessing of a spiritual mentor to escape from the bustle of the world.

How to go to a monastery - communication with the abbot

You have prepared to leave the bustle of the world and have chosen a monastery. Come there and talk to the abbess or superior. The abbot will tell you everything about life in the monastery. Show him the following documents:

passport;
autobiography;
certificate of marriage, divorce or death of a spouse;
a petition addressed to the abbot with a request to be accepted into the monastery.

A married woman can become a nun, but she must not have minor children. Children can also stay with guardians who can take care of them. Children are not accepted into the monastery. Please note that monastic tonsure is allowed only from the age of 30 for both women and men. No deposits are required to enter the monastery. You can bring voluntary donations.

How to go to a monastery - what awaits me there

You won't become a monk or nun right away. If you live in a monastery for up to five years, take monastic vows. The probationary period is usually 3 years, but it can be shortened. All this time you will live in the monastery, take a closer look at the way of life of the monks and the monastery. To become a nun (monk) you will have to go through the following stages of life in a monastery:

worker You will do physical work and understand whether you can live in a monastery for the rest of your days. You will strictly follow all the monastery rules and tasks - cleaning the premises, working in the garden and kitchen, and the like. Significant time is devoted to prayers. You will be a worker for about three years;
novice. If difficulties do not break you, write a petition to the abbot and get permission. Monastic tonsure is not accepted unless you pass the novice stage. The abbot will grant your request if you have proven yourself positively. You will be given a cassock, and you will constantly confirm good deeds his readiness to become a monk. The period of obedience is individual for each person. The worker and novice can still leave the monastery if they realize that they have made the wrong choice.

If you were able to go through the above stages, your faith in God has strengthened and the abbot sees your efforts - he will submit a petition to the Bishop and you will take monastic vows.

If you decide to go to the monastery rashly, stay in the monastery as a laborer for some time. You can go home at any time, because everyone comes to the monastery at the behest of their heart. But if you feel good there, you are not afraid of difficulties, you want to pray - you have found consolation and a quiet corner for your soul, and this is your calling from God.