Instruction to an Abbot on How to Govern the Brothers

A certain abbot, happening to be at the Sarov Hermitage, met Father Seraphim and asked him for counsel on how to govern the brothers. Father Seraphim gave him the following instruction.

Every abbot must become and remain always, in relation to those under his care, like a wise mother. A loving mother does not live for her own gratification, but for the gratification of her children. She bears with love the infirmities of her weak children; those who have fallen into impurity she cleanses, washes gently, clothes in white and new garments, shoes them, warms them, feeds them, cares for them, comforts them, and from every side strives to give rest to their spirit—so that she may never hear the slightest cry from them—and such children are well disposed toward their mother.

So every abbot must live not for his own gratification but for the gratification of those under his care; he must be forbearing toward their weaknesses, must bear with love the infirmities of the weak, heal the diseases of sin with the plaster of mercy, raise up with gentleness those who have fallen through transgressions, quietly cleanse those who have been soiled by some filth of vice and wash them by imposing upon them fasting and prayers beyond those prescribed for all in common, clothe them through his teaching and his exemplary life in the garments of the virtues, watch over them unceasingly, comfort them in every way, and from every side protect their peace and rest—so that not the slightest cry or murmur from them may ever be heard. Then they in turn will strive eagerly to bring peace and rest to their abbot.

In Russian translation: “The wise Creator restores again a person corrupted by transgression but made in the image of God, wholly given over to ruin, fallen away from the higher Divine life” ((1st Canon for the Nativity of the Lord, Ode 1, Troparion 1)).

Cf. Gal. 5:22. — Editorial note of “Azbuka Very”

What is meant here is, of course, not literal rest from all labors, but the absence of excessive anxiety about them. Cf. “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself; sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:33–34).

Труд [labor/toil]—here: suffering, hardship. Cf. Ps. 89:10: “The days of our years are seventy years, and by reason of greater strength, eighty years; and the best of them is labor and sorrow.” — Ed. note.

See Luke 2:29–32: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

See 1 Cor. 2:14–15: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself judged by no one.”

Better is the help of caution… than the help of deeds — the help of precaution is more valuable than the help of the deeds themselves.

In Russian translation: “Nothing so quenches the fire breathed into the heart of a monk by the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of his soul as association with people, much talking, and every kind of conversation, except conversation with children of the mysteries of God, which promotes the increase of the knowledge of God and closeness to Him.”

In Russian translation: “If (as Scripture says) ‘bad company ruins good morals,’ then conversation with women, even if it is good, is nonetheless powerful enough to secretly corrupt the inner person with impure thoughts, so that while the body remains pure, the soul is defiled. For what is harder than stone? And what is softer than water? Yet unceasing persistence conquers even nature: so if the nature of stone, which barely yields to motion, is moved by water and, because of it—which it holds in no account—is broken down and diminished, how could human will, so easily swayed, fail to be overcome and changed by long-standing habit?”

Venerable Isaac the Syrian, Discourse 69.

See “Philokalia,” vol. 5. Venerable Symeon the New Theologian, “Discourse on Three Methods of Attention and Prayer.”

St. John Chrysostom. “Marguerite” [Margarit], Discourse 5. “On What Is Incomprehensible, Against the Anomoeans.” In Russian translation: “Prayer is a great weapon, an inexhaustible treasure, unfailing wealth, a serene harbor, the foundation of tranquility; prayer is the root, source, and mother of countless blessings.”

Venerable Macarius of Egypt, Discourse 2, ch. 15.

The purple-robed Prophet — King and Prophet David, the author of the Psalter.

Venerable Isaac the Syrian. Discourse 68. “On Renunciation of the World.”

Страны [countries/regions]—here: places.

Literally: “a door for those weeping outside” (the Heavenly Bridal Chamber). Cf. “I am the door” (John 10:9); “Someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door, for I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able. When the master of the house rises and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ”Lord, open to us,“ then he will answer you, ”I do not know where you come from“‘” (Luke 13:23–25).

Restraining His right hand — holding back His right hand; here: delaying punishment.

Is 35:10,51:11; Prayer of the priest for the departed. — Editorial note by “Azbuka very.”

In Russian translation: “If you give something to one in need, let the cheerfulness of your face precede your gift, and comfort his sorrow with a kind word.” (Venerable Isaac the Syrian, Discourse 89).

О должностях [concerning duties]—here: concerning one’s debt/obligations toward one’s neighbor.

Должности [duties]—debt/obligation.

Во благое — here: for a good purpose.

Midianites — descendants of Abraham who lived on the shore of the Red Sea. See Num. 25:16–18: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their schemes.’”

Огневицы [fevers/burning]—literally: fevers, intense heat.

Премирном [supra-worldly]—that which is above the present world; the heavenly, celestial realm.

Of Solomon, the author of the Book of Proverbs. — Ed. note.

See Ps. 136:8–9.

Cf. Matt. 21:42: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone… This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

In Russian translation: “Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.”

In Russian translation: “Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.”

In Russian translation: “Scatter the peoples who delight in war.”

In Russian translation: “Seeing the wealth of Job’s virtues, the enemy of righteousness thought to seize it by cunning, and by destroying the strength of his body, he did not steal the treasure of his spirit, for he encountered the armed soul of the righteous man.”

See (Matt. 6:33) “But seek first the kingdom of God… and all these things will be added to you.”

In Russian translation: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Ps. 136:4).

For your holy name has been called upon me — for I have been named with your holy name (that is, as a Christian).

Establish me in your commandments — here: raise me up in your commandments.

Лот [lot, a unit of weight]—12.8 grams.

See 1 Pet. 3:4.

In Russian translation: “The waters of Siloah that flow gently.” (The waters of Siloam, a quiet and slow-moving river, were considered sacred and were an object of commerce. The mention of this river in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah can be interpreted as a symbolic depiction of the quiet, peaceful happiness of those dwelling in the Kingdom of God).

“If only we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17).

In Russian translation: “For first, by silence and the struggle against thoughts, he added contemplation of God to his deeds, and by contemplation of God he acquired perfect understanding, through which he communed boldly with God and the Angels.”

See in Russian translation: “And do not fear what he (the one who does not know God) fears, nor be in dread (Isa. 8:12), for God is with us!” (Isa. 8:10). “The Lord of hosts—regard him as holy, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread!” (Isa. 8:13).

In the Russian translation: “And I have not seen the righteous man abandoned, nor his descendants.”

Will unite it in you into one spirit — will unite it (i.e., the prayer) into one within you (so that it will be both in the heart and in the mind).

In the Russian translation: “Not every person will give sound counsel to those who seek it, but only the one who has received from God the gift of discernment and has acquired a perceptive mind through prolonged ascetic struggle.”