The adoption of monastic tonsure is one of the mysterious rites in which a person accepts monasticism for life and for the rest of his life promises to fulfill certain vows. In return, the Lord rewards man with extraordinary grace, which you can immediately feel.
In the Orthodox religion, monasticism is divided into three different degrees, namely, the cassock, the mantle (small schema) and the schema (great schema). The rank of monastic tonsure in each case will have its own form and features.
Sheared in Riasofor
In order to receive tonsure in the Riasophore, certain prayers are read. Hair is sheared, and then a person receives a new name and no longer has the right to respond to the former. A person receives life from a pure face, but the rite is a kind of promise to the Lord that all vows will be kept. After that, a black mantle is put on a person , and he must constantly stay in dark monastic robes.
Stages of the ceremony
He tonsured Ryasophore was not a concept of monasticism. And this is completely logical, because the adoption of this rank does not imply the imposition of any vows. The adoption of the rank includes the rector reading several prayers in which he addresses the Lord with a specific request, namely, "to live worthily in an angelic life." Then there is hair cutting, as well as vestments in a cassock, these actions are not accompanied by certain prayers. After these actions are performed on a person, another specific prayer is read in which a petition for grace is expressed. At the end of the service, the monk will have to get acquainted with his spiritual parent, he is led by the abbot of the monastery with prayer. More significant and solemn is the service when taking a tonsure in a small schema.
Sheared into a small schema
The next stage is the initiation into the small schema, or into the mantle. There are also certain rules and vows. Ryasophor must take a vow of celibacy before God, as well as obedience and non-possession. Then the hair is cut, and the person again acquires a new name, which means that he has switched to another new stage in his life, now he will constantly be in grace. For all those who have seriously decided to associate their lives with the Lord and make monastic tonsure, the order is obligatory.
Secret Features
The service can be performed at the end of the liturgy. But in most cases, a separate service is assigned for such a tonsure to conduct all the honors. Initiation begins with a chant.
When a chant occurs, the cutter should be clothed in a long white shirt. At the same time, he needs to crawl from the threshold of the temple on his stomach to the center, while he cannot help himself with his feet. He should be accompanied by two senior monks who during the process will cover him with their robes. The process stops in the very center of the temple, the tonsured must lie face down while folding her arms crosswise. The abbot of the temple should address him with certain words glorifying the all-merciful Lord. At the end of these words, the abbot must touch the shearer, this is a certain sign that a person can stand up.
If we take into account the Syrian traditions, then in their language the monk is translated as a person who constantly cries. He can cry about himself, and more about the sinfulness of every person in this world.
In accordance with this idea of a monk, the following thoughts of Isaac exist:
“What other occupation can a monk have in his cell besides crying?” Can he find time for another thought besides crying? ”Staying a monk away from human joy, where he understands that his calling is crying. Even the very meaning of his name speaks of this, because his heart must be filled with bitterness. And all the saints went this way, settling in the world with weeping. That is why the monk’s eyes are always filled with tears, this is his joy and there is that same cry. If he is without him, then his heart hurts and suffers. But this cry is caused by a simple sight, when a mortified man lies before you with his sins, can this not cause pity? After all, the soul is killed, and this fate is unbearable.
After the tonsured gets to his feet, the rector of the temple is obliged to ask him a whole series of questions to clarify why he is here, what he needs and the like. He requires a clear and truthful answer to his questions. The cutter must pronounce all his words clearly and confidently. After the abbot has received all the answers, he should remind that now all the saints, led by the Lord, are present here, and it is they who listen to the spoken words. Further, the rector of the temple is obliged to ask a whole series of questions, these questions speak about the honesty, readiness and truthfulness of the words spoken, the person has the last chance to refuse. The abbot must be firmly convinced of the voluntariness of the action, because a person must make such a decision on his own. Such a lengthy conversation is necessary in order for a person to come to this not by someone’s will, because in history there are such cases when the tonsure was forced. Such cases are a gross violation, they completely ruin the whole idea, and are also a serious sin in relation to the neighbor.
Sheared the Great Schema
The process of tonsuring the great schema is quite similar to other tonsures, but it has a difference. First of all, the service has a more solemn character and its own special rigor.
Only a priest-monk has the right to perform a tonsure service, other holy fathers do not have this right. But before holding the ceremony, it is necessary to receive a blessing from the bishop.
Monastic tonsure in a convent is performed by Mother Superior, but with prior blessing.
Preparing for a monastic tonsure
It is impossible to take monastic tonsure due to some kind of trend of feelings. This service has a certain time and a number of necessary actions. The current church ordinance prescribes certain degrees, which ultimately lead to monastic tonsure. These steps are cooperation, obedience, and monasticism. After going through these stages, a person can think about taking a tonsure.
What is a “worker"?
The word "worker" appeared already in modern Christianity; before it was not used. A worker is a person who voluntarily visits a monastery and works there for the good. As you know, help at the monastery is always needed, and the believer does a very right and good deed. It can even be a family man who comes for a certain time, and then starts his worldly affairs again. Some come here on vacation. Such a visit does not mean that a person is going to become a monk, because he may have children and other circumstances. But such actions are called labor for good, so a person takes with him a certain grace that will help him survive in a cruel world. But the worker can also stay here on an ongoing basis. That is, a person will begin to prepare himself already for monasticism, that is, he must work not only physically, but also mentally. And after some time, such a worker can be transferred to a different status, and he will continue to work on himself.
It often happens that a worker and a novice carry the same responsibilities, perhaps even together they carry out a certain kind of assignment. But despite such close cooperation, so to speak, these two classes have a huge difference. The worker is the most ordinary worldly person. Yes, he came to the monastery to help. And, of course, in the future he may become a monk or more, but at the moment he is considered a guest of the monastery and nothing more. But the novice is already one of the members of the monastery community, he, so to speak, has his own right to vote and lives on general terms with everyone, but he has a certain probationary period, which must be passed with dignity. According to the monks, cooperation is not always a mandatory stage, it is the prerogative of worldly people who simply want to help the monastery. If a person has definitely decided that he will devote his life to serving God, then he can already begin with obedience.
Female monastic tonsure has the same effect. The rite is performed either in a nunnery or in a female community.
Obedience
There are also several forms for obedience. Everything is simple here: either a person wears a robe or not. An ordinary novice should walk in worldly clothes, but at the same time she should hide her body and be dark in shades. In the second case, you can wear a cassock, but a person should already be tonsured, and then he will already belong to the class of cassock. This rite of monastic tonsure is one of the types of obedience, because a person does not take vows, therefore, with a new name, it is necessary to prepare for the next stage. Surprisingly, this type of obedience is given modest attention in the Orthodox documentation. Therefore, many of their rights and obligations are not entirely understood. It is clearly stated that the abandonment of the monastery is no longer possible, and will be a canonical crime. Based on this rule, it turns out that a person still takes on some promises and responsibilities. So, for example, for someone who has done monastic tonsure, to leave the walls of the monastery and go into worldly life is a grave sin. But sometimes not everyone agrees with such formulations. Nevertheless, it is necessary to observe them if a person really wants to approach God.
Thus, if a novice is not sure that he is ready to remain within the walls of the monastery forever, then he needs to think very well about accepting a new rank and, perhaps, for a while to be an ordinary novice. After all, a novice can leave the walls of the monastery at any time, and at the same time, sin will not be blamed on his soul, there is no need to rush into decisions. Is the follow-up of monastic tonsure so important?
Rite history
If we take into account modern rules, then among the monastic tonsure there are also three stages, namely the ryasophore, the small schema (mantle) and the great schema. All these three ranks came to Orthodoxy from Byzantine practice. It often happens that they are simply circumvented in the Riasophore, and the ordinary novice immediately takes the tonsure of the mantle. If you turn your attention to the monastery of Mount Athos, then there are also peculiarities here, for example, tonsure in the mantle is not performed here, it simply does not exist, but there is a tonsure in the great schema. But in the Russian Church, tonsure in the great schema is a rather rare occurrence. As you know, this rank is received only by monks, most often they are already in old age and, possibly, even have serious health problems.
If you dig deeper into history, you can understand that initially there was absolutely no division into any degrees or ranks. It was possible to take monasticism with the help of a certain act, this decision was made once and for a lifetime. And such a long time to think and try to live a monastic life was not provided. But in the 9th century the very division into small and great schemas appeared. The first mention of this custom was found in the writings of Theodore Studite, while this innovation provoked indignation, thus, it was said: “Do not give the so-called small schema, and then the great one, for one image is like baptism, as it was in custom with holy fathers. " But such a rule spread throughout Russia very quickly, and many began to use it precisely, conducting tonsure rituals. The mention of this new rule was noticed by the Monk Theodosius of the Caves, and he wrote his story from the words of Nestor the Chronicler.
During the life of Theodosius, such a rule was already widespread, all the above ranks existed and, of course, tonsure services were conducted. But in those days, for example, the great schema was not considered a special rank; every monk could achieve it if he wanted to. Therefore, with a certain spiritual growth, the monk was bestowed with this title. But already in the 12th century, the attitude to this rank was somewhat changed, it was considered that it was quite honorable, and not everyone deserved initiation, therefore the tonsure was intended only for the weak and sick monks.
How to congratulate a tonsure?
Congratulations on monastic tonsure can be of a free nature. Usually, a person is desired to receive the special mercy of the Lord. Also, when a new name is called, the story of that saint in whose honor a person was named can be told. Solemn prayers are said. You can congratulate yourself in your own words.
A special stage in the life of every novice is monastic tonsure. The photos of this mystery, its stages indicate that a person, giving up numerous worldly goods, receives much more - love for the Lord and his inexhaustible grace.