10
July 1073 A.D. Anthony
of the Caves Dies—Father of Russian Monasticism
In medicine, the healthiest
transplants are from tissues that are most closely matched to the body that
they are being grafted into. A similar principle holds in religion. When Christianity took root in Rus (the Ukraine)
in 988, after the baptism of Prince Vladimir, rich men donated funds for
monasteries. Institutions opened that followed Byzantine ways. Somehow, they
didn't "click" with the Russian temperament.
One young man who investigated
these monasteries was Antip from the town of Liubech. When he had come of age,
he traveled to Mount Athos, Greece, and became a monk, taking the name Anthony.
After Anthony had spent several years in Greece, his abbot sent him back to his
own land, saying "The Lord has given you strength in the way of holiness
and you must now lead others." Anthony made the rounds of local
monasteries, found he did not like any of them, and settled in a cave near
Kiev.
There he lived alone, subsisting
on a frugal diet of bread and water with a few vegetables that he grew himself.
During a time of trouble after the death of Vladimir, he returned to Athos. In
1015, when matters had settled down, the abbot again sent Anthony back home.
This time, Anthony stayed. He found
himself another cave near Kiev. People began coming to ask his blessing. They
brought him gifts which he never kept, but gave to the poor instead. He took
only a little bread from their hands. Soon his self-sacrificing life attracted
followers. He was credited with gifts of healing, prophecy and spiritual
discernment. He welcomed all who came, and allowed them to dig new caves in the
hillside.
A priest named Nikon joined
Anthony. He made new monks, including two from among wealthy families. Prince
Izyaslav, who was reigning at that time, became furious and demanded the sons
of these favorites be expelled to return home. Nikon refused. Anthony decided
he had better move on for safety sake, and left. Eventually the prince calmed
down and asked Anthony to return. When his following had grown to twelve monks,
Anthony turned its leadership over to a monk named Barlaam and dug himself a
new cave about 600 feet away from the others. He wanted greater solitude.
Prince Izyaslav soon tapped Barlaam to head another monastery. Anthony
appointed a meek and obedient monk named Theodosius to take Barlaam's place.
More young men came. The hillside
became crowded. Anthony petitioned the Prince for the land above the caves. It
was granted and they began work on a stone church and monastic cells. Anthony
did not live to see them completed. He died on this day, July 10, 1073, at the age of ninety. He is known as the Father of
Russian Monasticism. The monastery he founded survived for a thousand years.
"Many monasteries were built with the wealth of princes and nobles,"
says a Russian chronicle, "but this was the first to be built with tears
and fasting and prayer."
Bibliography:
1. Rabenstein, Katherine I.; edited
by James Keifer. "Antony of the Caves." http://www.hillsdale.edu/dept/Phil&Rel/
Biography/07/11b.html
2. "St. Anthony of the Kiev
Caves." Orthodox America. http://www.roca.org/OA/78/78g.htm.
Last updated July, 2007
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