Sant'Arsenio il Grande. Affresco al monte Athos, XIV c.
Saint
Arsène le Grand. Fresque de Protaton, Mont Athos
Saint Arsène
Anachorète dans le désert
de Scété (+449)
Il appartenait à une
famille sénatoriale de Rome. Il fut ordonné diacre par saint Damase,
puis vécut pendant une cinquantaine d'années dans le désert de Scété en Égypte.
Gratifié du don des larmes, on lui attribue les grands principes de la vie
"hésychaste."
Près de Scété, montagne d'Égypte, au IVe ou Ve siècle, saint Arsène. Diacre,
dit-on, de l'Église romaine, il se retira dans la solitude au temps de
l'empereur Théodose, s'y montra parfait en toutes les vertus et, les yeux
baignés de larmes, rendit son âme à Dieu.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1532/Saint-Arsene.html
Les Pères du désert. Paroles des Pères, Éditions Première Partie, 2014 (Extraits)
-Arsène, vivant encore au palais, pria Dieu en ses termes : « Seigneur, conduis-moi sur la voie du salut. « Et une voix vint lui dire : « Arsène, fuis les hommes et tu seras sauvé. » Arsène s'étant retiré dans la vie solitaire, fit à nouveau la même prière, et il entendit une voix lui dire : « Arsène, fuis, tais-toi, garde le recueillement : ce sont là les racines de l'impeccabilité. »
- On disait d'Arsène et de Théodore de Phenné que par-dessus tout ils haïssaient l'estime des hommes. Arsène ne rencontrait pas facilement quelqu'un, tandis que Théodore, quand il rencontrait les autres, était comme un glaive.
- Le bienheureux archevêque Théophile vint un jour , accompagné d'un notable, trouver abba Arsène. Il interrogea le vieillard pour entendre de lui une parole. Après un court silence, le vieillard lui répondit : « Ce que je vous dirai, le mettrez-vous en pratique ? » Ils le lui promirent. Alors le vieillard leur dit : « Là où vous apprenez que se trouve Arsène, n'approchez pas. »
- Marc dit à Arsène : « Pourquoi nous fuis-tu ? » Le vieillard lui dit : « Dieu sait que je vous aime, mais je ne puis vivre avec Dieu et avec les hommes. Les chiliades et les myriades célestes n'ont qu'une seule volonté, tandis que les hommes en ont beaucoup. Je ne eux donc abandonner Dieu pour venir avec les hommes. »
- Une fois, à Scété, Arsène, malade, eut besoin de pain et de froment. N'ayant pas de quoi en acheter, il en reçut de quelqu'un en aumône, et il dit : « Je te rends grâce, Seigneur, de m'avoir jugé digne de recevoir la charité en ton nom. »
- Daniel dit : Arsène nous raconta comme s'il s'agissait d'un autre - mais il s'agissait bien de lui - le fait suivant. À un veillard assis dans sa cellule, une voix vint dire : « Viens et je te montrerai les oeuvres des hommes. » Il se leva et partit. La voix le conduisit dans un lieu quelconque et lui montra un Éthiopien coupant du bois et en faisant un grand tas. Il s'efforçait, mais en vain, de le porter. Et au lieu d'en retirer, il coupa encore du bois qu'il rajouta au tas. Ainsi fit-il pendant longtemps. S'étant avancé encore un eu, on montra au vieillard un homme se tenant au bord d'un lac, puisant de l'eau et la transvasant dans un récipient percé, si bien que l'eau retombait dans le lac. puis la voix dit au vieillard : « Viens, que je te montre autre chose. » Il vit un temple et deux hommes à cheval, portant un bois en travers, l'un à côté de l'autre. Ils voulaient entrer par la porte, mais ne le pouvaient, parce que leur bois était de travers. Et aucun ne s'effaçait devant l'autre pour porter le bois droit : aussi restaient-ils à l'extérieur de la porte. La voix dit au vieillard : » Ces homes portent le joug de la justice avec orgueil, et ne s'humilient pas pour se corriger et marcher sur l'humble route du Christ ; aussi restent-ils en dehors du royaume de Dieu. L'homme qui coupe du bois est celui qui vit dans de nombreux péchés : au lieu de se repentir, il ajoute d'autres fautes à ses péchés. Et celui qui puise l'eau, c'est l'homme qui fait de bonnes actions, mais, les mêlant à des mauvaises, il gâche même ses bonnes oeuvres. Il faut donc que tout homme prenne garde à ses actes pour ne pas travailler en vain. »
- Des vieillards virent un jour chez Arsène et insistèrent pour le rencontrer. Il leur ouvrit. Ils lui demandèrent alors de leur dire un mot de ceux qui vivent dans le recueillement sans rencontrer personne. Le vieillard leur dit : « Aussi longtemps que la jeune fille demeure dans la maison de son père, beaucoup de jeunes gens veulent l'épouser, mais lorsqu'elle a pris mari, elle ne plaît plus à tous : méprisée par les uns, vantée par les autres, elle ne jouit plus de l'estime d'autrefois, lorsqu'elle vivait cachée. Ainsi en est-il de l'âme : à partir du jour où on la montre à tout le monde, elle ne peut plus satisfaire tout le monde. »
- Un frère interrogea Arsène pour entendre de lui une parole, et le vieillard lui dit : « Autant que tu le peux, fais effort pour que ton occupation intérieure soit selon Dieu, et tu vaincras les passions extérieures. »
- On disait que, toute sa vie durant, Arsène mit un linge sur sa poitrine quand il était assis pour travailler, à cause des larmes qui coulaient de ses yeux. Et Poemen apprenant sa mort dit en pleurant : « Bienheureux es-tu, Arsène, car tu as pleuré sur toi en ce monde ! Car celui qui ne pleure pas sur lui-même ici-bas pleurera éternellement là-bas : ainsi, de plein gré ici ou là-bas sous la contrainte de la souffrance, il est impossible de ne pas pleurer. »
ARSÈNE saint (354 env.-env. 455)
Moine d'Égypte né
vers 354 à Rome et mort vers 455 à Toura dans le désert de Scété, saint Arsène
aussi appelé Arsenius le Romain, est réputé pour son ascétisme parmi les
ermites chrétiens du désert de Libye. Ainsi compté au nombre des fameux Pères
du désert, il servit de modèle au développement de la vie monastique
et contemplative dans la chrétienté d'Orient comme d'Occident. Saint Arsène est
honoré par l'Église
orthodoxe grecque et l'Église syro-maronite (une des Églises
catholiques d'Orient). Il est fêté le 19 juillet.
Né dans une famille
sénatoriale de Rome, Arsène est probablement ordonné diacre par le pape
Damase Ier (366-384). Sur la recommandation du souverain pontife, il
est appelé vers 383 à la cour de l'empereur Théodose Ier le Grand
(379-395), à Constantinople, pour y devenir le précepteur de ses fils, Arcadius
et Honorius. Onze ans plus tard, Arsène se retire pour mener une vie
d'anachorète sur le mont Scété dans le désert de Libye. Peu de temps après, il
est forcé de fuir à Toura, près de l'ancienne Memphis en Égypte, pour échapper
aux incursions dévastatrices de tribus libyennes barbares, qu'il compare aux
Goths et aux Huns qui ravagèrent Rome. Après une odyssée d'une quinzaine
d'années à travers les étendues sauvages de l'Égypte, il finit sa vie dans le
désert de Scété. On dit que celle-ci dura plus de cent ans. Sa silhouette
haute et émaciée, décrite par son biographe et disciple, Daniel, conforte sa réputation
d'ascète. Les historiens byzantins et les écrits monastiques lui attribuent
plusieurs maximes et sentences, dont une bonne partie se trouve consignée dans
l'anthologie du Ve siècle des apophtegmes des Pères du désert (Apophthegmata
patrum). Parmi ses œuvres principales, se trouve le Didaskalia kai
parainesis (« Enseignement et sermon »), un guide à l'intention
des moines qui atteste, selon les historiens spécialistes du VIe siècle,
de sa condition d'abbé ou
de chef spirituel d'une communauté religieuse. Ses commentaires de l'Évangile
selon saint Luc, Eis ton peirasten nomikon (« De la tentation de
la loi »), constituent de fait un traité sur l'ascétisme et la vie
contemplative. Ces textes sont rassemblés dans la collection patristique Patrologia
Graeca, vol. 65-66 (1857-1866), éditée par l'abbé Migne.
— Universalis
« ARSÈNE saint
(354 env.-env. 455) », Encyclopædia Universalis [en ligne],
consulté le 9 mai 2020. URL : http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/arsene/
V. L'HÉSYCHASME
Après avoir expliqué ce qui peut nous étonner dans la lecture des apophtegmes et
montré leur pédagogie, il reste à parler d'une chose très importante de la
spiritualité des Pères du désert qui a eu une grande influence sur la
postérité, surtout dans l'église grecque : l'hésychasme. C'est comme le coeur
de la doctrine spirituelle des apophtegmes.
Pour les Pères du désert,
la perfection de l'homme se trouve dans la charité qui s'épanouit dans une
prière qui doit tendre à devenir continuelle. Pour arriver à ce but, ils
pensent qu'il faut l'hésychia, la tranquillité qui vient d'un retrait complet
du monde. Cette tranquillité ne veut pas dire recherche du moindre effort. Au
contraire, elle suppose l'ascèse, elle en est l'aboutissement. L'hésychia n'est
pas un but en soi : le but, c'est la charité : l'hésychia est un moyen
d'arriver à ce but, c'est une disposition qui favorise l'épanouissement de la
charité.
L'hésychasme est le mode
de vie centré sur la recherche de l'hésychia. On distinguera deux formes
d'hésychasme : l'une extérieure, l'autre intérieure
1) Hésychasme extérieur.
On peut être étonné, à la
lecture des apophtegmes, de voir l'importance donnée à l'hésychia extérieure,
au détriment parfois de la charité. Chez certains Pères, on a l'impression que
solitude complète et repos se confondent, comme si l'on n'avait aucun espoir de
tranquillité et de prière en compagnie des autres hommes ; et comme si la
solitude procurait par elle-même cette tranquillité. Les mots hésychia et
anachorèse, ou bien hésychia et désert, sont mis l'un pour l'autre. Ce n'est
que progressivement qu'on en arrivera à distinguer l'hésychia extérieure et
l'hésychia intérieure.
C'est cette confusion, ce mélange des deux qu'il faut saisir pour interpréter certains apophtegmes, ceux d'Arsène en particulier. Arsène est le modèle des hésychastes. On nous raconte la vocation de ce haut dignitaire de la cour de Constantinople (Texte 41). "Fuis, tais-toi, demeure en repos", ce sera la devise des hésychastes, leur programme. Ce programme Arsène fut le premier à le réaliser. Il habitait une cellule perdue en plein désert de Scété dont il ne sortait pas souvent. Cette solitude, il la défendait farouchement Ainsi reçut-il avec tant de rudesse une riche dame venue de Rome exprès pour le voir, qu'elle en fut malade comme le raconte l'apophtegme 28 de la série alphabétique. Il défend aussi sa solitude contre les évêques (Texte 42). Il la défend même contre ses frères (Texte 43) Mais un autre apophtegme d'Arsène nous montre tout de même que cette hésychia extérieure est orientée vers l'hésychia intérieure (Texte 44).
2) Hésychasme intérieur.
Ce retrait du monde d'Arsène peut à juste titre nous sembler excessif, proche
de la vie retirée de certains philosophes païens comme Diogène qui disait à un
grand personnage venu le visiter alors qu'il vivait retiré dans un tonneau :
"Ote-toi de mon soleil ! ". Pourtant le dernier texte commence à nous
montrer qu'il a pour but la paix du coeur. D'autres textes nous prouvent mieux
qu'il s'agit d'un retrait du monde pour et dans le Christ. Ainsi cet apophtegme
d'Antoine (Texte 45). Ici nous voyons mieux que l'hésychasme extérieur, la
cellule, est orienté vers l'hésychasme intérieur. Celui-ci doit déboucher sur
l'humilité, la crainte de Dieu, le penthos et une charité sincère envers tous.
A travers les
apophtegmes, on peut découvrir trois caractères qui vont acheminer l'hésychaste
vers ce à quoi il tend : la prière continuelle. Ce sont l'amérimna,
c'est-à-dire la fuite du souci, la nepsis, ou vigilance, la cruptè
mélétè c'est-à-dire l'exercice de la prière. Nous allons voir de quoi il
s'agit dans ces quatre termes.
A) La fuite du souci =
"amerimna".
Pour trouver l'hésychia,
il faut donc fuir le bruit et l'agitation de la cité des hommes, mais plus
encore la dissipation d'un coeur qui, malgré la solitude extérieure, reste
agité, troublé, tiraillé par ses attachements, ses préoccupations, ses propres
pensées. La première préoccupation de l'hésychaste est d'être "sans
souci" (a privatif + merimna = "souci") .
Qu'est-ce à dire ?
Cela ne veut pas dire
qu'on se moque de tout, que l'on se laisse aller à négliger ce qui a trait à
Dieu et à son propre salut. Cela, c'est l'acédie, qui est à la source de la
mauvaise tristesse.
Cela ne veut pas dire
qu'on va mener une vie oisive, éliminant tout travail dans le but de prier.
Cela, des moines qu'on appela "priants" le firent, et l'on verra par
la suite abba Lucius leur faire la leçon.
Cela ne veut pas dire ne
pas se soucier du bien de ses frères.
Il s'agit au contraire de
la vertu de confiance filiale que Jésus nous recommande dans l'Evangile, qui
consiste à éliminer les soucis de la vie présente, les soucis des choses
temporelles concernant notre vie, pour s'en remettre à notre Père des
cieux (Texte 46).
Cette exigence d'être sans
souci va se retrouver aussi chez saint Basile, et plus tard, saint Jean
Climaque expliquera que les soucis s'appellent les uns les autres, et que si on
leur laisse la porte ouverte, on perd la paix de l'âme. Il dira même que l'on
ne doit pas seulement ne pas s'occuper des soucis raisonnables, mais de plus
laisser tomber aussi les pensées pour établir son âme dans le silence
intérieur. Pour cela il dira qu'il faut placer ses pensées à côté de soi, ne
pas vouloir les chasser à toute force, ce qui risque de faire mal à la tête,
mais ne pas s'en occuper, les mettre "au porte-manteau", pour
s'établir dans le calme intérieur. Ici on rejoint le "Tais-toi" que
la voix dit à Arsène au texte 41.
B) La vigilance = Nepsis.
Au texte 45, Antoine recommandait de rester dans sa cellule pour garder sa "vigilance intérieure". Cela, c'est la nepsis, attitude d'une âme bien éveillée, présente à elle-même et à Dieu. C'est l'attention à Dieu, la garde du coeur que nous avons déjà rencontrée chez Origène à propos du combat spirituel (Texte 47). Un autre apophtegme de Poemen lie la vigilance et la fuite du souci (Texte 48).
C) L'exercice de la prière = Cruptè Mélétè.
Amérimna et nepsis sont des attitudes plutôt négatives, ayant
pour but de protéger l'âme. Voici du plus positif, la mélétè, qui va préparer
plus directement l'âme à la prière continuelle.
Ce mot mélétè qui
est traduit en latin par meditari, veut dire plus que le français
"méditer". Il a aussi le sens d'"exercice". Il s'agit dans
la mélétè d'une méditation à haute voix qui a pour but de préparer
l'âme à la prière : c'est un exercice de prière : on répète des paroles brèves
que l'on veut faire pénétrer dans l'âme, de façon à créer des réflexes de
prière. Les gens de cette époque avaient l'habitude de parler à voix haute ou
basse avec soi-même. On a vu que chez les pacômiens, les moines se répétaient à
eux-mêmes des versets de la Bible quand ils allaient au travail, à l'office, au
réfectoire, etc . . . Les anachorètes de Basse-Egypte, eux, étaient seuls et ne
risquaient pas de gêner les autres en parlant à haute voix (Texte 49). On
connaît quelques-unes de ces mélétai. Ainsi l'abbé Sisoès se répète un
texte de son invention (Texte 50). On connaît aussi la prière de Macaire
qui avait commis un crime affreux, avant de venir à Scété : "J'ai péché
comme un homme, Toi aie pitié de moi, comme Dieu ! " Mais en général, les
Pères cachaient leur mélétè par humilité : cruptè mélétè veut
dire "exercice de prière caché".
D'après le peu que nous
en savons, ces mélété peuvent se ramener à deux sortes : la prière
"auxiliatrice", où l'on demande aide ou protection, et la prière
"catanyctique" (ce qui veut dire "qui pique"), qui est de
nature à exciter le penthos, les larmes, le deuil, la sainte tristesse. Un
apophtegme de Macaire nous donne un exemple de ces deux sortes de mélétè
(Texte 51) .
Plus tard, on appellera
ces prières : "oraisons jaculatoires" d'un mot latin qui signifie
"javelot", d'après une phrase de saint Augustin dans une de ses
lettres : "On dit qu'en Egypte, les frères ont des prières fréquentes,
mais très brèves et comme rapidement lancées comme des flèches" (Lettre
à Proba : L. 130, 10, 20) . En Orient, on les appellera "prières
monologistes", ce qui veut dire "d'une seule parole" ou
"d'une seule pensée". Ce sont des prières courtes oû une seule parole
traduit une seule pensée.
Ceci a donné naissance à la "Prière de Jésus".
D) La prière continuelle.
Amérimna, nepsis,
mélétè, doivent conduire à la prière continuelle. La phrase de saint Paul
: "Il faut toujours prier et ne jamais cesser" a de tout temps
interpellé les moines. Ils ont cherché à y répondre. Si telle a été leur
préoccupation, c'est d'abord qu'ils savent par expérience que la prière n'est
pas facile (Texte 52). Ils sont conscients que c'est un combat. De plus,
ils sont réalistes et savent que l'homme n'est pas un ange, qu'il a un corps,
et que ce corps, il faut le nourrir. L'homme doit travailler pour vivre. Aussi
les voit-on faire la leçon à ceux qui, comme ceux qu'on appelait
"euchites", c'est-à-dire "priants", prennent à la lettre le
précepte de l'Apôtre, et prétendent prier continuellement, ce qui, dans leur
idée, les dispensait de travailler de leurs mains (Textes 53 et 54).
Par ailleurs, leur
expérience leur avait appris l'utilité du travail manuel :
Il leur assurait d'abord
une totale indépendance ; ce qui leur permettait à l'occasion de dire leurs
vérités aux pécheurs, quels qu'ils soient, et de ne pas flatter les riches.
Il leur permettait aussi
de partager avec ceux qui étaient dans le besoin.
Et surtout, c'était pour
eux, avec la prière, le grand remède contre l'acédie qui pousse à la paresse.
Ainsi, Jean le Petit, à
qui on demandait un jour : "Qu'est-ce qu'un moine ? ", répondit :
"Peine, labeur ! " Il entendait par là le labeur de l'ascèse, mais
aussi le travail manuel. En témoigne cet autre apophtegme : "On demanda un
jour à un ancien : 'Que faut-il faire pour être sauvé ? '. Or le vieillard
travaillait à tresser des roseaux. Sans cesser son travail et sans même lever
la tête, il répondit : "Tu le vois ! ".
Le problème était alors
de concilier ce travail manuel si important et la prière
continuelle à laquelle tendaient ces ascètes.
Certains petits malins
avaient trouvé le truc pour prier sans cesse (Texte 55). Mais cette
solution un peu naïve ne satisfait pas tout le monde. D'autres apophtegmes nous
mettent sur la véritable piste (Textes 56 et 57). Ce qui veut dire qu'à
côté des mots, il y a une prière du coeur, une orientation du coeur vers Dieu,
qui peut être sans paroles . En multipliant les mélétai, exercices de la
prière, ces moines arrivent à une prière simple, à une prière du coeur. Le
coeur, alors, veille. Dans le même sens, saint Basile distinguera "les
prières" et "la prière". Les prières méritent la grâce de la
prière. Cette grâce de la prière continuelle, c'est donc quand la charité est
établie à demeure dans le coeur. C'est en ce sens qu'on doit entendre de petits
apophtegmes qui pour être courts n'en sont pas moins nets (Texte 58) .
Frère Luc Brésard, Abbaye
Notre-Dame de Cîteaux. Histoire de la spiritualité monastique
SOURCE : http://users.skynet.be/am012324/studium/bresard/Apopht06.htm
L’hésychasme
Dans la spiritualité de
l'Église orthodoxe, l’hésychasme est une méthode ascétique et mystique.
L'ermite grec pratiquant
cette méthode était appelé hésychaste ou hésychiaste du grec hêsuchiastês (qui
cherche le repos ; de hèsuchia = repos, issu de hèsuchos =
qui est en repos, littéralement qui reste assis).
Par moquerie, il était
aussi surnommé omphalopsyque (celui qui a son âme dans le nombril)
car il priait la tête penchée sur la poitrine.
L’hésychaste utilise
l'invocation répétée du nom de Jésus sur
le rythme de la respiration et, finalement, celui du cœur : « Seigneur
Jésus Christ, Fils de Dieu, aie pitié de moi, pécheur ! ». D'où le nom de
prière de Jésus ou prière du cœur donné à cette méthode, semblable à certaines
méthodes orientales (dhikr musulman, japa-yoga hindou, nembutsu japonais).
Le chapelet byzantin
(tchotki russe, komboskini grec ou matanii roumain) est utilisé par les
orthodoxes et les catholiques orientaux. Confectionné en laine, il est composé
de 30, 33 ou 100 nœuds sur chacun desquels on récite la prière du nom de Jésus.
Chronologie historique
L'hésychasme est attesté
dès les origines du monachisme (IIIe et IVe siècles),
On attribue à saint Arsène,
anachorète dans le désert de Scété en Egypte (+ 449), les grands principes de
la vie hésychaste.
« Aussi, très
pédagogiquement, le Christ dit à Arsène : « Reste tranquille ! », ce qui en
grec se dit hésuchasé ! Cette pratique est à l'origine de l'hésychasme, courant
monastique de solitude qui, en réalité se confond avec les origines mêmes du
monachisme oriental. Ce fondement se retrouve dans toute vie et recherche
authentique de Dieu, en Orient comme en Occident. Il ne peut y avoir de vie
monastique, de vie de solitude ou de vie de relation authentique à Dieu sans
cette ascèse de la disponibilité à son œuvre créatrice en nous, sans rester
tranquille sous sa main puissante » 1.
L'hésychasme s'affirme au
Sinaï avec Jean Climaque (+ 605). A vingt ans, celui-ci se fait
ermite près du monastère de Sainte-Catherine dont il devient le supérieur après
quarante ans de vie érémitique. Son surnom lui vient de la plus célèbre de ses
oeuvres, l'Echelle (Klimax en grec), un traité de vie spirituelle
dans lequel il décrit le cheminement du moine de la renonciation au monde
à la perfection de l'amour, qui se réalise en trente échelons de cette
échelle :
"Le vrai solitaire
s'efforce de tenir renfermée et comme en prison dans son propre corps la
substance incorporelle de son âme — suprême paradoxe." (L'Echelle sainte,
degré 27.7)
"Ayez soin de vous
tenir sur la partie la plus élevée de vous-même pour voir comment, quand, et
d'où viennent les voleurs qui désirent ravager la vigne spirituelle de votre
âme, et pour connaître combien ils sont nombreux. Une âme fatiguée des
exercices de piété saura bien se rétablir et vaquer à la prière, et puis après
reprendre ses exercices spirituels avec une ardeur toute nouvelle." (L'Echelle
sainte degré 27.23-24)
"Quand tu pries, ne
recherche pas de mots compliqués, car le bégaiement, simple et sans variété,
des enfants a souvent touché leur Père des cieux. Ne cherche pas à beaucoup
parler quand tu pries, de peur que ton esprit ne se distraie à chercher les mots.
Un seul mot du publicain apaisa Dieu et un seul cri de foi sauva le larron."
(Jean Climaque, Echelle, degré 28)
Hésychius (VIIe/VIIIe
s), disciple de Jean Climaque et higoumène du monastère de Batos (au Sinaï),
écrit deux Centuries Sur la sobriété et la vertu.
Les hésychastes se
livrent à la vie contemplative, et la gloire céleste est le sujet de leurs
méditations.
Ils font des efforts
incroyables pour s'élever au-dessus des impressions des sens, et ils arrivent,
par une tension extrême de toutes leurs facultés, à un état d'hallucination où
ils croient percevoir une lumière céleste, émanation de la gloire des
bienheureux.
Ils s'imaginent recevoir
un avant-goût des béatitudes célestes en voyant une lumière éclatante qui, pour
eux, n'est autre qu'une émanation de la substance divine, une lumière incréée,
celle que les apôtres ont vue sur le Thabor, à la transfiguration de
Jésus-Christ.
Comme ils prient en
penchant la tête sur leur poitrine pendant un temps prolongé (d’où leur surnom
de contemplateurs du nombril), cet éblouissement peut être causé par
l'afflux du sang vers le cerveau.
L’hésychasme fait grand
bruit à Constantinople et excite l'enthousiasme de la foule ignorante et
crédule.
Il cause de nombreuses
disputes, donne lieu à des assemblées d'évêques, à des censures, à des livres
qui sont écrits, pour ou contre.
Les hésychastes ont
d'abord pour adversaire l'abbé Barlaam, natif de la Calabre, moine de
Saint-Basile et depuis évêque de Gierace.
En visitant les
monastères du mont Athos où ces mystiques bizarres sont en fort grand nombre,
il condamne cette folie, traite les moines de fanatiques et les censure
vivement.
Mais Grégoire
Palamas (+ 1360), autre moine et archevêque de Thessalonique, prend leur
défense et fait condamner Barlaam dans un concile de Constantinople en 1341.
Grégoire Palamas compose
les Triades pour la défense des saints hésychastes.
Dieu, d'après Palamas,
habite dans une lumière éternelle distincte de son essence ; les apôtres virent
cette lumière sur le Thabor, et toutes les créatures qui en sont dignes peuvent
en recevoir une portion.
La doctrine palamite,
distinguant en Dieu l'essence et le participable (les énergies), est un point
de théologie encore discuté par les Eglises d'Orient et d'Occident.
Un autre moine, Grégoire
Acyndinus, combat l'opinion de Palamas et vient à l'appui de Barlaam.
Il soutient que les
attributs de la divinité n'étant point distincts de son essence, nulle créature
ne peut en recevoir quelque portion sans participer à l'essence divine.
Acyndinus est condamné, aussi bien que Barlaam, par un nouveau concile, tenu à
Constantinople eu 1351. Les hésychastes sont alors laissés en paix mais ils ne
font pas de nombreux prosélytes et restent isolés dans leurs monastères de
l’Athos.
Grégoire le
Sinaïte (+ 1346), dont les écrits spirituels forment une partie
fondamentale de la Philocalie, est considéré comme un des pères du
mouvement hésychaste.
Nicolas Cabasilas (+
1397), qui compose deux livres majeurs, L’interprétation de la sainte
Liturgie et une Vie de Jésus, rappelle que la déification et l’union
au Christ constitue le but de la vie spirituelle de tout chrétien,
transfigurant ainsi la culture humaniste de son temps pour se faire le docteur
de l’hésychasme sacramentel.
Nil de La Sora ou Nil
Sorski (+ 1508) propage en Russie la grande tradition de l’hésychasme.
Originaire de Moscou, il
se fait moine au monastère Saint Cyrille du Lac-Blanc, puis il part en
pèlerinage jusqu’à Constantinople, de monastère en monastère et vit même au
Mont Athos où il apprend le grec et médite en profondeur les écrits des Pères
sur la garde de l’intellect et la prière du coeur.
Il revient au Lac Blanc
avec le projet d’y introduire le mode de vie des skites.
Humble et menant une vie
ascétique, il rédige un Typikon sur les modes de vie des moines, en
particulier la suppression de leurs grandes propriétés, malgré l’opposition de
Joseph de Volokolamsk.
Evitant toute querelle,
il se retire dans l’hésycha, se réconcilie avec Joseph et s’endort en paix dans
son skite de la Sora. 2
Innocent de
Vologda (+ 1521), originaire de Moscou, est le premier disciple de Nil
Sorski et voyage avec lui à Constantinople et au Mont Athos. Il rédige
une Introduction aux écrits de saint Nil avec cette phrase de bon
sens : "La purification du coeur se réalise plus par la vigilance et la
prière intérieure que par les prescriptions extérieures et l'ascèse corporelle." 3
Nicodème
l'Hagiorite (1748-1809) est le rénovateur de la tradition hésychaste. Né à
Naxos, il fait ses études à Smyrne. Il se lie au
métropolite Macaire de Corinthe qui soutient les moines rénovateurs
du mont Athos. Nicodème les rejoint en 1775 et reçoit le surnom d'Hagiorite (de
la sainte montagne).
Il participe avec Macaire
à la mise au point de la Philocalie, une anthologie de textes sur la
prière (1777/1782), et travaille sur l'œuvre de Grégoire Palamas, chef de file
de l'école hésychaste, à l’aide des manuscrits des monastères de l'Athos.
Il évoque lui-même les
principes de la tradition hésychaste dans son traité La Garde des cinq
sens, de l'imagination, de l'esprit et du cœur.
Il meurt le 14 juillet
1809. Le patriarche Athênagoras Ier le canonisera en 1955.
Silouane (+ 1938)
est un saint très moderne, très proche de nous, et essentiel pour connaître la
spiritualité chrétienne orientale. Né en Russie, il est devenu moine au mont
Athos et s'est inscrit dans la tradition des Pères du Désert et de la Philocalie 5.
Avec l’extension de
l’orthodoxie, la prière de Jésus se répand aujourd’hui, en Occident.
A noter qu'en Occident,
les Jésuates de Saint Jérôme (Ordre fondé par Jean Colombino de
Sienne et approuvé par Urbain
V en 1367) étaient ainsi nommés parce qu'ils répétaient sans cesse le
nom de Jésus et qu'ils avaient pris Jérôme
de Stridon pour leur protecteur. Ils distribuaient gratuitement aux
pauvres malades des médicaments qu'ils préparaient eux-mêmes. Après avoir suivi
une règle particulière, ils furent placés sous celle de Saint-Augustin. L'Ordre
fut supprimé par Clément
IX en 1668 ; cependant, les religieuses jésuates, également instituées
par Colombino, ne le furent pas 4.
Citations
Arme-toi de la prière,
flagelle tes ennemis (les démons,
ndlr) avec le nom de Jésus.
Dieu donne la prière à
celui qui prie.
Quand tu pries, ne
recherche pas de mots compliqués, car le bégaiement, simple et sans variété,
des enfants a souvent touché leur Père des cieux. Ne cherche pas à beaucoup
parler quand tu pries, de peur que ton esprit ne se distraie à chercher les
mots. Un seul mot du publicain apaisa Dieu et un seul cri de foi sauva le
larron. (Jean Climaque + 605, Echelle, degré 28)
Reste en faction à la
porte de ton coeur (...) Celui qui, par la prière, presse le Seigneur Jésus sur
son coeur, ne peinera pas en le suivant. Il ne sera pas confondu par ses
ennemis, les démons impies, qui rôdent autour de lui. Il arrêtera les démons à
la porte de son coeur. Et, par Jésus, il les fera fuir (les démons étant les
cogitations mauvaises ou celles qui nous dispersent et nous tiraillent) (...)
Que le Nom de Jésus colle à ton souffle ; alors, tu connaîtras le secours de la
paix intérieure qui vient de Dieu (...) Ne cessons de faire tournoyer le nom de
Jésus dans les espaces de notre cœur comme l'éclair tournoie au firmament quand
s'annonce la pluie (...) La prière, c'est la réflexion qui s'immobilise (...)
Le silence, c’est d’avoir surmonté complètement tous les discours, c’est la
liberté par rapport à toutes les images, sensibles et intellectuelles : l’âme
doit être totalement exempte d’images. (Hésychius de Batos VIIe/VIIIe s.)
Mon Seigneur Jésus
Christ, mon Dieu, ne permets pas que je fasse ou dise ou pense ce que Tu ne
veux pas. Tant de fautes passées me suffisent. Mais comme Tu veux, aie pitié de
moi. J'ai péché, comme Tu sais : aie pitié de moi. Je crois, Seigneur, que Tu
entends ma pauvre voix. Aide mon incroyance, Toi qui, avec l'être, m'as donné
d'être chrétien. [Pierre Damascène (Mansour), XIe siècle]
Lorsque l’âme est transportée
et comme mise en mouvement par l’amour irrésistible envers l’Unique Désirable,
le cœur se met lui aussi en mouvement, indiquant par des bonds spirituels qu’il
est en communion avec la grâce, comme s’il s’élançait d’ici-bas pour rencontrer
le Seigneur, lorsqu'il viendra avec son corps, dans les nuages comme il a été
promis. Ainsi, dans la prière continue, lorsqu'apparaît le feu intelligible,
lorsque s'allume l'intelligible flambeau et lorsque par la contemplation
spirituelle, l'esprit éveille l'amour en une flamme aérienne, le corps, lui
aussi, d'une manière étrange, devient léger et chaud. A ceux qui le voient, il
paraît sortir du feu d'une fournaise sensible... (Grégoire Palamas +
1360, Triade I, 3, 32)
Les crocs des loups au
milieu desquels le Christ a envoyé son disciple Démétrios ont, par
leur morsures, ouvert en son corps des sources par lesquelles une grande
allégresse s’écoule sur le troupeau du Christ. (Grégoire Palamas – Eloge
de Démétrios)
O grandeur des mystères !
Il est donc possible que l’esprit du Christ se fonde avec notre esprit et son
vouloir avec notre vouloir, que son corps soit mélangé à notre corps et son
sang à notre sang ! Que devient notre esprit quand l’esprit divin s’en est rendu
maître ! Que devient notre vouloir quand le vouloir bienheureux le subjugue !
[] Le Mauvais a eu le pouvoir, par la main des tyrans, de déchirer et
d’arracher la peau des martyrs du Christ, de hacher leurs membres, de broyer
leurs os, de répandre leurs entrailles. Mais ôter ce vêtement-là, le Christ
revêtu au baptême, et dénuder du Christ les bienheureux, cela échappa si bien à
ses artifices qu’à son insu, il les vêtit bien mieux qu’auparavant. (Nicolas
Cabasilas + 1397, La vie en Christ)
Dieu n’abandonne jamais
l’âme qui espère en lui au point qu’elle soit vaincue par les tentations
puisqu’il connaît nos infirmités. Si les hommes ont tant de prudence, l’infinie
prudence de Dieu n’est-elle pas beaucoup plus grande ? (Nil Sorski +
1508, Règle monastique)
Que vous soyez seul dans
votre cellule d’ermite ou au monastère parmi vos frères, fixez votre attention
sur les Saintes Ecritures et marchez sur les pas des saints Pères… Le regard de
Dieu voit tout et remarque tout. Ce qu’il nous envoie est un effet de sa
miséricorde. (Nil Sorski, Lettre III à l’un de ses frères).
La tristesse qui nous
tourne vers Dieu est salutaire. La tristesse qui lui est contraire nous est
suggérée par le démon. Il faut donc la combattre par la prière, la lecture et
au moyen de contacts et d’entretiens avec des hommes spirituels. Elle devient alors
espérance et joie. (Nil Sorski, Testament)
Où es-Tu, ô ma lumière ?
Je Te cherche avec des larmes. Tu as eu pitié de moi et Tu m’as montré ton
visage. Maintenant mon âme a soif de Toi, mon Dieu ! Comme un enfant qui a
perdu sa maman, elle pleure vers Toi jour et nuit et ne trouve pas la paix.
(Silouane, Ecrits spirituels)
Le Saint Esprit unit tous
les hommes, et c'est pourquoi les Saints nous sont proches. Lorsque nous les
prions, alors, par le Saint Esprit, ils entendent nos prières et nos âmes
sentent qu'ils prient pour nous. (Silouane + 1938, Vie de saint Silouane
l'athonite)
Notes
1 L'Hésychia, Chemin
de la tranquillité surnaturelle et de la fécondité ecclésiale, par un frère
Carme, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse, 2008
2 http://infocatho.cef.fr/
3 http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6219/Saint-Innocent-de-Vologda.html
4 http://www.cosmovisions.com/$JesuatesSaintJerome.htm
5 http://www.mariedenazareth.com/15214.0.html?&L=0
Auteur : Jean-Paul Coudeyrette
Référence publication
: Compilhistoire ;
toute reproduction à but non lucratif est autorisée.
Date de mise à jour :
07/05/2020
SOURCE : https://compilhistoire.pagesperso-orange.fr/hesychasme.htm
Katholische Pfarrkirche Saint-Pierre in Petit-Mars im Département Loire-Atlantique (Pays de la Loire/Frankreich), Bleiglasfenster; Darstellung: Arsenius der Grosse
Le 8 mai, nous célébrons
la mémoire de notre vénérable Père ARSENE, le GRAND (1).
L'illustre Saint Arsène
naquit au sein d'une noble famille romaine, au début du IVe siècle. Doté d'une
vive intelligence, il parcourut tout le cycle des études profanes, mais dès
qu'il fut ordonné diacre (2) il décida de s'appliquer uniquement aux lettres
sacrées. Il acquit une telle renommée dans la capitale que, lorsque l'empereur
d'Orient, Théodose le Grand, demanda à l'empereur d'Occident, Gratien, de lui
trouver un précepteur pour ses fils, Arcade et Honorius, ce dernier lui envoya
Arsène.
Malgré les honneurs de la
cour et le respect que lui témoignat Théodose, qui le considérait comme son
père spirituel, Arsène, alors parvenu à l'âge de quarante ans, ne se laissait
pas tromper par ces faux attraits et désirait se consacrer à Dieu. Une nuit,
alors qu'il priait Dieu pour qu'Il lui montrât le moyen d'obtenir le salut, il
entendit une voix céleste lui dire : « Arsène, fuis les hommes et tu seras
sauvé ! » Sans plus attendre, il quitta le palais et se rendit au port où il
trouva un navire qui le mena jusqu'à Alexandrie. Il y fut aussitôt consacré
moine dans un des nombreux Monastères qui entouraient la capitale égyptienne.
Autant il portait à la cour de riches et précieux habits, autant, dès ce jour,
il ne porta plus que des vêtements les plus vulgaires qui le rendaient
méconnaissable. Renonçant à la vaine science de ce monde, il se mit à l'école
des rudes anachorètes égyptiens, qu'il n'hésitait pas à interroger sur toutes
ses pensées.
Au bout de quelque temps,
alors qu'il renouvelait sa prière à Dieu pour apprendre comment être sauvé, la
même voix lui dit : « Arsène, fuis, tais-toi, garde le recueillement
(hésychia). Ce sont là les racines de la perfection. » Il se rendit alors au
fameux centre monastique de Scété et s'enfonça dans le désert, installant sa
cellule à plus de trente-deux milles de l'église. Il n'en sortait que rarement
et passa tout son temps, pendant quarante ans, seul, devant Dieu seul, en
résistant vaillamment aux suggestions des démons qui lui rappelaient sa vie
passée. Chaque jour, il s'interrogeait : « Arsène, pourquoi es-tu sorti du
monde ? » et demandait humblement à Dieu de lui accorder la grâce de
"commencer" (cf. Ps. 76, 11).
Comme les autres ermites,
Arsène passait sa journée à tresser des feuilles de palmier en récitant des
versets des Psaumes. Il ne changeait jamais l'eau dans laquelle ces feuilles
trempaient, et supportait avec patience l'odeur nauséabonde qui s'en dégageait,
en échange, disait-il, des parfums et des aromates dont il avait jadis usés
dans le monde. Sa cellule était dépourvue de tout confort et il ne possédait
même pas de lampe. Pour nourriture, il se contentait d'une corbeille de pains
pour toute l'année. Il ne montrait pourtant aucune répulsion pour les créatures
de Dieu, et lorsqu'arrivait la saison des récoltes, il se faisait apporter
toutes sortes de fruits et en goûtait, une fois seulement. Il consacrait la
nuit entière à la prière, sans dormir et au petit matin, cédant à la nature, il
disait au sommeil : « Viens ici, esclave méchant ! » puis il prenait un peu de
repos. Il disait qu'une heure de sommeil suffit au moine, s'il est un vrai
combattant. Le samedi soir, cet homme céleste commençait sa vigile en toumant
le dos au soleil couchant et restait debout, les mains tendues vers le ciel,
jusqu'à ce que le soleil éclairât de nouveau son visage.
Lorsque des visiteurs,
même les plus haut placés, venaient jusqu'à sa cellule pour recevoir ses
enseignements, Saint Arsène refusait de les accueillir. A l'Archevêque
d'Alexandrie, Théophile, qui désirait lui rendre visite, il fit répondre : « Si
tu viens, je t'ouvrirai, mais si j'ouvre à toi, j'ouvrirai à tout le monde;
alors je ne reste plus ici. » Comme on lui demandait pourquoi il fuyait ainsi
les hommes, il ré spondit : « Dieu sait que je vous aime, mais je ne peux vivre
avec Dieu et avec les hommes. Les myriades des puissances célestes n'ont qu'une
seule volonté, tandis que les hommes en ont beaucoup; je ne peux donc
abandonner Dieu pour venir avec les hommes. »
La retraite prolongée, le
silence, la veille et la garde des pensées avaient fait jaillir de ses yeux une
source permanente de larmes, de telle sorte que, quand Arsène était assis pour
son travail manuel, il avait toujours un tissu posé sur la poitrine pour
recueillir ses larmes, qui coulaient sans efforts et si abondamment que ses
cils en étaient tombés. Ce flot de larmes avait non seulement lavé son âme de
toutes les impuretés des passions, mais il avait aussi transfiguré son corps,
lui donnant l'apparence d'un ange : les cheveux tout blancs et une longue barbe
qui lui descendait jusqu'à la ceinture. Un jour, un frère vint à sa cellule et
regarda discrètement à l'intérieur avant de frapper. Il vit alors le vieillard
tout entier comme du feu, transfiguré par la lumière de la grâce. Lorsque, de
temps en temps, Saint Arsène venait à l'église de Scété pour la Synaxe, il se
tenait derrière un pilier, afin que personne ne vît son visage, et c'est avec
difficulté qu'il acceptait alors de répondre aux questions des frères.
Il demeura ainsi environ
quarante ans au désert de Scété. Lorsque les barbares assaillirent les moines
(vers 407), il passa une fois à côté d'eux sans être vu, mais, finalement,
après la seconde dévastation de ce prestigieux centre monastique (434), il dut
aller se réfugier au mont Troè (Toura près du Caire), où il resta dix ans.
Puis, après un séjour de trois années à Canope, il retouma à Troè, où il rendit
son âme à Dieu à l'âge de 95 ans (449). Sur le point de mourir, Saint Arsène
ordonna à ses disciples d'abandonner son cadavre dans la montagne, et leur dit
: « Je me suis souvent repenti d'avoir parlé, mais jamais de m'être tu. » Comme
les frères le voyaient troublé et en pleurs, ils lui demandèrent si lui aussi,
après avoir atteint un tel degré dans l'impassibilité, avait peur. Il leur
répondit : « En vérité, la crainte qui est mienne à cette heure m'accompagne
depuis que je me suis fait moine. » Et il s'endormit.
Entre autres sentences
mémorables, Saint Arsène disait à ses disciples : « Autant que vous le pouvez,
faites effort pour que votre occupation intérieure soit selon Dieu, et vous
vaincrez les passions extérieures. »
1). La plupart des éléments de cette notice se trouvent dans les Apophtegmes des Pères du Désert, série alphabétique.
2). Ce détail est mis en doute par certains.
SOURCE : http://calendrier.egliseorthodoxe.com/sts/stsmai/mai08bis.html
Also
known as
Arsenius the Roman
Arsenius the Deacon
Arsenio
8 May (Eastern
Orthodox)
13 Pashons (Coptic
Orthodox)
Profile
Born to a wealthy Roman
noble family. Deacon. Tutor to
the sons of Emperor Theodosius
the Great c.383.
About 395 he
left to live with the monks of Alexandria, Egypt.
After the emperor’s death,
Arsenius retired to the wilderness of Scetis, and became a student of Saint John
the Short. Hermit,
noted for his great austerity
Born
354 in
the Roman Empire
c.449 at
Troë near Memphis, Egypt of
natural causes
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
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of the Saints, by Father Alban
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Arsenius the
Great“. CatholicSaints.Info. 30 January 2023. Web. 1 October 2024. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-arsenius-the-great/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-arsenius-the-great/
St. Arsenius
Anchorite;
born 354, at Rome;
died 450, at Troe, in Egypt. Theodosius
the Great having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope
Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, they
made choice of Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, member of a noble
Roman family,
and said to have been a deacon of
the Roman
Church. He reached Constantinople in 383, and continued as tutor in the
imperial family for
eleven years, during the last three of which he also had charge of his pupil's
brother Honorius. Coming one day to see his children at their studies, Theodosius found
them sitting while Arsenius talked to them standing. This he would not
tolerate, and caused the teacher to sit and the pupils to stand. On his arrival
at court Arsenius had been given a splendid establishment, and probably because
the Emperor so desired, he lived in great pomp, but all the time felt a growing
inclination to renounce the world. After praying long
to be enlightened as to what he should do, he heard a voice saying
"Arsenius, flee the company of men, and thou shalt be saved."
Thereupon he embarked secretly for Alexandria, and hastening to the desert of
Scetis, asked to be admitted among the solitaries who dwelt there. St. John the
Dwarf, to whose cell he was conducted, though previously warned of the quality
of his visitor, took no notice of him and left him standing by himself while he
invited the rest to sit down at table. When the repast was half finished he
threw down some bread before him, bidding him with an air of indifference eat
if he would. Arsenius meekly picked up the bread and ate, sitting on the
ground. Satisfied with this proof of humility,
St. John kept him under his direction. The new solitary was from the first most
exemplary yet unwittingly retained certain of his old habits, such as sitting
cross-legged or laying one foot over the other. Noticing this, the abbot requested
some one to imitate Arsenius's posture at the next gathering of the brethren,
and upon his doing so, forthwith rebuked him publicly. Arsenius took the hint
and corrected himself. During the fifty-five years of his solitary life he was
always the most meanly clad of all, thus punishing himself for his former
seeming vanity in the world. In like manner, to atone for having used perfumes
at court, he never changed the water in which he moistened the palm leaves of
which he made mats, but only poured in fresh water upon it as it wasted, thus
letting it become stenchy in the extreme. Even while engaged in manual labour
he never relaxed in his application to prayer.
At all times copious tears of devotion fell from his eyes. But what
distinguished him most was his disinclination to all that might interrupt his
union with God.
When, after long search, his place of retreat was discovered, he not only
refused to return to court and act as adviser to his former pupil the Emperor
Arcadius, but he would not even be his almoner to the poor and the monasteries of
the neighbourhood. He invariably denied himself to visitors, no matter what
their rank and condition and left to his disciples the care of entertaining
them. His contemporaries so admired him as to surname him "the
Great".
Sources
See Acta SS. (19
July) for his life by ST. THEODORE THE STUDITE (d. 826) and another in
META.PHRASTES (apud SURILM. De probatis Sanctorum vitis IV,
250), the Lives of the Fathers of the Desert in ROSWEYDE and
D'ANDILLY, or P.L., LXXIV; MARIN Vies des Pères des déserts d'Orient,
BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 19 July.
Vuibert,
Arsenius. "St. Arsenius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 9 May
2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01754b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by the Cloistered Dominican Nuns of the
Monastery of the Infant Jesus, Lufkin, Texas. Dedicated to all monks and
nuns.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01754b.htm
St. Arsenius, an
Anchorite, was born in 354 at Rome and died in 450 at Troe, in Egypt.
Theodosius the Great,
having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a
tutor for his son Arcadius, decided on Arsenius, a man well read in
Greek literature, a member of a noble Roman family, and said to have been a
deacon of the Roman Church. Upon receving the request to become the tutor of
young Arcadius, he left and reached Constantinople in 383, and continued as
tutor in the imperial family for eleven years, during the last three of which he
also had charge of his pupil's brother Honorius.
Coming one day to see his
children at their studies, Theodosius found them sitting while Arsenius talked
to them standing. This he would not tolerate, and he ordered the teacher
to sit while the pupils to stood.
Upon his arrival at
court, Arsenius had been given a splendid establishment, and probably because
the Emperor so desired, he lived a very great lifestyle, but all the time felt
a growing inclination to renounce the world. After praying for a long time to
be enlightened as to what he should do, he heard a voice saying "Arsenius,
flee the company of men, and thou shalt be saved." Thereupon he embarked
secretly for Alexandria, and hastening to the desert of Scetis, asked to be
admitted among the solitaries who dwelt there.
St. John the Dwarf, to
whose cell he was conducted, though previously warned of the quality of his
visitor, took no notice of him and left him standing by himself while he
invited the rest to sit down at table. When the John was half finished
with his meal, he threw down some bread before Arsenius, bidding him with an
air of indifference to eat if he would. Arsenius meekly picked up the bread and
ate, sitting on the ground. Satisfied with this proof of humility, St. John
kept him under his direction. The new solitary was from the beginning most
exemplary, yet unwittingly retained some of his old habits, such as
sitting cross-legged or laying one foot over the other. Noticing this, the
abbot requested some one to imitate Arsenius's posture at the next gathering of
the brethren, and upon his doing so, forthwith rebuked him
publicly. Arsenius took the hint and corrected himself.
During the fifty-five
years of his solitary life he was always the most meanly clad of all, thus
punishing himself for his former seeming vanity in the world. In like manner,
to atone for having used perfumes at court, he never changed the water in which
he moistened the palm leaves of which he made mats, but only poured in fresh
water upon it as it wasted, thus letting it become stenchy in the extreme. Even
while engaged in manual labour he never relaxed in his application to prayer.
At all times copious tears of devotion fell from his eyes. But what
distinguished him the most was his disinclination to all that might interrupt
his union with God. When, after a long period of searching, his place of
retreat was discovered, he not only refused to return to court and act as
adviser to his former pupil the Emperor Arcadius, but he would not even be his
almoner to the poor and the monasteries of the neighbourhood. He invariably
denied himself to visitors, no matter what their rank and condition and left to
his disciples the care of entertaining them. His contemporaries so greatly
admired him because of this, that they gave him the surname "the
Great".
SOURCE : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-arsenius-306
.jpg)
Arsenius the Great, Interior of the
Cathedral of Saint Mina, Stained-glass windows in Egypt,
Male Christian
saints on stained-glass windows
Golden Legend – Saint
Arsenius
Article
Here followeth of Saint
Arsenius.
When Arsenius was yet master in the palace of a prince, he prayed unto God that he would address him unto the way of health, so that in a time he heard a voice that said to him: Arsenius, flee the company of men and thou shalt be saved. Then he went and took upon him the life of a monk, and as he prayed there, he heard a voice saying: Arsenius, flee hence, speak not and rest thee. It is read in the same place as to coveting this rest, that there were three monks new made, and the first of them chose for to bring men that were at debate and in discord to rest and peace, the second for to visit sick men, and the third for to rest in wilderness and in desert. The first man, that laboured to set them at accord that were at debate, could not please all men, and was weary and grieved and half overcome, and he came to the second and found him all mat and failing for weariness, and might not perform that he had emprised, and then by assent they two came to the third that was in desert, and when they had told their tribulations to him he put water in a cup and said: Look, and behold this water, and they saw that it was thick and troubled, and soon after he said: See it now, how it is now fair and clear. And when they looked therein they saw their visages therein, and then he said: Whosomever dwelleth among the men, he may not, for the multitude of people see his sins, but when he resteth, then he may see his sins.
And on a time there was a man found another in desert eating herbs and grass, all naked as a beast, and he ran after him, and that other fled, and he that followed said: Abide and tarry, for I follow thee for the love of God, and that other said: I flee from thee for God’s sake, and that other cast away his mantle from him, and then he tarried and said: Because thou hast thrown the matter of the world from thee I have abiden thee. And then he asked of him: How shall I be saved? And he answered and said: Flee from the company of men, and say nothing.
There was a noble lady, which was old, came for to see the abbot Arsenius by devotion, and Theophilus the archbishop prayed him that he would suffer that she might see him, but he would not grant him in no wise. And at the last she went into his cell, and found him without tofore his door, and she fell down to his feet, and he took her up with great indignation, saying to her: If thou wilt see my face, see, and she for great shame and confusion considered not his visage. To whom he said: How durst thou presume upon thee that art a woman to make such a voyage? Thou shalt now go to Rome and say to other women that thou hast seen Arsenius, and they shall also come for to see me. And she said to him: If God will that I return to Rome I shall never stir woman to come to thee, but only I pray thee that thou pray for me and always remember me. And he said to her: I pray to God that he put out of my heart the remembrance of thee. And when she heard that, she was much angry, and came into the city and began to tremble and shake for sorrow in the fevers or axes; and when the archbishop knew it, he went for to comfort her, and she said: I die for sorrow and heaviness, and the archbishop said to her: Knowest thou not that thou art a woman, and the fiend overcometh holy men ofttimes by women, and therefore the old man said to thee those words, howbeit he prayed always for thy soul? And then the woman was comforted and was all whole, and returned home to her own house.
Also it is read of
another old father, that when his disciple said to him: Thou art waxen all old,
father, let us now go dwell near to the world, and he said: Let us go thither
whereas no woman is, and his disciple said: Where is any place but that women
be therein, save in desert? To whom he said: Then bring me into that desert.
There was another brother which, when he bare his mother over the water, he
wound his hands in his mantle, to whom she said: Wherefore hast thou covered
thy hands so, my son? To whom he answered: The body of a woman is as fire that burneth,
and because the mind of other women should not come in my remembrance,
therefore I do it. And Arsenius all the days of his life, when he sat at the
work of his hands, he had a linen cloth in his bosom for to dry the tears with,
that ran fast from his eyes, and all the night he would not sleep, and in the
morning, when he must sleep for weariness of nature, he would say to sleep:
Come, wicked servant, and then would take a little sleep sitting, and would
arise anon, and said: It sufficeth to a monk if he sleep an hour, if he be a
fighter against vices.
When the father of Saint
Arsenius, which was a great senator and a right noble man, should finish his
life, he left to Arsenius by his testament much heritage, and one,
Magistrianus, brought unto him the said testament, and when he had received it
he would have broken it. Then Magistrianus fell down at his feet praying him
that he would not do so, for his head then should he lose, for it should be
smitten off. To whom Arsenius said: I was dead tofore him, he therefore that is
but now dead, how may he make me his heir? And sent again the testament, and
would nothing have. On a time there was a voice came to him and said: Come, and
I shall show to thee the works of the men, and led him into a certain place and
showed to him a man of Ethiopia, that is a black man, that hewed wood and made
a great fardel, so great that he might not bear it, and always he hewed and put
to the fardel, and thus he did long, and after he showed to him a man that drew
water out of a lake and cast it into a cistern pierced, by which the water ran
again into the lake, and he would fill the cistern and might not. And after, he
showed to him a temple and a man on horseback which bare a long tree athwart,
and would enter into the temple, and he might not because the tree lay athwart.
Then he expounded him this thing, and said: He that beareth the tree is like
the burden of justice with pride, and will not meek him, therefore he abideth
without the realm of heaven. And he that heweth the wood is like a man that is
in sin, and putteth none away by penance, but putteth always wickedness to
wickedness. And he that draweth the water is a man that doeth good works here
in this present world, but because that his evil works be meddled with them, he
loseth his good works. And when the evensong time of the Saturday came, on the
Sunday, he left all his works behind him, and held up his hands to heaven till
the sun arose in the morning of the Sunday tofore his face, and so abode all
the night in prayers and in orisons. And hæc in Vitis Patrum.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-saint-arsenius/
Fethiye
Camii, parekklesion, southwest bay, mosaics, Istanbul, Turkey - North arch,
east soffit, St. Arsenius, detail of bust. Monastery of St. Mary Pammakaristos;
Monastery of the Virgin Pammakaristos; Monastery of the Theotokos
Pammakaristos; Fetiye Camii; Church of St. Mary Pammakaristos; Church of the
Virgin Pammakaristos. Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork records
and papers, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC
Butler’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Arsenius, Anchoret of Sceté
Article
He was a Roman by birth,
and was related to senators. He had been trained up in learning and piety, was
sincerely virtuous, and well skilled, not only in the holy scriptures, but also
in the profane sciences, and in the Latin and Greek languages and literature.
He was in deacon’s orders, and led a retired life at home with his sister in
Rome, when the emperor Theodosius the Great wanted a person to whom he might
intrust the care of his children, and desired the emperor Gratian to apply for
that purpose to the bishop of Rome, who recommended Arsenius. Gratian sent him
to Constantinople, where he was kindly received by Theodosius, who advanced him
to the rank of a senator, with orders that he should be respected as the father
of his children, whose tutor and preceptor he appointed him. No one in the court
at the time wore richer apparel, had more sumptuous furniture, or was attended
by a more numerous train of servants than Arsenius; he was attended by no fewer
than a thousand, all richly clad. Theodosius coming one day to see his children
at their studies, found them sitting, whilst Arsenius talked to them standing.
Being displeased thereat, he took from them for some time the marks of their
dignity, and caused Arsenius to sit, and them to listen to him standing.
Arsenius had always a
great inclination to a retired life, which the care of his employment and the
incumbrances of a great fortune made him desire the more ardently; for titles
and honours were burthensome to him. At length, about the year 390, an
opportunity offered itself. Arcadius having committed a considerable fault,
Arsenius whipped him for it. The young prince, resenting the chastisement, grew
the more obstinate. Arsenius laid hold of this occasion to execute the project
he had long before formed of forsaking the world. The Lives of the Fathers,
both in Rosweide and Cotelier, make no mention of this resentment of Arcadius,
which circumstance is only related by Metaphrastes; on which account it is
omitted by Tillemont and others. It is most certain that retirement had long
been the object of the saint’s most earnest wishes and desires; but before he
left the court, he for a long time begged by earnest prayer to know the will of
God; and one day making this request with great fervour, he heard a voice
saying: “Arsenius, flee the company of men, and thou shalt be saved.” He obeyed
the call of heaven without delay, and going on board a vessel, sailed to
Alexandria, and thence proceeded to the desert of Sceté, where he embraced an
anchoretical life. This happened about the year 394, he being in the fortieth
year of his age, and having lived eleven years at the court. There he renewed
his prayers to God, begging to be instructed in the way of salvation, having no
other desire than to make it his only study to please God in all things. Whilst
he prayed thus he again heard a voice which said: “Arsenius, flee, hold thy
peace, and be quiet; these are the principles of salvation,” that is, the main
things to be observed in order to be saved. Pursuant to the repeated advice or
injunction of fleeing and avoiding human conversation, he made choice of a very
remote cell, and admitted very few visits even from his own brethren. When he
went to the church, upwards of thirty miles distance from his habitation, he
would place himself behind one of the pillars, the better to prevent his seeing
or being seen by any one. Theodosius in great affliction for the loss of him,
caused search to be made for him both by sea and land; but being soon after
called into the West to revenge the death of Valentinian II and to extinguish
the rebellion of Arbogastus his murderer, and Eugenius, he died of a dropsy at
Milan in 395. Arcadius being left emperor of the East, advanced Rufin, who was
the præfectus-prætorio, and had been his flattering governor, to the rank of
prime minister, committing to him the direction not only of his armies but also
of the whole empire. He at the same time earnestly desired to call back to
court his holy master Arsenius, that he might be assisted by his wise and
faithful counsels. Being informed that he was in the desert of Sceté, he wrote
to him, recommending himself to his prayers, begging his forgiveness, and
offering him the disposal of all the tribute of Egypt, that he might make a
provision for the monasteries and the poor at his discretion; but the saint had
no other ambition on earth than to be allowed the liberty of enjoying his
solitude, that he might employ his time in bewailing his sins, and in preparing
his soul for eternity. He therefore answered the emperor’s message only by word
of mouth, saying, “God grant us all the pardon of our sins; as to the
distribution of the money, I am not capable of such a charge, being already
dead to the world.” When he first presented himself to the ancients or
superiors of the monks of Sceté, and begged to be allowed to serve God under
their direction, they recommended him to the care of Saint John the Dwarf, who
when the rest in the evening sat down to take their repast, took his place
among them, and left Arsenius standing in the middle without taking notice of
him. Such a reception was a severe trial to a courtier; but was followed by
another much rougher; for, in the middle of the repast, Saint John took a loaf
or portion of bread, and threw it on the ground before him, bidding him with an
air of indifference to eat if he would. Arsenius cheerfully fell on the ground,
and in that posture took his meal. Saint John was so satisfied with his
behaviour in this single instance, that he required no further trial for his
admission, and said to his brethren: “Return to your cells with the blessing of
the Lord. Pray for us. This person is fit for a religious life.”
Arsenius after his
retreat only distinguished himself among the anchorets by his greater humility
and fervour. At first he used, without perceiving it, to do certain things
which he had practised in the world, which seemed to savour of levity or
immortification, as, for instance, to sit cross-legged, or laying one knee over
another. The seniors were unwilling, through the great respect they bore him, to
tell him of this in a public assembly in which they were met to hold a
spiritual conference together; but abbot Pemen or Pastor made use of this
stratagem: He agreed with another that he should put himself in that posture;
and then he rebuked him for his immodesty; nor did the other offer any excuse.
Arsenius perceived that the reproof was meant for him, and corrected himself of
that custom. In other respects he appeared from the beginning an accomplished
master in every exercise of virtue in that venerable company of saints. To
punish himself for his seeming vanity at court, because he had there gone more
richly habited than others, his garments were always the meanest of all the
monks in Sceté. He employed himself on working-days till noon in making mats of
palm-tree leaves; and he always worked with a handkerchief in his bosom, to
wipe off the tears which continually fell from his eyes. He never changed the
water in which he moistened his palm-tree leaves, but only poured in fresh
water upon it as it wasted. When some asked him one day why he did not cast
away the corrupted water, he answered: “I ought to be punished by this ill
smell for the sensuality with which I formerly used perfumes when I lived in
the world.” To satisfy for former superfluities he lived in the most universal
poverty, so that in a violent fit of illness having occasion for a small sum to
procure him some little necessaries, he was obliged to receive it in alms,
whereupon he gave God thanks for being made worthy to be thus reduced to the
necessity of asking alms in his name. The distemper continued so long upon him
that the priest of this desert of Sceté caused him to be carried to his
apartment contiguous to the church, and laid him on a little bed made of the
skins of beasts, with a pillow under his head. One of the monks coming to see
him, was much scandalized at his lying so easy, and said: “Is this the abbot
Arsenius?” The priest took him aside, and asked him what his employment had
been in the village before he was a monk? The old man answered, “I was a
shepherd, and lived with much pains and difficulty.” Then the priest said: “Do
you see this abbot Arsenius? when he was in the world he was the father of the
emperors; he had a thousand slaves clothed in silk, with bracelets and girdles
of gold, and he slept on the softest and richest beds. You who were a shepherd,
did not find in the world the ease which you now enjoy.” The old man, moved by
these words, fell down, and said: “Pardon me, father, I have sinned; he is in
the true way of humiliation;” and he went away exceedingly edified. Arsenius in
his sickness wanting a linen garment, accepted something given him in charity
to buy one, saying: “I return thanks to thee, O Lord, for thy grace and mercy
in permitting me to receive alms in thy name. One of the emperor’s officers, at
another time, brought him the will of a senator, his relation, who was lately
dead and had left him his heir. The saint took the will, and would have torn it
to pieces, but the officer threw himself at his feet, and begged him not to
tear it, saying such an accident would expose him to be tried for his life.
Saint Arsenius, however, refused the estate, saying, “I died before him, and
cannot be made his heir.”
Though no one knew the
saint’s fasts, they must have been excessive, as the measure of corn, called
thallin, 2 sent him for the year, was exceedingly small; this, however, he
managed so well as not only to make it suffice for himself, but also to impart
some of it to his disciples when they came to visit him. When new fruit was
brought him he just tasted it, and gave thanks to God; but he took so little as
to show he did it only to avoid the vanity of singularity. Great abstinence
makes little sleep to suffice nature. Accordingly, Saint Arsenius often passed
the whole night in watching and prayer, as we learn from his disciple Daniel.
At other times, having watched a considerable part of the night, when nature
could hold out no longer, he would allow himself a short repose, which he took
sitting, after which he resumed his wonted exercises. On Saturday evenings, as
the same disciple relates, it was his custom to go to prayers at sun-set, and
continue in that exercise with his hands lifted up to heaven till the sun beat
on his face the next morning. His affection for the holy exercise of prayer,
and his dread of the danger of vain-glory, gave him the strongest love of
retirement. He had two disciples who lived near him, and did all his necessary
business abroad. Their names were Alexander and Zoilus; he afterwards admitted
a third called Daniel. All three were famous for their sanctity and discretion,
and frequent mention is made of them in the histories of the fathers of the
deserts of Egypt. Saint Arsenius would seldom see strangers who came to visit
him, saying, he would only use his eyes to behold the heavens.
Theophilus, the patriarch
of Alexandria, came one day in company with a certain great officer and others
to visit him, and begged he would entertain them on some spiritual subject for
the good of their souls. The saint asked them whether they were disposed to
comply with his directions; and being answered in the affirmative, he replied:
“I entreat you, then, that wherever you are informed of Arsenius’s abode you
would leave him to himself, and spare yourselves the trouble of coming after
him.” On another occasion, when the same patriarch sent to know if he would
open his door to him if he came? Saint Arsenius returned for answer, that if he
came alone he would; but that if he brought others with him he would seek out
some other place, and would stay there no longer. Melania, a noble Roman lady,
travelled as far as Egypt only to see Arsenius, and by means of Theophilus
contrived to meet him as he was coming out of his cell. She threw herself at
his feet. The saint said to her: “A woman ought not to leave her house. You
have crossed these great seas that you may be able to say at Rome that you have
seen Arsenius, and raise in others a curiosity to come and see me.” Not daring
to lift up her eyes, as she lay on the ground, she begged he would always
remember her and pray for her. He answered: “I pray that the remembrance of you
may be blotted out of my mind.” Melania returned to Alexandria in great grief
at this answer; but Theophilus comforted her, saying: “He only prayed that he
might forget your person on account of your sex; but as for your soul, doubt
not but he will pray for you.”
The saint never visited
his brethren, contenting himself with meeting them at spiritual conferences.
The abbot Mark asked him one day, in the name of the hermits, why he so much
shunned their conversation? The saint answered: “God knoweth how dearly I love
you all; but I find I cannot be both with God and with men at the same time;
nor can I think of leaving God to converse with men.” This disposition,
however, did not hinder him from giving short lessons of virtue to his
brethren, and several of his apophthegms are recorded among those of the
ancient fathers. He said often: “I have always something to repent of after
having conversed with men; but have never been sorry for having been silent,”
He had frequently in his mouth those words which Saint Euthymius and Saint
Bernard used also to repeat to themselves, to renew their fervour in the
discharge of the obligations of their profession: “Arsenius, why hast thou
forsaken the world, and wherefore art thou come hither?” Being asked one day
why he, being so well versed in the sciences, sought the instruction and advice
of a certain monk who was an utter stranger to all human literature? he
replied: “I am not unacquainted with the learning of the Greeks and Romans; but
I have not yet learned the alphabet of the science of the saints, whereof this
seemingly ignorant person is master.”
Though the saint was
excellently versed in sacred learning, and in the maxims and practice of
perfect Christian virtue, he never would discourse on any point of scripture,
and chose rather to hear than to instruct or speak, making it the first part of
his study to divest his mind of all secret opinion of himself, or confidence in
his own abilities or learning; and this he justly called the foundation of
humility and all Christian virtue. Evagrius of Pontus, who had distinguished
himself at Constantinople by his learning, and had retired to Jerusalem, and thence
into the deserts of Nitria, in 385, expressed his surprise to our saint, that
many very learned men made no progress in virtue, whilst many Egyptians who
knew not the very letters of the alphabet, arrived at a high degree of sublime
contemplation. To whom Arsenius made this answer: “We make no progress in
virtue, because we dwell on that exterior learning which puffs up the mind; but
these illiterate Egyptians have a true sense of their own weakness, blindness,
and insufficiency; by which they are qualified to labour successfully in the
pursuit of virtue.” This saint used often to cry out to God with tears, in the
most profound sentiment of humility: “O Lord, forsake me not; I have done
nothing that can be acceptable in thy sight; but for the sake of thy infinite
mercy enable and assist me that I may now begin to serve thee faithfully.”
Nothing is so remarkable
or so much spoken of by the ancients concerning our saint, as the perpetual
tears which flowed from his eyes almost without intermission. The source from
which they sprung was the ardour with which he sighed after the glorious light
of eternity, and the spirit of compunction with which he never ceased to bewail
the sins of his life past, and the daily imperfections into which he fell. But
nothing was more amiable or sweet than these tears of devotion, as appeared in
the venerable and majestic serenity of his countenance. His example was a proof
of what the saints assure us concerning the sweetness of the tears of divine
love. “When you hear tears named,” says Saint Chrysostom, “do not represent to
yourselves any thing grievous or terrible. They are sweeter than any carnal
delights which the world can enjoy.” Saint Austin says to the same purpose:
“The tears of devotion are sweeter than the joys of theatres.” Saint John
Climacus unfolds to us at large the incomparable advantages and holy pleasure
of pious tears, and among other things writes thus: “I am astonished when I
consider the happiness of holy compunction; and I wonder how carnal men can think
it affliction. It contains in it a pleasure and spiritual joy as wax does
honey. God in an invisible manner visits and comforts the heart that is broken
with this holy sorrow.” Saint Arsenius being asked by a certain person what he
must do to deliver himself from a troublesome temptation of impure thoughts?
the saint gave him this answer: “What did the Midianites do? They decked and
adorned their daughters, and led them to the Israelites, though they used no
violence upon them. Those among the servants of God who treated them with
severity, and revenged their treachery and criminal designs with their blood,
put a stop to their lewdness. Behave in the same manner with regard to your
evil thoughts. Repulse them vigorously, and punish yourself for this attempt
made in yourself towards a revolt.”
This great saint lived in
a continual remembrance and apprehension of death and the divine judgment. This
made Theophilus, the busy patriarch of Alexandria, cry out when he lay on his
death-bed in 312: “Happy Arsenius! who has had this moment always before his
eyes.” His tears did not disfigure his countenance, which, from the inward
peace and joy of his soul, mixed with sweet compunction; and from his assiduous
conversation with God, appeared to have something angelical or heavenly; being
equally venerable for a certain shining beauty, and an inexpressible air of
majesty and meekness, in a fair and vigorous old age. The great and experienced
master in a contemplative life, Saint John Climacus, proposes Saint Arsenius as
an accomplished model, and calls him a man equal to the angels, saying that he
shunned so rigorously the conversation of men, only that he might not lose
something more precious, which was God, who always filled his soul. Our saint
called it a capital and indispensable duty of a monk never to intermeddle in
any temporal concerns, and never to listen to any news of the world. He was
tall and comely, but stooped a little in his old age; had a graceful mien, his
hair was all white, and his beard reached down to his girdle; but the tears
which he shed continually had worn away his eye-lashes. He was forty years old
when he quitted the court, and he lived in the same austere manner from that
time to the age of ninety-five; he spent forty years in the desert of Sceté,
except that about the year 395 he was obliged to leave it for a short time, on
account of an irruption of the Mazici, a barbarous people of Lybia; but the
plunderers were no sooner returned home but he hastened back to his former
solitude, where he remained till a second inroad of the same barbarians, in
which they massacred several hermits, compelled him entirely to forsake this
abode about the year 434. He retired weeping to the rock of Troë, called also
Petra, over against Memphis, and ten years after to Canopus, near Alexandria;
but not being able to bear the neighbourhood of that great city, he staid here
only three years; then returned to Troë, where he died two years after. Knowing
that his end was drawing near, he said to his disciples: “One only thing I beg
of your charity, that when I am dead I may be remembered in the holy sacrifice.
If in my life I have done any thing that is accepted by God, through his mercy,
that I shall now find again.” They were much grieved to hear him speak as if
they were going soon to lose him. Upon which he said: “My hour is not yet come.
I will acquaint you of it; but you shall answer it at the tribunal of Christ,
if you suffer any thing belonging to me to be kept as a relic.” They said, with
tears, (being solicitous for a funeral procession,) “What shall we do alone,
father? for we know not how to bury the dead.” The saint answered: “Tie a cord
to my feet, and drag my carcass to the top of the mountain, and there leave
it.” His brethren seeing him weep in his agony, said to him: “Father, why do
you weep? are you, like others, afraid to die?” The saint answered: “I am
seized with great fear; nor has this dread ever forsaken me from the time I
first came into these deserts.” The saints all serve God in fear and trembling,
in the constant remembrance of his judgment; but this is always accompanied
with a sweet confidence in his infinite love and mercies. The Holy Ghost,
indeed, so diversifies his gifts and graces as to make these dispositions more
sensible in some than in others. Notwithstanding this fear, Saint Arsenius
expired in great peace, full of faith, and of that humble confidence which
perfect charity inspires, about the year 449. He was ninety-five years old, of
which he had spent fifty-five in the desert. Abbot Pemen having seen him
expire, said, with tears: “Happy Arsenius! who have wept for yourself so much
here on earth! Those who weep not here shall weep eternally hereafter.” This
saint was looked upon by the most eminent monks of succeeding ages as a most
illustrious pattern of their state. The great Saint Euthymius endeavoured in
all his exercises to form himself upon the model of his life, and to copy in
himself his humility, his meekness, and constant evenness of mind, his
abstinences and watching, his compunction and tears, his love of retirement,
his charity, discretion, fervour, assiduous application to prayer, and that
greatness of soul which appeared with so much lustre in all his actions. The
name of Saint Arsenius occurs in the Roman martyrology on the 19th of July.
MLA
Citation
Father Alban Butler.
“Saint Arsenius, Anchoret of Sceté”. Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints, 1866. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 May 2017. Web. 9 May 2020.
<https://catholicsaints.info/butlers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-arsenius-anchoret-of-scete/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/butlers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-arsenius-anchoret-of-scete/
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Arsenius, Hermit and Abbot
Article
Arsenius, one of the most
celebrated Hermits, was born at Rome, of Christian parents, who, from his
earliest childhood, reared him in the fear of the Lord. When more advanced in
years, he became so proficient in Greek and Latin, in profane and sacred
sciences, that he was considered the first among the learned men of Rome. The
holy Pope Damasus ordained him Deacon, and soon after sent him to the Court of
Constantinople, as the Emperor Theodosius had requested a learned man as tutor
for his two sons. Arsenius employed all his talents to instruct these princes
thoroughly in virtue and knowledge. One day, when the Emperor came into the
apartment where Arsenius taught his sons, he saw that the former was standing
while the latter received their instructions seated. He immediately made
Arsenius sit down and ordered the princes to stand during the time of
instruction; “for,” said he, “a teacher deserves more esteem than a father; the
latter gives only temporal, but the former spiritual life, by teaching virtue
and piety, which is far more valuable.” But, notwithstanding these lessons of
the Emperor to his sons, Arcadius, on one occasion, was so embittered against
his holy teacher, when he had been reproved on account of a great fault, that
he hired one of his servants to put him secretly to death. The servant, fearing
God more than Arcadius, informed Arsenius of the prince’s criminal design, and
the man, who had long since grown tired of life at court, and in prayer had
heard a voice, saying: “Flee the society of men, and you shalt save thy soul
immediately resolved to quit Constantinople secretly. He therefore left during
the night, and finding a ship ready to sail, he went on board and proceeded to Egypt.
He then repaired to the desert of Scete. already famous for the many holy
hermits who dwelt in it. He was already more than 65 years old; still he
desired to receive the habit, as the mode of life of these hermits was very
austere. As soon as they had appointed him a cell, he prayed to God on bended
knees and with streaming eyes, to impart to him the grace to learn what he most
needed to save his soul; and he again heard a voice saying: “Flee; be silent;
be at rest.” To these three principles of salvation the former tutor, now a
pious hermit, endeavored to conform the remainder of his life. He fled all
company of men, allowed none to enter his cell, strictly kept silence, never
spoke of the great knowledge he possessed, nor of the high position he had once
held. When asked the reason for which he observed so strict a silence, he
replied: “I have never regretted my silence, but often the words I had spoken.”
He found peace in prayer, and in communing with God. His austerity was so
great, that it astonished the oldest hermits. He fasted daily and much more
strictly than the others; he slept at night upon the. bare ground, or a stone,
and never longer than two hours, employing the remaining time in prayer. He
observed most faithfully, the regulations and pious customs of the hermits,
and, in one word, he lived, from the beginning, so perfect a life, that he was
a model to all others, although they were much more accustomed to the
austerities than he.
Meanwhile, the Emperor
had employed people to search everywhere for Arsenius; and the hermits, with
whom he dwelt, began. to think that he was the man for whom the Emperor
manifested such solicitude. They interrogated him; but not until they had
placed him under obedience, could he be persuaded to answer. When Arcadius,
who, on his father’s death, succeeded to the throne, was informed of the abode
of Arsenius, he immediately wrote to him, requesting forgiveness for past
offences, begging him to return to court, and assuring him of his favor. The
holy hermit, however, who had long tasted the sweetness of a solitary life,
only answered, that he would pray daily for the Emperor, but would never leave
the service of the Almighty. Solitude was much more agreeable to him than the
tumult of the world, and to serve God was more glorious than to be. the
courtier of a mortal monarch. Hence he desired to remain free from all temporal
cares and from all society of men. A nobleman came from Rome, and brought him
the will of a near relative, who had died, leaving him great possessions.
“How could he make me his
heir, when I died long before him?” said the holy hermit. By this he intended
to intimate, that he had died to the world and felt no longer any interest in
temporal affairs. Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, visited the holy man,
accompanied by the Governor, and desired, on leaving, to receive an instruction
from him. Arsenius said: “I beg you to leave Arsenius in peace, and when they
inform you of his abode, do not again take the trouble to visit him.” Still
more severely did he treat a lady, who had travelled from Rome to Egypt, for
the sole purpose of seeing this extraordinary man. Returning from a conference
with the hermits, he met her on the way to his cell, w’here she, having waited
for him, fell on her knees, saying that she had come only to see him and to
recommend herself to his prayers. The holy man was almost angry, and without
raising his eyes to her, he said, sternly: “Dost thou not know, that it ill
becomes a woman to travel about the world alone? Thou wouldst have acted more
wisely by remaining at home and superintending thy household, which work was
given to thee by God, than by coming here and disturbing the hermits.” After
saying these words, he entered his cell; but the woman cried after him: “Promise,
at least, that you wilt pray to God for me.” “Yes,” replied he, “I will
immediately pray to God to efface from my memory every recollection of thee.”
By this the Saint showed his desire to be separated from the world and belong
only to God. Sometimes, however, a feeling of weariness with his religious life
would steal over him; but no sooner did he become aware of it, than he would
say to himself:
“Arsenius, why hast you
left the world and clothed thyself in the habit of a religious? Why hast you
chosen this desert as a dwelling-place? Was it not in order to serve the
Almighty? Endeavor then to follow in the steps of Him for whom you have come.
If you do not wish to live like a hermit, you must to have remained in the
world.” In this manner the holy man comforted himself, and freed himself from
all indolence and weariness in the service of God. The temptations of Evil
spirits, who sometimes appeared visibly to him, he conquered by meditation on
death, by fervent prayers, and trust in God; frequently also, by the protection
of the angels, who appeared to him during the contest. These instructed him
also in many things, by means of visions, at the time of prayer. Thus he once
saw a Moor, who cut wood and bound the pieces together to carry them home.
Finding that the load was too heavy for him, he added still more wood, and then
made an effort to carry the burden. At another time Arsenius saw a man, who
stood by a river, and with great pains poured water into a barrel, which being
full of holes, retained nothing, and thus all his efforts were in vain. When
the holy man professed his surprise at both these performances, the angel
explained them to him. “The first,” said he, “represents a sinner, who, already
guilty of one or more mortal sins, still commits others, thinking that one
confession will suffice for all. The second represents a man who performs a
great deal of work, but without a good intention. The first renders his
conversion very difficult, and the burden of his sins will eventually drag him
down and precipitate him into hell. The second has no merit for his good
works.” These, and other similar instructions Saint Arsenius received from the
angels, and he made use of them for his own perfection and that of others.
When Arsenius had thus
lived a most austere life for more than fifty years, God revealed to him his
approaching end. Although the Saint fervently desired to see the Almighty face
to face, those around him in his last moments, after he had received the Holy
Sacraments, observed that he, who had lived so holy a life, feared death, and
trembled at its approach. “Can it be, some one asked him, “dear father, that
you should fear death? “Yes, truly,” answered he, “I fear death, and .have
feared it ever since I began to lead a religious life.” But this fear did not
last long; and soon peace and joy, such as trust in the Divine mercy imparts,
beamed from his countenance. Comforted and happy, he ended his admirable life,
in the 115th year of his life, or as others say, the 120th.
Practical Considerations
1. “Flee, be silent, be
at rest:” three short but comprehensive lessons which heaven gave to Saint
Arsenius, and by which he regulated his holy life. May you also conform your
life to them! Flee all occasions and dangers of sin. Flee those who, by word or
action, incite you to do wrong, or prevent your doing good. “Be silent.”
Indulge not in useless, frivolous and sinful discourses. You have, in regard to
this, already too much to answer for. “Be at rest.” Let not cares for the goods
of this world so engross you that you cannot give sufficient time to the
welfare of your soul. Occupy a portion of each day in prayer and other
spiritual exercises. On Sundays and holy days do more. Read a devout book, and
besides attending at mass, hear a sermon, and assist at other public devotions.
At the end of each month, meditate on the state of your soul, and consider what
you must do and what you must avoid in order to save your soul. This is to rest
from all other labors, and to attend to what is the most important of all, the
salvation of your soul. Consider the words of Saint Paul, which I have already
given you elsewhere: “We entreat you, brethren, that you use your endeavor to
be quiet, and that you do your own business;” that is, the one most needful and
most important, that of your eternal salvation. (1st Thessalonians 4)
2. Saint Arsenius feared
death, although he had lived during many years so holy a life. How happens it
that you, leading so different and perhaps so sinful a life, do not fear death?
Oh! you most probably think too little of death. You do not earnestly consider
death and the life that follows it, or you think that your last hour is far
off, and hence, that you have plenty of time left to be concerned about it. But
perhaps you may belong to these who purposely avoid meditating on their last
hour, that they may not be disturbed in their sinful career. They do not desire
to hear anything about death, in order that no fear, no trepidation, no
melancholy thoughts may take possession of their hearts. How devoid of sense is
this! Does death put off his coming, or does he not make his appearance at all,
if we do not think of him? Will he appear less awful, when we do not wish to
hear and know anything about him? Experience teaches that death appears much
more terrible to those who seldom or never think of him, than to those who have
often meditated upon their last hour. He fills the soul of the former with much
greater dread. If you wish your last hour to be free from fear, fear now, but
let your fear be reasonable. Unreasonable is the fear of death, when we tremble
at the thought of it, but do nothing further. Such fear I do not wish you to
feel; for it is senseless and hurtful. Reasonable should your fear be: that is,
it should incite you to avoid everything that is able to make your death
unhappy, and to endeavor to do all that can be done to make your last hour one
of happy trust in God’s infinite mercy. To become the possessor of this
wholesome fear, it is necessary that you frequently think of death, not as far
off, but as quite near. “Remember that death is not slow,” says the Holy Ghost,
(Ecc. 24) “Behold the days of thy death are nigh.” (Deuteronomy 31) 44 Death
stands before the doors of the aged, but he comes unawares to the
young.” (Saint Bernard)
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Arsenius, Hermit and Abbot”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
15 March 2018. Web. 9 May 2020. <https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-arsenius-hermit-and-abbot/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-arsenius-hermit-and-abbot/
St Arsenius
Monk. Born in Rome, in
354, Arsenius is said to have been a deacon, and later a tutor to the Emperor
Theodosius' children in Constantinople.
He was rewarded with
money, servants and possessions and lived a luxurious life. But after ten years
he felt God calling him, gave everything away to join a group of desert monks
near Wadi Narun in Egypt. According to ancient accounts, when he arrived in the
community, Saint John the Dwarf, to whose cell he was led, took no notice of
him and left him standing by himself while he invited the rest to sit down at
table. When the meal was half finished he threw down some bread before him,
bidding him with an air of indifference eat if he would. Arsenius meekly picked
up the bread and ate, sitting on the ground. Satisfied with this proof of
humility, St John kept him under his direction.
In 434 he was forced to
leave due to raids on the monasteries and hermitages there by the Mazici
tribesmen from Libya. He relocated to Troe, near Memphis, and also spent some
time on the island of Canopus near Alexandria. He spent the next 15 years
wandering the desert wilderness before returning to Troe where he died in 445
at the age of around 100.
A biography of Arsenius
was written by Theodore the Studite.
Saint Arsenius was a very
quiet man. He once said: "Many times I spoke, and as a result felt sorry,
but I never regretted my silence."
SOURCE : https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/209
Saint Arsenius the Great
The Teacher of the Kings
(A.D. 445)
His Early Life
Arsenius was born to two
rich parents in A.D. 350 in Rome. His father was a senator and judge. His
parents were very righteous and honorable people. They sent Arsenius to the
teachers of the Church and was raised in the fear of God. He was eager to read
the Scriptures and the holy books, and was ordained a deacon then an
arch-deacon by Saint Damasus the Bishop of Rome.
After his parents died,
his sister Afrositty and he gave all their riches to the poor, and lived an
ascetic life. Arsenius became famous for his righteousness and wisdom. He was a
disciple of Rophenius the monastic historian from whom he admired the Egyptian
monastic life and its fathers, and he wished to meet them.
When the Emperor
Theodosius the Great wanted a man to whom he might entrust the education of his
children, Saint Damasus recommended Arsenius, a man of senatorial rank learned
in both sacred and worldly knowledge. Arsenius accordingly went to
Constantinople in 383 A.D. and was appointed to the post by Theodosius who,
coming once to see Arcadius and Honorius at their studies, found them sitting
whilst Arsenius talked to them standing: at once he caused Arsenius to sit and
ordered them to listen to him standing. But neither then nor in after-life were
the two augusti any credit to such a father or such a tutor; added to this Arsenius
had always a tendency to a retired life.
Flight to the Desert of
Egypt
When therefore after over
ten years at the court he seemed clearly to hear the voice of God through the
Gospel, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26). He left Constantinople and came by
sea to Alexandria and fled into the wilderness. When he first presented himself
to Abba Macarius the Great, the father of the monks of Skete, he recommended
him to the care of Saint John the Dwarf to try him. In the evening, when the
rest of the monks sat down to take their meal, Saint John left Arsenius
standing in the middle without inviting him. Such a reception was a severe
trial to an ex- courtier; but was followed by another much rougher, for Saint
John took a loaf of bread and threw it on the ground before him, biding him
with an air of indifference to eat it if he would. Arsenius cheerfully sat on
the ground and took his meal. Saint John was so satisfied with his behavior that
he required no further trial for his admission, and said, "This man will
make a monk".
Arsenius at first used
thoughtlessly to do certain things which he had done in the world, which seemed
inappropriate to his new companions, for instance, to sit cross-legged. The
seniors were unwilling through the respect they bore him to tell him of this in
public, so one agreed with another that he should put himself in that posture
and then be rebuked for his immodesty. Arsenius saw that the reproof was meant for
him, and corrected himself of that trick.
His Spiritual Strife
Being asked one day why
he, being so well educated, sought the instruction and advice of a certain monk
who was an utter stranger to all literature, he replied, "I am not
unacquainted with the learning of the Greeks and the Romans; but I have not yet
learned the alphabet of the science of the saints, whereof this seemingly
ignorant Egyptian is master". Evagrius of Pontus who, after he had
distinguished himself at Constantinople by his learning, had retired into the
desert of Nitria in 385, expressed surprise that many learned men made no
progress in virtue, whilst many Egyptians, who did not even know the letters of
the alphabet, arrived at a high degree of contemplation. Arsenius answered,
"We make no progress because we dwell in that exterior learning which
puffs up the mind; but these illiterate Egyptians have a true sense of their
own weakness, blindness, and insufficiency; and by that very thing they are
qualified to labor successfully in the pursuit of virtue".
Arsenius often passed the
whole night in watching and prayer, ad on Saturdays it was his custom to go to
prayers turning his back to the evening sun, and continue with his hands lifted
up to Heaven till the sun shone on his face the next morning.
His Self-Imposed Poverty
One of the emperor's
officers brought him the will of a senator, his relation, who was lately dead,
and had left him his heir. The saint took the will and would have torn it to
pieces, but the officer begged him not to, saying such an accident would get
him in trouble. Arsenius, however, refused the estate, saying "I died
eleven years ago and cannot be his heir".
He employed himself in
making mats of palm-tree leaves; and he never changed the water in which he
moistened the leaves, but only poured in fresh water upon it as it wasted. When
some asked him why he did not cast away the filthy water, he answered, "I
ought to be punished by this smell for the self-indulgence with which I
formerly used perfumes". He lived in the most utter poverty, so that in an
illness, having need for a small sum to procure him some little necessities, he
was obliged to beg for it.
His Solitude and Tears
Due to his desire for
quiet and solitude, Saint John allowed Saint Arsenius to live alone in a hidden
cave in the desert 32 miles away. He would seldom see strangers who came to
visit him, but Theophilus, Pope of Alexandria, came one day in company with
others to visit him, and begged he would speak on some subject for the good of
their souls. The saint asked them whether they were disposed to comply with his
directions; and being answered in the affirmative, he replied, "I entreat
you then that, whenever you are informed of Arsenius' abode, you would leave
him to himself and spare yourselves the trouble of coming after him". He
never visited his brethren, contenting himself with meeting them at spiritual conferences.
The abbot Mark asked him one day why he so much shunned their company. The
saint answered, "God knows how dearly I love you all; but I find I cannot
be both with God and with men at the same time; nor can I think of leaving God
to converse with men".
This disposition,
however, did not hinder him from giving spiritual instruction to his brethren,
and several of his sayings are recorded. He said often, "I have always
something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for
having been silent".
Nothing is so much spoken
of about Arsenius as his gift of tears, weeping both over his own shortcomings
and those of the world, particularly the feebleness of Arcadius and the
foolishness of Honorius.
His Departure
Saint Arsenius was tall
and comely but stooped a little in his old age; he had graceful carriage and a
certain shining beauty and air of both majesty and meekness; his hair was all
white, and his beard reached down to his girdle, but the tears which he shed
continually had worn away his eye-lashes. He lived in the same austere manner
till the age of about ninety-five; he spent forty years in the desert of Skete,
till a raid of barbarians compelled him to forsake this abode about the year
434. He retired to the rock of Troe, over against Memphis, and ten years after
to the island of Canopus, near Alexandria; but not being able to bear the
neighborhood of that city, he returned to Troe, where he died.
His brethren, seeing him
weep in his last hours, said to him, "Father, why do you weep? Are you,
like others, afraid to die?" The saint answered, "I am very afraid -
nor has this dread ever forsaken me from the time I first came into these
deserts". Notwithstanding his fear, Saint Arsenius died in great peace,
full of faith and of that humble confidence which perfect charity inspires, in
the year 445.
May the prayers of this
great Saint Arsenius, the teacher of the king's children, be with us all. Amen.
Conclusion
Parents' responsibility
in educating their children. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain
the whole world, and lose his own soul?". "I have always something to
repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for having been
silent". Virtues that allowed him to decide to change albeit at old age.
Saint Arsenius before and after joining the fathers of the desert.
SOURCE : http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/synexarion/arsenius.html
Менологий,
Государственный Исторический музей - Москва, греч. 9, л. 2
Миниатюра:
Сцена из жития Арсения Великого, 1063 - https://www.icon-art.info/masterpiece.php?mst_id=3557
Venerable Arsenius the
Great
Commemorated on May
8
Saint Arsenius the Great
was born in the year 354 at Rome into a pious Christian family, which provided
him a fine education and upbringing. He studied rhetoric and philosophy, and
mastered the Latin and Greek languages. Saint Arsenius gave up philosophy and
the vanity of worldly life, seeking instead the true wisdom praised by Saint
James “pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and
good fruits” (Jas. 3:17). He entered the ranks of the clergy as a deacon in one
of the Roman churches, dedicating himself to the service of God.
The emperor Theodosius
(379-395), who ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire, heard about his
erudition and piety, and he wished to entrust Arsenius with the education of
his sons Arcadius and Honorius. Arsenius, however, protested that he had given
up secular studies in order to serve God. Against his will, but in obedience to
the will of Pope Damasus (December 11), Saint Arsenius agreed to teach the
imperial children, hoping to teach them Christian piety as well.
When he arrived at
Constantinople, Arsenius was received with great honor by the emperor
Theodosius, who charged him to educate his sons not only in wisdom, but also in
piety, guarding them from the temptations of youth. “Forget that they are the
emperor’s sons,” said Theodosius, “for I want them to submit to you in all
things, as to their father and teacher.”
With fervor the saint
devoted himself to the education of the youths, but the high esteem in which he
was held troubled his spirit, which yearned for the quietude of monastic life.
Saint Arsenius entreated the Lord to show him the way to salvation. The Lord
heard his prayer and one time he heard a voice telling him, “Arsenius, flee
from men, and you shall be saved.” And then, removing his rich clothing and
replacing it with old and tattered garments, he secretly left the palace,
boarded a ship for Alexandria, and he made his way to Sketis, a monastery in
the midst of the desert.
Arriving at the church,
he asked the priests to accept him into the monastic brotherhood, calling
himself a wretched wanderer, though his very manner betrayed him as a
cultivated man. The brethren led him to Abba John the Dwarf (November 9), famed
for his holiness of life. He, wishing to test the newcomer’s humility, did not
seat Arsenius with the monks for the trapeza meal. He threw him a piece of dry
bread saying, “Eat if you wish.” Saint Arsenius got down on his hands and
knees, and picked up the bread with his mouth. Then he crawled off into a
corner and ate it. Seeing this, Elder John said, “He will be a great ascetic!”
Then accepting Arsenius with love, he tonsured him into monasticism.
Saint Arsenius zealously
passed through his obediences and soon he surpassed many of the desert Fathers
in asceticism. The saint again heard the Voice while he was praying, “Arsenius,
hide from people and dwell in silence, this is the root of virtue.” From that
moment Saint Arsenius settled in a solitary cell deep in the desert.
Having taken on the
struggle of silence he seldom left his seclusion. He came to church only on
Sundays and Feast days, observing complete silence and conversing with no one.
When Abba Moses asked him why he hid himself from people, Saint Arsenius
replied, “God knows that I love you, but I cannot remain with God and with men
at the same time. The Heavenly Powers all have one will and praise God
together. On earth, however, there are many human wills, and each man has his
own thoughts. I cannot leave God in order to live with people.”
Though absorbed in
constant prayer, the saint did not refuse visiting monks with his counsel and
guidance, giving short, but perceptive answers to their questions. Once, a monk
from Sketis saw the great Elder through a window standing at prayer, surrounded
by a flame.
The handicraft of Saint
Arsenius was to weave baskets, for which he used the fronds of date palms
soaked in water. For a whole year Saint Arsenius did not change the water in
the container, but merely added a little water to it from time to time. This
caused his cell to be permeated with a foul stench. When asked why he did this,
the saint replied that it was fitting for him to humble himself in this way,
because in the world he had used incense and fragrant oils. He prayed that
after death he would not experience the stench of hell.
The fame of the great
ascetic spread far, and many wanted to see him, and they disturbed his
tranquility. As a result, the saint was forced to move around from place to
place. But those thirsting to receive his guidance and blessing still found
him.
Saint Arsenius taught
that many take upon themselves great deeds of repentance, fasting, and vigil,
but it is rare for someone to guard his soul from pride, greed, jealousy,
hatred of one’s brother, remembrance of wrongs, and judgment. In this they
resemble graves which are decorated outwardly, but filled with stinking bones.
A certain monk once asked
Saint Arsenius what he should do when he read the Holy Scriptures and did not
comprehend their meaning. The Elder answered, “My child, you must study and
learn the Holy Scriptures constantly, even if you do not understand their
power... For when we have the words of the Holy Scriptures on our lips, the
demons hear them and are terrified. Then they flee from us, unable to bear the
words of the Holy Spirit Who speaks through His apostles and prophets.”
The monks heard how the
saint often urged himself on in his efforts with the words, “Rouse yourself,
Arsenius, work! Do not remain idle! You have not come here to rest, but to
labor.” He also said, “I have often regretted the words I have spoken, but I
have never regretted my silence.”
The great ascetic and
keeper of silence was given the gift of tears with which his eyes were
constantly filled. He spent fifty-five years at monastic labors and struggles.
He spent forty years at Sketis, and ten years on the mountain of Troe near
Memphis. Then he spent three years at Canopus, and two more years at Troe,
where he fell asleep in the Lord.
Our holy, God-bearing
Father Arsenius reposed when he was nearly one hundred years old, in the year 449
or 450.
His only disciples seem
to have been Alexander, Zoilos, and Daniel (June 7).
SOURCE : https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/05/08/101328-venerable-arsenius-the-great
Sant' Arsenio il
Grande Eremita
Festa: 19 luglio
Roma, 354 - Menfi, 450
Arsenio era nato a Roma
intorno al 354 da nobile famiglia senatoria. Nel 383 l'imperatore Teodosio lo
volle a Costantinopoli per affidargli l'educazione dei figli Arcadio e Onorio.
Vi restò undici anni, fino al 394, quando in seguito a una profonda crisi spirituale
ottenne l'esonero da quell'incarico per ritirarsi nel deserto egiziano.
Chiedendo a Dio una sicura via per giungere alla salvezza, una voce misteriosa
gli avrebbe risposto: «Fuggi gli uomini». Il quarantenne Arsenio seguì alla
lettera il consiglio: sbarcato ad Alessandria d'Egitto, si aggregò alla
comunità degli anacoreti di Scete, in pieno deserto. Trascorreva notti intere
in preghiera e meditazione: una preghiera fatta più di lacrime che di parole,
poiché egli ebbe da Dio il "dono del pianto". Dal 434 al 450, che si
presume sia l'anno della morte, Arsenio dovette vivere lontano dalla tranquilla
Scete, invasa da una tribù libica. Morì a Troe presso Menfi. Di lui, oltre a
una cronistoria e a sagge massime, riferite da Daniele di Pharan, amico di due
discepoli di Arsenio, ci resta addirittura un ritratto in cui appare di
bell'aspetto, maestosamente alto e asciutto. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Arsenio
= virile, forte, dal greco
Nella Chiesa primitiva le debolezze umane venivano combattute con una disciplina assai rigorosa. In tempo di persecuzione l'ideale era rappresentato dalla morte per Cristo, col martirio. Poi, a cominciare dal IV secolo, si cercava un'altra morte: la rinuncia al mondo e la solitudine del deserto. La vita eremitica, che ha nell'egiziano S. Antonio abate l'esempio più imitato e più popolare, grazie anche alla biografia scritta da S. Atanasio, costituì per molti anni il rifugio preferito di questi simpatici anarchici dello spirito, inizialmente autonomi come i primi pionieri del West americano, poi organizzati da una Regola ascetica, che fissava tempi di digiuno e di preghiera nella vita parzialmente comunitaria, che mitigava la rigida separazione dai propri simili.
Molti cristiani intraprendevano lunghi e disagiati pellegrinaggi per avere un colloquio con questi anacoreti illuminati, tra i quali vi è appunto S. Arsenio, eremita in Egitto e uno dei più celebri "padri del deserto". Il santo anacoreta però non amava rompere la rigida osservanza del silenzio neppure con un pellegrino che venisse da lontano. E quando non poteva sottrarsi a queste visite d'obbligo, le sue rare e monosillabiche risposte scoraggiavano anche il più devoto degli interlocutori, al punto che questi se ne andava quasi più sconcertato che edificato. Arsenio era nato a Roma intorno al 354 da nobile famiglia senatore. Un'antica tradizione dice che egli fu ordinato diacono dallo stesso papa Damaso.
Nel 383 l'imperatore Teodosio lo volle a Costantinopoli per affidargli l'educazione dei figli Arcadio e Onorio. Vi restò undici anni, fino al 394, quando in seguito a una profonda crisi spirituale ottenne l'esonero da quell'incarico per ritirarsi nel deserto egiziano. Chiedendo a Dio una sicura via per giungere alla salvezza, una voce misteriosa gli avrebbe risposto: "Fuggi gli uomini". Il quarantenne Arsenio seguì alla lettera il consiglio: sbarcato ad Alessandria d'Egitto, si aggregò alla comunità degli anacoreti di Scete, in pieno deserto. Concedendosi pochissimo sonno, trascorreva notti intere in preghiera e meditazione: una preghiera fatta più di lacrime che di parole, poiché egli ebbe da Dio il "dono del pianto".
Dal 434 al 450, che si presume sia l'anno della morte, Arsenio dovette vivere lontano dalla tranquilla Scete, invasa da una tribù libica. Morì a Troe presso Menfi. Di lui, oltre a una cronistoria e a sagge massime, riferite da Daniele di Pharan, amico di due discepoli di Arsenio, ci resta addirittura un ritratto in cui appare di bell'aspetto, maestosamente alto e asciutto.
Autore: Piero Bargellini
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/63500
J. Bois. « Les hésychastes avant le XIVe siècle ». Revue des études byzantines Année 1901 5-1 pp. 1-11: https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_1146-9447_1901_num_5_1_3374
Jean-Yves Leloup. Écrits sur l’hésychasme. Une tradition contemplative oubliée. 1990 : http://www.theologica.fr/!_Pg_Patristique_Theologiens&OrdresMonastiques_4/PERES%20DU%20DESERT/Leloup%20Jean-Yves%20-%20Ecrits%20sur%20l'h%C3%A9sychasme.pdf
Voir aussi : https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/May/08-02.htm
https://centresaintecroix.net/fuis-tais-toi-et-garde-lhesychia/
