A rule of the hermit life, drawn up by Anthony the Great
I hand on these rules, spoken by the Lord through my mouth, to all of you who wish to bow your necks under the heavy yoke of the hermit life. You must submit to these commandments; and whoever breaks even one of them “shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven” (5:19).
Whoever truly wishes to save his soul (by the way of life withdrawn from this world), let him not remain in his own house, nor live in the city where he has sinned! Let him also not visit his parents and his kin according to the flesh, for by such meetings with those close to him harm comes to the soul and the fruits of the hermit life perish.
Do not return to the city where you once sinned before God!
Do not go even to find out how your kinsfolk in the flesh are living, and do not let them come to you to see how you live! And in general, never meet with them!
Our spiritual fathers assure us that the desert is the fittest place for thinking on death and the surest refuge for fencing oneself off from worldly attachments, which give pleasure to the body.
He who lives in the desert and has taken up the labour of silence is guarded from three kinds of temptation: his ears hear nothing unseemly, his tongue speaks no blasphemy, and his eyes see no indecency, and his soul is not harmed by them.
Be watchful, lest the thought deceive you that the desert will bring you to coolness and take away your spiritual ardour, and lest because of this you refuse the life of the desert.
Since you have withdrawn from the talk of this life, be alone in your cell and become a stranger. To be in your cell will be for you what living in a foreign land is for strangers.
When you go out from your place of solitude, try to return quickly to your cell; as soon as the task is done, return to your solitary dwelling.
When you go out to the harvest or on some other errand, do not linger long without work, but as soon as the task is done return to your solitary dwelling.
If you visit some brother, do not stay long in his cell.
While you are in your cell, keep to three occupations: do handiwork, read the psalms, and pray.
Here is what you should do while in your cell: read Holy Scripture, pray before God, and do handiwork.
Fast every day until the ninth hour, except on Saturday and the Lord’s day (Sunday); and when the ninth hour comes, go into your inner cell (after working in the outer cell, that is, in the porch) and before taking food offer up prayer to the Lord. After taking food, read and pray by turns.
Offer up prayer at the appointed hours, and do not leave out a single one of those appointed hours, lest in due time you have to answer for it.
At night perform your prayer alone, before you go to church for the common prayer.
And always, before you go to church, offer up prayer to God in your cell.
Both before prayer with the brethren and after it, always perform prayer in your cell, and never be too lazy to do so.
Bend your knees often in prayer, and do not be too lazy to do it, lest you come to an evil death.
When you pray, do not give way to sloth, whether willingly or unwillingly, for the prayer of a slothful ascetic is words uttered in vain, which God will not hear.
When you pray and are in the remembrance of God, be like the bird that flies lightly high in the sky, and then you will justify both your monastic vow and the purpose of your monastic habit.
Read Holy Scripture diligently, and by this you will root out impurity in yourself (that is, by the reading of Holy Scripture drive away from yourself impure thoughts and unseemly imaginations).
If you always read Holy Scripture diligently and keep the commandments of the Lord, then God too will always be merciful to you.
Always think on the greatness of God and on His works, and do not be too lazy to pray.
A monk who sits in his cell with silent lips but does not think constantly on the providence of God is like an abandoned house left in ruins outside the city and become a place of every filth and uncleanness, for whoever carries filth out of his own house throws it there. To put it otherwise, this is a monk who is silent with his lips but gives his mind over to empty daydreams, indulges the desires of his heart and is carried away by evil passions — and all this is the filth and uncleanness which the demons gather in his ruined soul.
Our body must be subdued and worn down by long toil, so that we may not fall into temptation through it.
Set yourself some task to work at in your cell, and your heart will always be peaceful and humble.
Force yourself to do handiwork in your cell, and the fear of God will dwell in your soul.
Do your handiwork diligently when you are alone in your cell, and from on high the true fear of God will be granted to your soul.
While you are alone in your cell, apply yourself to work and do not spend even a little time in sloth; but with this, do not put the name of our Lord out of your mind and be always in remembrance of Him; learn everything from Him and magnify Him with your tongue as well, and say thus: O Lord my Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Or thus: O Lord Jesus Christ, grant help to me, Thy servant! Or again: I magnify Thee, O Lord my Jesus Christ!
Set always one and the same hour for taking food, and take food only for the health of the body and not for pleasure.
Take the simplest and cheapest food.
Eat your bread always in silence and with restraint, and do not forget that at table you should sit humbly.
When taking food, do not eat to the full.
Do not be greedy and hasty for food, lest your former sins come to life in you again.
Do not break the fast on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Do not go near at all to the place where wine is pressed.
You should not be eager for gatherings and invitations to a common table.
If you go to a place where a common table is set, take food and give thanks to God.
To the three cups of wine you take at a common table, do not add a fourth. Only some grave illness can be a reason for taking more wine.
Do not put out your hand at once to one who offers you something (of food).
If you are young, do not put out your hand before an elder, for a humble person would not act so.
When you go to sleep, sleep little, as much as is needed for the health of the body, and the angels will visit you.
If you are in health and are not seized by some illness, do not loosen your belt.
When you go to sleep, do not fold your hands inside, lest you sin unwillingly in the night.
By day and by night wear your cowl and be clothed in your mantle, and in all your clothing be as a prisoner and a captive.
Never clothe yourself in such a garment as would exalt you and show you off.
Take care of your garment, so that on the day of judgement you may not be found naked, like many.
Beyond what you absolutely need, keep nothing in your cell.
The poverty of a monk is nothing else than moderation in everything, that is, such a life in which he is content with little, with only what is necessary.
Love the reproach spoken against you more than honour and praise; the wearying of the body more than rest; and the lack of necessary things more than their abundance.
The affairs of the church (its care and keeping, its guarding, and seeing that the divine service is always performed as it should be) should be entrusted to righteous and God-fearing brethren.
As soon as the semantron is struck, do not be slow but hasten at once to church.
Do not leave the service before it ends, lest this become a stumbling-block and a snare of the devil for you.
Do not behave in church as you behave in a gathering of many people (that is, your soul should not be troubled by a multitude of thoughts and noise).
In church do not think about burying your dead (that is, while you are in church do not think about how to arrange your worldly affairs).
Do not undertake any task whatever without asking the counsel of the abba of the monastery.
Do not multiply words before your abba and before the monks who stand higher than you.
Keep firmly buried in your heart the knowledge that in all things you must obey your spiritual father; and if you do this, the fear of God will dwell in you.
The summit of your ascetic labour is obedience, and it will be for good both to you and to other people, if from your youth you have borne the yoke of the Lord.
Do not be unruly and disobedient, lest you become an instrument of every evil and there be gathered in you, as in a vessel, wickedness and uncleanness.
With humility and tears ask your spiritual father to teach and instruct you in all that you do not yet know, and then you will never be put to shame.
Always remember your teacher, who strengthens you with good teaching, and try to learn from him the life-giving commandments; and if you do this, by the will of the Lord you will spend your days in this world in a godly life, as the Apostle Paul commands: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:14–15).
If you have truly bowed your neck under the yoke of obedience with a sincere heart, listen attentively to what you are told, and then conscientiously fulfil everything in the whole fullness of the vow you have made.
Do not hide from your spiritual father the sin you have committed.
Learn good manners and conduct from your teacher every day.
Love your spiritual fathers more than the parent of your flesh, because they care for you in the name of God.
Live so that the fathers of the monastery, who gave you spiritual birth, may rejoice when they see your glory among the company of the saints.
Strive in every way to receive the prayer and blessing of the teachers of the monastery, so that their grace may come down upon you too.
Do not disclose your thoughts to everyone, but confide only in those who are able to heal your soul.
Do not disclose your thoughts to everyone, lest you become a stumbling-block to your brother and your neighbour.
Be friendly with everyone, but do not make everyone your counsellor.
Strive to attain such virtue that all people may pray for you and bless you.
Share your brother’s sorrow and show him compassion.
If some brother insistently asks you, help me, then work at his side that whole day.
A friend is known in trial; but do not draw close to everyone who wishes to know you, and do not trust everyone, for this world is full of treachery; rather choose one of the brethren who is good and fears God, and be his friend as brother with brother and equal with equal. But it is better to cleave to God as a son to a father, for of men almost all, save a few, have given themselves to treachery, and this world too is full of vanity, of trouble and of mourning.
Reprove your erring children without sparing them and set them on the right way, because you too will answer for their sins on the dread day of judgement.
If one of the brethren comes to you and confides to you his thoughts and imaginings, know this: say nothing about them to anyone, but pray for the salvation of your soul and his, that the Lord may look upon you both with the eye of mercy.
Do not cast away from you the person who seeks the faith of Christ.
Do not instruct one who will not receive your counsel and admonition.
Do not lay down as a rule for anyone what you have not first tested yourself and carried out in deed.
The greatest unseemliness in this world, among many other unseemly things, is when you exhort another to do what you yourself cannot do. Know that other people’s deeds are of no profit to you.
Every day, when you rise from sleep, think first of all and take care of the sick who are in your brotherhood.
Visit the sick brethren and fill their vessel with water (serve them with what you can).
Everything you have over and above your needs, give out to the sick of the monastery, and help them with whatever you can.
If your abba appoints you to serve the sick brethren, serve them with your whole heart, so that you may receive a double reward from God — for obedience fulfilled with love and for helping the sick.
If some brother comes to you, even if it happens at an untimely hour, receive him with joy, so that he too may give thanks to God and not be seized with sorrow because of you.
If some brother visits you, humble yourself before him in everything, meet him with good will and help him with everything you can in the Lord; and above all, fear self-exaltation and self-conceit.
Your face should look sorrowful every day; and only when the brethren visit you, meet them with a cheerful heart and a cheerful face.
Be humble in all that you do.
In all your conduct and dealings with others, imitate a poor beggar: do not exalt yourself when speaking with anyone, nor when you sing praise to God; and when you meet the brethren in assembly, let your word be simple, unadorned and filled with humility.
Do not enter into conversation with a boy or a youth, for otherwise this may become a stumbling-block for you.
And with a boy, never speak at all.
Do not make friends with a youth, and still less make him your fellow-labourer, so as not to give place to the devil in yourself.
Do not take by the hand the brother standing beside you, nor touch his cheek, whether he be older than you or younger.
With all your strength try to keep away from those people who are without reason and understanding.
If you truly want a peaceful life, do not go in to those people whose whole care is vanity; and if you ever happen to find yourself among them, bear yourself as though you were not beside them at all.
Do not raise your voice (and in general keep silence in your cell all the time), and use your voice only to say the prayers appointed by the rule.
Keep from mockery and slander of the tongue, and in general put a bridle on your tongue.
Do not speak much, whatever you are saying, lest the Spirit of God depart from you.
The greatest of works is silence, in which we are made like the Lord, who kept silence even when Herod summoned Him.
When you and the true believers among the brethren who are like you come together, choose for yourself the better and more profitable portion — listen more and take in everything that others say, and always fulfil this saving counsel diligently. This will be far better and more profitable for your soul than to speak yourself.
When you have to go to one of the brethren, let the fear of God be in your heart, and keep your lips closed, so that you may meet no temptation and may return in peace to your cell.
A sensible man who has partaken of divine wisdom knows well what is best for him and how he should act, and so he does not hurry to speak but weighs things well and so decides when to listen and when to speak. But a foolish person does not act so and does not restrain his tongue.
When you sit among the brethren, do not say much; and if you want to ask them something, ask briefly and humbly.
Let your words be spoken with good will, for instruction in the fear of God; know that according to your words both glory and abasement will come to you.
Do not speak when filled with wrath, but always utter your word with wisdom and understanding, like our all-wise holy fathers; imitate them both in silence and in conversation, for their word was always full of wisdom and understanding, as was their silence.
Let your tongue always obey the direction of your mind, for words that are without understanding will turn into sharp thorns for you yourself.
Depart from falsehood, otherwise it will drive away from you the true fear of God.
Your lips should always be opened only to speak the truth.
Let the subject of your words and conversations always be the good deeds and mercies of God — by this you will be made worthy to receive still more good and mercy from the Most High. With every word of yours magnify God.
Do not enquire into evil deeds and do not ask about them, but keep far from them.
Never begin an idle conversation, and do not listen to those who speak vain things, lest through such empty, vain talk evil enter your soul.
Hate the idle word, and neither say nor hear anything about all that makes up the vanity of this world.
As far as you are able, keep from jokes and amusing talk.
Never shout, do not speak too loudly or hastily, for he who multiplies words will not be kept safe from sin. A man of many words is foolish and senseless (Eccl. 10:14).
Do not be stubborn and self-willed; never insist that your words be acknowledged or carried out, however right you may be, lest evil enter your soul and you be filled with wrath.
Do not swear either by God or by anything else, even for a wholly certain and good cause; and for a doubtful matter an oath is all the more unseemly.
If out of urgent need you are obliged to go into the city, do not set out alone, but take someone with you from among the brethren or the novices.
When you have gone to fetch water, or are travelling somewhere on some errand, say the psalms in your mind and think on them without ceasing.
When you go somewhere with the brethren, keep a little distance from them and walk in silence.
When you are going somewhere on the road, do not turn aside either to the right or to the left, but read the psalms attentively in your mind and pray in your heart before God. And wherever you may have to go and stop, do not make friends with the inhabitants of those places.
Never mix in a crowd, in a gathering of worldly people; but do not be like the Pharisee either, who does everything for others to see.
Do not allow a woman to come near you, and still more, on no account allow her to enter the cell where you live, for in the track of a woman a whirlwind of vain thoughts will come in to you.
Never take food together with a woman, and do not share a table with a boy; still less is it fitting for you to be friends with them.
When of necessity you are obliged to pass the night somewhere else, outside your cell, know this: do not cover yourself with one sheet or garment together with anyone, whoever that may be (someone of the brethren of the monastery or another).
Do not lie down for the night on one mat (on one bed) with someone younger than yourself.
Let not two of the brethren sleep on one mat, unless extreme need requires it; and in general do not lie down for the night on one mat with anyone, be it even your own brother or your own father.
Do not stay long in the guest house of the monastery.
Be zealous in gaining and acquiring the virtues, so as not to become enslaved to sloth instead.
Take care that divine love does not grow cold in your soul and that you do not give yourself over to indifference.
Do not turn back from the good works you have set about, and do not return to the way of sin.
Since you have begun the solitary life, do not return again to your old way of life.
Do not abandon the works you have taken on in entering upon the labour of virtue, lest you become slothful and negligent and fall into sin. To the end, to the very last moment of your life in this world, love the Lord with your whole being, and you will be made worthy of His mercy.
As the ruins of a house outside the city become a nest of every uncleanness and a place for rubbish, so the soul of the monk who has given himself to sloth and lives the hermit life negligently becomes the dwelling of all evil passions and uncleanness.
If you have dedicated yourself to God, fulfil all His commandments, and what you are told to do, do diligently, so that nothing of what is commanded is left out; but if you leave out some commandment and do not keep it, or if something of what is commanded is left undone, then your former sins will not be forgiven you either. But if you firmly resolve to fulfil every commandment, so that you will not fear even death, then be assured that all your former sins will be forgiven.
Your mind must be occupied without ceasing with how to fulfil the commandments of the Lord; put all your strength into keeping the commandments of the Lord, and that in such a way as not to leave out even one of them, for if you act otherwise, your soul will become the dwelling of every uncleanness.
