CUM A REZISTAT SFÂNTUL MUNTE ATHOS TIMP DE 1700 DE ANI?
How the Holy Mountain resisted 1700 Years –
Πώς το Άγιο Όρος έμεινε στέκεται για 1700 χρόνια
Romanian
Sfântul Munte există de cel puţin 1700 de ani de la Sf. Constantin cel Mare – când, după datele pe care le avem, au apărut primele aşezăminte monahale – şi până astăzi. Căror factori se datorează oare această longevitate? Fără îndoială că este vorba despre binecuvântarea Maicii Domnului care şi-a ales ca Sfântul Munte să fie moştenirea ei aici pe pământ.
Şi bineînţeles că am putea opri discuţia aici, însă pentru folosul sufletesc al vostru vom analiza mai pe îndelete cauzele principale ce au asigurat existenţa până astăzi a celei mai vechi civilizaţii duhovniceşti din lume.
Unul din primii factori, ce impresionează pelerinul de îndată ce ajunge în Sf. Munte, este absenţa femeilor. Această restricţie are rădăcini foarte vechi, cunoaştem cel puţin o minune în acest sens în care Maica Domnului i-a vorbit Sfintei Împărătese Pulheria (sec. V – VI), arătându-i foarte clar că nu doreşte femei în Sfântul Munte. Interdicţia femeilor de a intra în Sf. Munte are baze pur ascetice, dovadă faptul că în Sf. Munte femeia se cinsteşte ca niciunde altundeva în dimensiunile ei cele mai plenare: maternitatea şi fecioria.
Al doilea factor care se vede destul de bine este faptul că mănăstirile din Sf. Munte au avere şi terenuri proprii. Lucrul este foarte important pentru că după cum ştim din istorie privarea oamenilor de accesul direct la mijloacele de trai (de hrană în special) a fost şi este unul din principalele mijloace de înrobire. Împăraţii bizantini şi mai apoi voevozii ţărilor române precum şi ţarii Rusiei ştiind importanţa extremă a acestui factor au înzestrat mănăstirile cu averi şi terenuri pentru a-şi putea continua nestingherite menirea lor duhovnicească, menire în care susţinerea neamului ocupă un loc principal.
Intrând în mănăstire apare alt factor de bază: conducerea (managementul) prin exemplul personal. Părinţii sunt promovaţi în ascultări pe baza aptitudinilor şi a randamentului şi pe plan material şi pe plan duhovnicesc iar nu pe baza altor criterii. Este vorba de o meritocraţie în Hristos având ca piesă centrală pe stareţ care este ales de întreaga obşte şi căruia după aceea toţi îi fac ascultare pentru Dumnezeu.
Un factor de asemenea foarte important, însă care nu este evident la prima vedere, este faptul că mănăstirile sunt de sine conduse. Nu există un episcop local superior, episcopul locului fiind Patriarhul Ecumenic. Însă datorită înlesnirilor făcute de Patriarhi şi Împăraţi nimeni nu se poate amesteca în conducerea mănăstirilor. Doar în condiţii foarte clare (de obicei extreme) poate cineva să intervină din afară – de obicei Exarhia Tronului. Lipsa unui amestec pripit a cuiva din afară care nu cunoaşte problemele Sfântului Munte este unul dintre marile binecuvântări ale Maicii Domnului pentru acest loc. Pentru exemple contrare vedeţi anumite ţări “independente” din diferite părţi ale lumii. Ocupaţia este ocupaţie, chiar dacă este mascată sub diferite forme.
Însă cel mai important factor este, bineînţeles, Hristos. Monahii se adună în numele lui Hristos şi nu în numele lui mamona. Sunt douăzeci de mănăstiri în Sf. Munte şi nu au avut niciodată problemele pe care le are, de exemplu, Uniunea Europeană astăzi. Şi asta pentru că Hristos uneşte în timp ce mamona desparte. Din cauza aceasta monahii au ca scop mai degrabă corectarea cu dragoste a erorilor şi îmbunătăţirea situaţiei în cooperare decât găsirea vinovatului sau / şi exploatarea celuilalt. Nu trebuie să guverneze patimile, ci Hristos.
Poate că din cele ce am scris cel puţin managerii şi oamenii politici vor avea ceva de învăţat. Biserica cea adevărată nu are nevoie de actualizare. Lumea politică are nevoie de actualizare.
Greek
Το Άγιον Όρος υπάρχει για τουλάχιστον 1.700 χρόνια, από την εποχή του Αγ. Κωνσταντίνου του Μέγα – όταν, σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία που έχουμε, η πρώτη μοναστική οικισμοί εμφανίστηκαν – μέχρι και σήμερα. Αλλά ποιοί είναι οι παράγοντες που έδωσαν αυτή τη μακροζωία; Φυσικά, είναι η ευλογία της Μητέρας του Θεού, που επέλεξε το Άγιο Όρος ως κληρονομιά της στη γη.
Φυσικά, θα μπορούσαμε να σταματήσουμε τη συζήτηση εδώ, αλλά προς όφελος της ψυχής μας θα αναλύσουμε τις κύριες αιτίες που εξασφάλισαν την ύπαρξη μέχρι και σήμερα ενός από τους παλαιότερους πνευματικούς πολιτισμούς του κόσμου…
Ένα από τα πρώτα στοιχεία που εντυπωσιάζουν τους προσκυνητές από τη στιγμή που φτάνουν στο Άγιον Όρος είναι η απουσία των γυναικών. Ο περιορισμός αυτός έχει πολύ παλιές ρίζες, γνωρίζουμε τουλάχιστον ένα θαύμα που η Μητέρα του Θεού μίλησε στην Αγία Πουλχερία την αυτοκράτειρα (V -. VI εκατό), που δείχνει πολύ καθαρά ότι δεν θέλει τις γυναίκες στο Άγιον Όρος . Η απαγόρευση των γυναικών να εισέλθουν στο Άγιο Όρος έχει ένα καθαρά ασκητικό χαρακτήρα, απόδειξη αυτού είναι το γεγονός ότι στο Άγιον Όρος η γυναίκα τιμάται όπως πουθενά αλλού για τα πιο σημαντικά χαρακτηριστικά της: τη μητρότητα και την παρθενία.
Ο δεύτερος παράγοντας που είναι προφανής είναι ότι οι μονές του Αγίου Όρους έχουν τις περιουσίες τους, τη γη τους. Το γεγονός είναι πολύ σημαντικό γιατί, όπως γνωρίζουμε από την ιστορία, στερώντας τους ανθρώπους από την άμεση πρόσβαση στα μέσα διαβίωσης (κυρίως τρόφιμα) ήταν και είναι, ένα από τα κύρια μέσα της υποδούλωσης. Βυζαντινοί αυτοκράτορες και αργότερα βοεβόδες της Ρουμανίας καθώς και τσάροι της Ρωσίας, γνωρίζοντας την τεράστια σημασία αυτού του παράγοντα, προίκισαν τα μοναστήρια με τον πλούτο και τα εδάφη, προκειμένου να είναι σε θέση να ασκούν ελεύθερα την πνευματική τους αποστολή, στην οποία η πρόοδος της χώρας διαδραματίζει έναν πολύ σημαντικό ρόλο.
Κατά την είσοδο στην εσωτερική ζωή ενός μοναστηριού μπορούμε να διακρίνουμε ένα άλλο βασικό παράγοντα: τη διαχείριση (ηγεσία). Οι μοναχοί προάγονται με κριτήρια που βασίζονται σε πνευματικό επίπεδο και τις δεξιότητές τους από τα μέρα με τη μέρα έργα τους και όχι με βάση άλλα κριτήρια. Είναι μια αξιοκρατία εν Χριστώ έχοντας ως πυρήνα τον ηγούμενο που εκλέγεται από το σύνολο της κοινότητας. Μετά από αυτές τις εκλογές το σύνολο της αδελφότητας τον υπακούν στο όνομα του Θεού.
Ένας πολύ σημαντικός παράγοντας, αλλά που δεν είναι προφανές εκ πρώτης όψεως, είναι ότι τα μοναστήρια είναι αυτοδιαχειριζόμενα. Δεν υπάρχει τοπικός επίσκοπος πάνω τους, εκτός από τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη. Από τα προνόμια που έδωσαν οι Πατριάρχες και Αυτοκράτορες κανείς δεν μπορεί να παρεμβαίνει στη διαχείριση των μοναστηριών. Μόνο σε πολύ ειδικές περιπτώσεις (συνήθως σε ακραίες καταστάσεις), μπορεί κανείς να παρέμβει από το εξωτερικό – και αυτό είναι συνήθως η Εξαρχία του Θρόνου. Η έλλειψη μιας βιαστικής ανάμειξης από κάποιον από το εξωτερικό που δεν γνωρίζει τα προβλήματα του Αγίου Όρους είναι μία από τις μεγαλύτερες ευλογίες της Μητέρας του Θεού, γι ‘αυτό το χώρο. Για αντίθετα παραδείγματα, ρίξτε μια ματιά σε διάφορα “ανεξάρτητα” κράτη από διάφορα μέρη του κόσμου. Η κατοχή είναι κατοχή, έστω και αν είναι μεταμφιεσμένη σε διάφορες μορφές.
Αλλά ο πιο σημαντικός παράγοντας είναι, φυσικά, ο Χριστός. Οι μοναχοί συγκεντρώνονται στο όνομα του Χριστού και όχι στο όνομα του πλούτου. Υπάρχουν είκοσι μοναστήρια στο Άγιο Όρος και δεν είχαν ποτέ τα προβλήματα που έχουμε, για παράδειγμα, στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση σήμερα. Και αυτό επειδή ο Χριστός ενώνει ενώ πλούτος χωρίζει. Γι ‘αυτό οι μοναχοί έχουν ως στόχο να διορθώνουν τα λάθη με αγάπη και βελτίωση της συνεργασίας και όχι με την εξεύρεση της ενοχής ή την εκμετάλλευση των άλλων. Δεν πρέπει να διέπονται από πάθη, αλλά από τον Χριστό.
Ίσως από τα πιο πάνω, οι διευθύνοντες και οι πολιτικοί να έχουν κάτι να μάθουν. Η αληθινή Εκκλησία δεν χρειάζεται ενημέρωση. Η πολιτική πρέπει να ενημερωθεί.
English
The Holy Mountain exists for at least 1,700 years, since St. Constantine the Great – when, according to data which we have, the first monastic settlements appeared – till today. But what are the factors that gave this longevity? Of course, it is the blessing of the Mother of God who chose Holy Mountain as her legacy on earth.
Of course, we could stop the discussion here, but for the benefit of our soul we’ll analyze the main causes which ensured the existence till today of the oldest spiritual civilization of the world.
One of the first factors that impress the pilgrims as soon as they arrive at the Holy Mountain is the absence of women. This restriction has very old roots, we know of at least one miracle in that the Mother of God spoke to St. Pulheria the Empress (V – VI cent.), showing her very clearly that She doesn’t want women in the Holy Mountain. The prohibition of women to enter in the Holy Mountain has a purely ascetic character, proof of this being the fact that in the Holy Mountain the woman is honored like nowhere else for her most important characteristics: motherhood and virginity.
The second factor which is quite evident is that the monasteries of the Holy Mountain have their properties, their land. The fact is very important because, as we know from history, depriving people from the direct access to the means of living (especially food) was and still is, one of the main means of enslavement. Byzantine emperors and later Romanian voevods as well as Tsars from Russia, knowing the extreme importance of this factor endowed the monasteries with wealth and lands in order to be able to pursue freely their spiritual mission, in which the nation’s progress plays a very important role.
Entering the internal life of a monastery we can distinguish another basic factor: the management (leadership) . The monks are promoted with criteria based on their spiritual level and skills in day-by-day works and not based on other criteria. It is a meritocracy in Christ having as core the abbot which is elected by the entire community. After this election the entire brotherhood obey him for God’s sake.
A very important factor, but one which isn’t obvious at first sight, is that the monasteries are self-managed. There is no local bishop above them, except the Ecumenical Patriarch. But because of the privileges given by the Patriarchs and Emperors no one can interfere in the management of monasteries. Only in very specific circumstances (usually in extreme cases) one can intervene from the outside – and this is usually the Exarchate of the Throne. The lack of a hasty intervention of someone from outside who doesn’t know the problems of the Holy Mountain is one of the greatest blessings of the Mother of God for this place. For opposite examples have a look at various “independent” countries from different parts of the world. Occupation is occupation, even if it is disguised in various forms.
But the most important factor is, of course, Christ. Monks gather in the name of Christ and not in the name of mammon. There are twenty monasteries in the Holy Mountain and they never had the problems that we have, for example, in the European Union today. And this is because Christ unites while mammon separates. That’s why monks have as purpose to lovingly correct the mistakes and improving the cooperation rather than finding the guilty and / or the exploitation of the others. It should not govern the passions but Christ.
Perhaps from the above, managers and politicians will have something to learn. The true Church does not need updating. Politics needs to be updated.
How the Holy Mountain resisted 1700 Years