On Methods of Revitalizing
Parish Life and Piety

A Report by Archbishop Antony of Los Angeles
To the Council of Bishops, 1985¹

When thinking about means to revitalize parish life and piety, we feel strongly that in this regard all is far from well with us. It is essential to awaken, improve, revivify, renew, and change for the better our current inner condition which is imbued with the spirit of this world.

When we want to improve an unsatisfactory situation in any area, we compare that situation with cases where it is in a better condition, we look for more successful results and we imitate them. And where can we find examples and methods for successful improvement in this area? We find them in the example of holy and pious Christians. The great majority of saints, as the descriptions of their lives testify — independently of their age, education, social position, or the time in which they lived — attained their success in sanctity through the indispensable condition of attentively reading the Word of God and the writings of the Holy Fathers, which drew them to the other essential virtues: prayer, fasting, self-denial, patience, and love of God and neighbor.

Here is what Bishop Ignaty Brianchaninov, who constantly returned to this subject in the course of his works, writes about this:

What struck me above all in the writings of the Fathers of the Orthodox Church? — It was their harmony, a marvelous, majestic harmony ... What teaching do I find in them? — I find the teaching repeated by all the Fathers, the teaching that the only way to salvation is the steadfast following of the directions of the Holy Fathers. ‘Have you seen,’ they say, ‘someone misled by false doctrine, perishing from an incorrect choice of ascetic acts? Know: he followed himself, his own mind, his own opinions, not the teachings of the Fathers,’ from which are formed the dogmatic and moral tradition of the Church…

Reading the Fathers has convinced me with complete clarity that salvation is in the bosom of the Russian Church undoubtedly. It revealed to me what Christ has done for mankind, what constitutes man’s fall, why a Redeemer is necessary, what constitutes the salvation given and still being given by the Redeemer. It convinced me: one should develop, feel, and see in oneself salvation, without which faith in Christ is dead, and Christianity a word and a name without substance! It taught me to look at eternity as an eternity before which even a thousand years of earthly life is nothing, not to mention ours which is measured in some half-centuries. It taught me that one should make his earthly life into a preparation for eternity, as in the vestibules people prepare for their entrance into the magnificent royal chambers. It showed me that all earthly occupations, enjoyments, honors, and advantages are empty toys with which grown-up children play and in which they lose the blessedness of eternity.

All the hooks of the saints are written either by the inspiration or under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And these books are the rays of the light of the unsetting Sun of Righteousness, prescribed by the all-good God to enlighten the last hours of the Christian day. Anyone will perish who rejects the writings of the God-pleasing saints, which are guidance from the Holy Spirit, or only coldly and with duplicity is guided by the Sacred Scriptures and holy writings, in which alone is the teaching of the Spirit.

I propose turning our attention to the Tradition, or Rule of St. Nilus of Sora, who lived in the 15th century, St. Nilus offers the Sacred Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers as guidance for the most recent times.

All the holy ascetic writers of the recent centuries of Christianity affirm that, with the general diminution of divinely-inspired directors, the study of the Sacred Scriptures, primarily the New Testament, and the writings of the Fathers, and careful and steadfast direction according to them is the only path to spiritual success. The second moral rule proposed by St. Nilus consists of frequent — it possible, daily confession. Those trained according to these two moral rules can be compared to people who have vision and life, while those deprived of this training are blind and dead. These two rules, being introduced in any place whatsoever, can significantly change for the better both the moral and spiritual direction — this is shown by experience — without any change in external conditions. I consider it my sacred duty to pass on the wise advice which I heard from experienced elders worthy of respect. They told both laymen and monks sincerely seeking salvation: ‘In our times, in which temptations have so multiplied, you should especially be attentive to yourself without paying attention to the way of life and actions of your neighbors and without judging those who are tempted, because the corrupting action of temptation is easily transferred from those captured by temptation to those who judge them.’ The holy elders advised laymen to be guided in their lives by the Gospel and those Holy Fathers who wrote directions for Christians in general. One who is guided by the writings of the Fathers will have the possibility of attaining salvation; those lose it who live according to their own will and their own mind, even though they live in the deepest desert.

According to the teaching of the Fathers, the only way of life appropriate to our time is life under the guidance of the writings of the Fathers. The Fathers of the first centuries of the Church especially advise seeking out a divinely-inspired director. The Fathers separated from the time of Christ by a thousand years are already complaining about the scarcity of God-inspired instructors. The Fathers close to our time call divinely-inspired directors a characteristic of ancient times and decisively leave us the Holy Scriptures and Holy Writings for guidance. I wanted to be under the direction of a guide, but I was not able to find a guide who would completely satisfy me, who would be the embodiment of the teaching of the Fathers. It is worthy of note that all the spiritual flowers and fruits developed in those souls which cultivated themselves by reading the Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, with faith and prayer, inspired by humble but powerful repentance. Where there was not this cultivation, there was no fruit.

St. Pachomius the Great, one of the most remarkable Fathers, knew the Holy Gospel by heart and imposed on his disciples, by divine revelation, the absolute obligation to learn it (as well as the Psalter). In that way the Gospel went everywhere with them and constantly guided them. And now, why should Christian educators not adorn the memories of innocent children with the Gospel, rather than soiling them with Aesop’s Fables and other insignificant things.

The conversation and society of a person’s neighbors has a great effect on him. Conversation and acquaintance with a scholar conveys much information; with a poet, many exalted thoughts and feelings; with a traveller, much knowledge about countries, morals, and popular customs. It is obvious: conversation and acquaintance with the saints conveys sanctity.

When studying any subject, we familiarize ourselves with books on that subject by specialists who have investigated the subject, studied it, delved into it, and analyzed it. With the help of specialists it is easier for us to study the subject. Without them it is often impossible to study the subject at all. The specialists in Christianity and the Christian life according to the teaching of the Gospel are the Holy Fathers. They investigated Christianity and applied it successfully in their own lives. Reading the Fathers is therefore essential for the Christian.

With this we conclude our excerpts from the works of Bishop Ignaty Brianchaninov in which are shown the teaching of the Holy Fathers and the two main conditions for success in the spiritual life: reading the Sacred Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, and, as far as possible, frequent confession. The success of this method of Bishop Ignaty’s was proven in the experience of his own life. Specifically, he was assigned as an obedience the direction of four monasteries. One of them was an episcopal residence with a monastic brotherhood. All of these monasteries were neglected to the last degree, both in the spiritual and in the material sense. There were almost no monks; the churches and buildings were in a deplorable, sometimes half-collapsed state. One of these monasteries was, in the words of Bishop Ignaty, a place where he would never want to find himself because of its poor and neglected spiritual and material condition.

In all four of these places Bishop Ignaty employed the two rules indicated above. The result was totally amazing. The number of monks increased, in some cases by four times; a large flow of pilgrims began; there arrived resources with which the churches and buildings were repaired, and new cathedrals were built too, for example, in one of the monasteries the large church held 600 people, but that turned out to be too small, and Bishop Ignaty built a large majestic cathedral. These monasteries were: first, the Loptovsky of the Vologda province, where Bishop was appointed when only twenty-five years old. He stayed there two years and left it in outstanding spiritual and physical condition. Second, the St. Sergius Hermitage near Petersburg. Bishop Ignaty was appointed here when twenty-seven years old and stayed in it twenty-five years. The third monastery (the episcopal residence) was in Stavropol in the Caucasus; he stayed in it three years. The fourth and last monastery, in which he died at the age of sixty and in which he stayed six years, was the Nikolo-Babayevsky Monastery on the Volga.

There can be no doubt that if any pastor of a parish of our Church succeeded in interesting and attracting his parishioners to the reading of the Word of God and the Holy Fathers, whether by reading them in the church at every service, by organizing discussions with this purpose, or by visiting the homes of the faithful with the aim of attracting them to spiritual reading, the results would be real and tangible.

According to the explanation of the Holy Fathers (St. Cassian the Roman and Blessed Augustine), the words of the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily bread” signify the necessity of receiving every day spiritual food (“daily” is epiousion, i.e., higher than all that exists), which is Holy Communion and spiritual reading; furthermore the Holy Evangelist Luke, when he presents the Lord’s Prayer, expresses it still more clearly: “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).

St. John Chrysostom says that anyone who does not read spiritual books daily cannot be saved. Here are his words:

I have always suggested and will not stop suggesting that you not only heed what is said in church, but also constantly occupy yourself in reading the Divine Scriptures at home. I have always suggested this also to those who are with me in private. Let no one say to me those words, cold and worthy of all condemnation: I am busy with public matters, I practice my trade, I have a wife, I am raising children, I manage a household, I am a layman; it is not my job to read the Scriptures, but that of those who have renounced the world. No, it is your job more than theirs; because they do not have as much need of the help the Divine Scriptures as do those who turn to them in the midst of many tasks. Monks, who have distanced themselves from commotions, enjoy great safety, while we, excited as if in the midst of the sea and falling into a multitude of sins, we always need constant and uninterrupted consolation from the Scriptures. It is not possible, it is not possible for anyone to be saved who does not constantly practice spiritual reading; for if, receiving wounds every day, we will not constantly practice spiritual reading, then what hope have we of salvation? Let us begin collecting a treasury of spiritual books for ourselves. Even merely seeing such books makes us more restrained from sin. Physical beauty often arouses lack of control, but spiritual beauty disposes God Himself to love it. Let us develop this beauty through the daily washing away of every impurity by reading the Scriptures.²

It is useful to ask parishioners in general, and especially during confession, whether they read spiritual hooks, and if they do not read them, to ask if they have time to nourish their body with food. Then, having understood how much more important the nourishing of the soul is, they admit that they have no answer and promise to start reading.

In the Holy Bible as a whole the necessity of spiritual reading is mentioned more than 100 times.

On reading the Gospel and the Holy Fathers St. John of Kronstadt said:

Reverence every word, every thought of the Word of God, of the writings of the Holy Fathers … because they are all the breathing and words of the Holy [Spirit]. It is, so to say, the Holy [Spirit] Himself, “Who maketh intercession” for us and through us, “with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Edifying words, the writings of the Holy Fathers, … and especially the words of the Word Himself, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, are indeed living water:... water refreshes and gives life to the body, and edifying words animate the soul, filling it with peace and joy, or with compunction and contrition for sin.³

St. Basil the Great also speaks of the necessity of spiritual reading.

Bishop Ignaty Brianchaninov, in the chapter on the necessity of reading the Gospel and the patristic writings (Fifth Volume), writes: “While reading the Gospel, one must also read the Blagovestnik, i.e., the explanation of the Gospel by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria. It is essential to read the Blagovestnik: it makes it possible to understand the Gospel correctly, and, consequently, to fulfill it accurately.” One must attend to the fact that Bishop Ignaty, who knew the Holy Fathers exceptionally well, suggests no other commentary than precisely that of Blessed Theophylact, which has now been re-issued [in Russian] by the Australian Diocese in Sydney.

It is necessary to say that at the present time, mainly through the labors of the Holy Trinity Monastery, almost all the best of the spiritual reading which existed in Orthodox Russia before the revolution has been re-issued. This, together with the editions of Kharastey in Italy and the press of Archbishop Vitaly in Canada, constitutes tens of thousands of pages, i.e., a quantity sufficient for a whole lifetime of reading. For this they deserve the greatest gratitude and a reward from God; but we must use this wealth, without which, as we have seen, there is no salvation, while with it and by using it our soul and all our life can be reborn.

From Orthodox Life, Vol. 36, No. 6, 1986, pp. 26-31
Posted on this site with permission

All Saints of North America Russian Orthodox Church. Contact us.