While still living in the palace, Abba Arsenius prayed to God in these words, “Lord, lead me in the way of salvation.” And a voice came saying to him, “Arsenius, flee from men and you will be saved.”1
Having withdrawn to the solitary life he made the same prayer again and he heard a voice saying to him, “Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the sources of sinlessness.”2
The call of Abba Arsenius in 394 C.E. from the luxury and influence of the imperial palace in Constantinople to fifty-two years in the deserts of Egypt emphasizes two of the most fundamental virtues of desert monasticism: stillness, the withdrawal from conventional activities and silence, withdrawal from commonly practiced patterns of speech. These two monastic virtues seem uniquely appropriate for the life Arsenius chose and in short supply both in his world and in modern Western society. Do these virtues constitute antisocial behavior? Did Arsenius and the other desert ciders flee the inhabited world because they did not like human relationships and conversations? Is it necessary to withdraw from society in order to pray and be open to God’s grace? To modern ears many of the sayings of the elders seem to be saying “Yes!” But a closer look at the context of the elders’ lives will reveal the sources of the wisdom embedded in these sayings. Ironically, stillness and silence have much to say about the integrity of human activities and conversations. Human behavior and speech manifest great power and, therefore, can promote both good and evil. This is why stillness and silence were necessary virtues in the lives of the desert elders that guided their path to transformation.
“Abba Antony said, ‘He who stays in the desert and practices stillness is delivered from three temptations, that of hearing, that of speaking, and that of seeing. He has only one temptation, that of the heart.”‘3
Amma Syncletica said, “We who have chosen this way of life must obtain perfect temperance. It is true that among seculars, also, temperance has the freedom of the city, but intemperance cohabits with it, because they sin with all the other senses. Their gaze is shameless and they laugh immoderately.”4
Abba Aio questioned Macarius (the Great), “Give me a word.” Abba Macarius said to him, “Flee from men, stay in your cell, weep for your sins, do not take pleasure in the conversation of men, and you will be saved.”5
Why would anyone want to be “delivered” from hearing other people, speaking to them, or laughing with them? What is to be gained from withdrawing from involvement in society? What is the benefit of “enduring in silence”? How does “fleeing from people” and not taking “pleasure in the conversations of people” result in a person’s salvation? Answers to these legitimate questions will emerge as we review aspects of life in the inhabited world that the desert elders called “futile” and observe the manner of life that led to the abbas’ and ammas’ commitment to love of God and neighbor. To be open to the wisdom of the elders we must always keep in mind that they chose their austere life voluntarily as a vocation. Although their life stood in stark contrast to the society they left, it became a source of freedom and peace to them. While they preferred their manner of life as a path to salvation, they did not condemn those who continued to seek God within conventional society. While most readers, and the author, are not called to this type of monastic life, our lives can be edified and enriched by the wisdom of the desert elders. Our manner of life is different, but we walk the same path as Christians. “It was revealed to Abba Antony in his desert that there was one who was his equal in the city. He was a doctor by profession and whatever he had beyond his needs he gave to the poor, and every day he sang the Sanctus with the angels.”6
~David G.R. Keller, Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers
1 The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, trans. Benedicta Ward, S.L.G. (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1984) Arsenius l, 9.
2 Ibid., Arsenius 2, 9.
3 P. B. Paschos, ed., Gerontikon, 1961. Antony 4, 128A.
4 Ward, Sayings, Syncletica 2, 231.
5 Ibid., Macarius the Great 41, 138.
6 Ibid., Antony 24, 6.
