Schema-Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrin) is one of the most
renowned and respected spiritual fathers in the Russian Orthodox Church today.
He currently serves as the spiritual father of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill
of Moscow and All Russia (his classmate from theological academy), and of the
Optina Monastery. Alexei Sokolov conducted this interview.
Batiushka, tell me, why is spiritual guidance
necessary for someone entering the Church? And what should it be like?
The spiritual life needs to be learned; this is
perhaps the most important learning in our world, without which our society is
doomed. Have a look at where godlessness has lead us: to the rejection of life
according to the commandments. It is no accident that in the middle of the
[last] century the world stood on the verge of destruction and nuclear disaster
during precisely those years during which it was promised to “show the last
priest” on television in the near future. [1] Now terrorism, satanic hatred,
and the degradation of our villages all share a common root, mounting towards
the destruction of the continuity of spiritual experience, without which we
cannot live a normal life. This not only pushes man away from salvation in
eternal life, it is also destructive of our present social life.
The task of spiritual instruction is precisely the
restoration and strengthening of the tradition of passing on, preserving, and
increasing spiritual experience. The importance of this ministry is shown by
the fact that in the Gospel the Lord Himself is called the Teacher. After all,
He Himself gave us an example: the Savior walked through Palestine from end to
end with His disciples, doing just as others teachers of that time were doing –
not only in Israel, but also in Athens and the East. Christ thereby showed us
that a warm study is not necessary for spiritual learning; one can learn on
bare rocks. The most important thing is what to learn, and how.
Christianity offers a very clear answer. Our faith,
and the richness of our spiritual lives, is gained first of all through direct
communion with God – that is, through prayer, by which one’s faith is
established. Without this, according to Theophan the Recluse – a former rector
of the Petersburg Theological Academy, by the way – theoretical knowledge and
education are of little value. But, at the same time, this does not negate the
value of knowledge, which is also an integral part of the spiritual life, one
that can by no means be neglected. Why do we have so many problems today,
including in the spiritual life and in finding a spiritual father? The whole
trouble lies in the absence of Orthodox upbringing and of knowledge in the
realm of theology. When a child gains at least some understanding early on of
what the spiritual life is, and of what faith is, then he can avoid many
mistakes.
Learning the spiritual life means combining prayer and
education. And, of course, it is especially important to understand that a
spiritual father cannot offer in five or ten minutes that which it takes years
to acquire in a normal spiritual life. After all, it frequently happens that
someone entering the Church thinks that he will immediately become a saint and
obtain special spiritual gifts from God. But this does not happen.
Prayer and turning to God should be combined with
education, the acquisition of knowledge, and changes in one’s daily life.
It is just such changes that a spiritual father should
guide, but he alone cannot offer much to someone who is not ready to receive
it. A spiritual father can explain something but – as it says in the Gospel
parable – the sower can sow, but when the sparrows and crows fly in and peck
the grains, man is again left empty. A person and his spiritual father should
cooperate, acting as coworkers. Only then can one begin to speak of a person’s
true spiritual growth.
It is thought that a spiritual father should teach one
how to think and spiritually grow independently. However, many people prefer
simply entrusting themselves wholly to a priest, asking advice even about what
kind of wallpaper to buy. Many people condemn having a layman renounce his own
will. Is this indeed improper?
A person should preserve his own will and make his own
decisions, because only a person himself can make final choices within his own
soul.
Could the Lord not have saved Judas from betraying
Him? He could have, of course. Then why did He not? Because this could only
have been done by violence. Forcing someone is impermissible for God, for God’s
holiness. A compulsory good cannot be good. After all, why was the Savior crucified?
He could make the world ideal, with no flaws on earth, leaving man in need of
nothing, of neither armies nor offices. But the Lord could do this only by
force, by breaking people’s free will. But He did not do this, leaving open the
opportunity for people to choose between good and evil independently.
Our social life gives a person ready knowledge,
culture, and experience – but it is left up to him how to use it. It is the
same thing in the spiritual life. The Lord gives us – through His redemptive
mission, through the Cross – the opportunity to overcome our weaknesses and to
do battle with the devil. Yet we can take advantage of this opportunity only by
our free will. The Lord created the universe for us; He gave us laws by which
to live; He gave us water, food, and everything necessary. But just how to live
in this world depends primarily on our own will, labor, and knowledge.
Therefore, it is important that life be based on both the fulfillment of Divine
precepts and on free human choice.
But what if a spiritual father openly breaks human
will by trying not to teach, but to command?
Then he is not a spiritual father. What else is there
to say? Everything has been said in the Gospel. Look at how the Savior acted,
at how the Apostles acted.
That is how a spiritual father should act, too. But
if he does not act according to Scripture and does not follow the commandments
of the Gospel, but tries to use force – then how can he be the spiritual
teacher of a Christian?
Of course, one needs to encourage a person to change,
one needs to correct and guide him – but, at the same time, one should under no
circumstances suppress his personality.
Certain people, as a matter of principle, look for a
spiritual father in a monastery, not even glancing at the church next door to
their house…
Again, it is incorrect for one to look somewhere over
the sea, thinking that everything will be better over there. The Elder Silouan
said that if a person believes his spiritual father, the Lord will reveal
wisdom to him through his spiritual father, regardless of how wise, learned, or
experienced the spiritual father may be. Here the seeker needs to have more
trust in the Lord. If one trusts God, then God’s grace will reveal to the
seeker that which is necessary.
Much of the attraction of monasteries for the newly
converted is connected with the fact that the monastic path is thought to be
more correct and salvific, while the life of a laymen seems like a kind of a
“half-measure.”
The lives of monks and laymen, of course, differ
seriously. They are two different paths, yet leading equally to the main goal
of human life: the salvation of the soul and union with God.
When someone enters a monastery, he entirely dedicates
his life to the salvation of the soul. His life is made up of prayer and
obedience, which should be an integral part of any monk’s life. And here, by
the way, the role of the spiritual guide, and the degree of subordination to
him, should be significantly higher.
But the life of a layman is also subordinate to the
same goal of salvation. The difference is that, for a layman, it is accompanied
by other duties: caring for one’s family, raising one’s children, and other
important and God-pleasing concerns. In addition, one whose life is not removed
from the world faces a mass of worldly temptations – but this is not simply an
extra danger, but also an extra opportunity, because by overcoming these
temptations one acquires invaluable spiritual experience.
It is important to remember that the Lord knows to
whom to send which trials. There is no one who cannot be saved. Therefore, in
choosing one’s path, one needs to remember that both the life of the monk and
the life of the layman are equally salvific. It is important to make one’s
choice thoughtfully and without haste, based on one’s inner priorities – and
then to act in accordance with one’s conscience and with God’s truth.
So what should someone do who has just entered the
Church and is looking for a spiritual father? How should he make the right
decision?
It is important to remember that our world lies in
evil and that we are all sinners following the fall of Adam. Everyone,
including every spiritual father, has his sins. The complete ideal never
happens.
Indeed, there are people of great knowledge and
spiritual experience to whom one can go for spiritual guidance. However, one
needs to choose carefully, bearing in mind that even a very good spiritual
father can, for some reason, not be personally suitable for you. Even a very
erudite and experienced spiritual father might not be suitable for purely human
criteria, making it difficult to build up a relationship. Therefore, it is
important to take everything into consideration, including human compatibility.
Moreover, I would like to recall what Theophan the
Recluse said about the foundation of the spiritual life. What is the Heavenly
Kingdom? It is communion with God, purity of soul, and the grace of God.
Cleansing oneself of one’s sins and personally turning to God are the most
important reasons for which one enters the Church. If someone has learned how
to repent, how to amend his soul, and how to pray – then he can live under any
spiritual father; he can act by himself; he can choose independently for the
good and strive for it. But if he has not learned how to do this, then no spiritual
father will be able to help him.
It is also important, in entrusting oneself to
someone, that one evaluate the situation independently. It is essential that
one correlate the words of one’s spiritual father with the words of the Gospel,
with the teaching of the Church Fathers, and with the Church’s conciliar
decisions, which are important to study and to understand. No spiritual father
has the authority to override them.
And, of course, someone who has entered the Church
needs to pray without ceasing – for, after all, communion with God is the main
goal to which every Christian aspires.
Translator’s note:
[1] These words, attributed to Khrushchev, entered
mass consciousness in the Soviet Union; both the origin of the statement and
the year of the predicted display are disputed. The word translated here as
“priest” is “pop,” a derogatory term.
Translated
from the Russian.
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