Encyclopedia of Ascetic Theology

The Life of Stillness by Mar Isaac, Bishop of Nineveh

The Life of Stillness by Mar Isaac, Bishop of Nineveh

“Stillness is the work of the monk; if he loses stillness, his life as a monk is disturbed.”
— Mar Isaac

For whom is stillness, and when?¹

For everyone:
“In ancient times our holy fathers permitted everyone to dwell in quietness: men and women, boys and elders, the wise and the simple.”
“The fathers, each one in his time, used to command the brethren to sit in stillness.”
“Necessity compels those who care for the salvation of their souls and who long for the love of our Lord and the fulfillment of His holy commandments to persevere continually in stillness, each one according to his rank.”

Even beginners!!
“Know that in the days of Saint Macarius the situation was not like it is in our time. And if our days were like that time in which the saints lived, there would have been no necessity compelling beginner brethren to confinement during specific weeks. For we know from the book written by Saint Macarius that: absolutely, the beginner brother does not go out of his cell in the middle of the week.”

Except for dwelling in the deserts:
“Stillness in deserts and mountains is not fitting for everyone, but for people of knowledge in whom understanding has succeeded and the love of Christ has increased in their hearts, and who have acquired much patience and endurance.”

The period of the community

Mar Isaac strongly calls for the life of stillness, provided that it is preceded by a period of the monk’s service in the monastic community and his living with them. During that period the community tests him, and he tests himself, and he acquires spiritual virtues that later help him to live in peace in stillness and solitude. Therefore Mar Isaac says:

The community period first:
“We practice the virtues first in the community. And after we graduate and are trained, we enter stillness.”
“The solitary who, during the time of obedience and the work of the community, chooses for himself the comfort of the freedom of the sons, weeps in the time of true rest and is pierced by repentance. The solitary who, in the time of gathering the fruits of joy, is ruled by repentance and sorrow, is a witness against himself that in the time of sowing and submission to obedience to the community he did not endure the hardship of cold and ice to plow the spiritual plow deep furrows in the soil of his heart in order to preserve the seed of the bread of life. Therefore now, in the time of harvest, he is pierced by hunger.”

The fruits of the community period:
“Everyone who, in the days of his servitude—that is, obedience to the community—walked uprightly without negligence or neglect, and contemplated with his mind without distraction the delight of good things, this one, whenever trials and hardships and sorrowful things come upon him—at the time of his sitting in stillness—places in his heart hope and consolation. And however pressing the trials may be, bearing them becomes light upon him, and he rejoices and endures them.”

“And if he goes out of his cell, that rest which he had inside the cell is written upon his eyes and upon his mouth and upon his hands and upon his feet—in short, upon his inner self and upon his body outwardly. And he is filled with joy and hope in God and faith in all that he encounters.”

“And these things happen to the one who labored and obeyed with a straight purpose and humbled himself and submitted during the time of the community.”

Shortening the community period:
“The one who is perfect in stature and has longing for God: after leaving the world he should not remain long in the community. But if he learns the order and conduct of the brethren and the rite of this schema and the nature of its humility, he should separate himself in his cell alone, lest he acquire the habit of mixing with many—except for consultation with one elder who is witnessed to have good conduct and knowledge of the way of stillness.”

When, and how?
“When the fathers sensed that the fruits of the Spirit had begun to appear in them, they resorted to permanent stillness.”
“The one who has reached the governance of theoria and the knowledge of the Spirit greatly needs solitude and stillness in the place of his dwelling.”
“And he does this by the opinion of the teacher, the permission of the guide, the counsel of the fathers, and the prayers of his brethren, and he benefits. And if they do not accept from him at first, he continues in supplication to God with sorrow and tears, that He may move their hearts toward what is fitting for his benefit.”
“And it is not fitting for a person—if he asks something from our Lord or from the saints—to obtain his request quickly. Rather, he persists in supplication for a time, and afterward it is granted to him. And he should not think, if the gift is delayed from him, that his request is not the will of God.”

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1. An article by His Grace Bishop Shenouda, Bishop of Education – Al-Kiraza Magazine, Year Three – Issues Three and Four – March and April 1967.