And He, bearing His cross, went forth into a place called the
place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: where they
crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in
the midst” (John 19:17-18).
The major tenet of Christian moral teaching is the
teaching about the narrow path or the bearing of one’s cross. Saint
Ignatius Bryanchaninov indicates that the narrow path has been
established by God Himself for His true followers.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ spent His earthly life in the greatest
humbleness, being subjected to constant sorrows and harassment, being
persecuted, slandered, humiliated by His enemies, who finally sent Him
to a shameful death with criminals. The path of salvation that leads to
eternal life has been established by the Lord as a narrow way full of
sorrows – established both by the Lord’s holy example and by His holy
teaching. The Lord advised His disciples and His followers that they
would be sorrowful in the world, i.e. during their earthly lives, that
the world would hate them, would persecute and humiliate them, would put
them to death. The Lord likened His disciples’ and followers’
situation among depraved humanity to that of sheep among wolves. From
this we can see that a life on earth full of trials and tribulations is
the Lord’s own establishment for His true servants. And being the
Lord’s own establishment, it cannot be deflected by any human means, any
wisdom, any sensibility, any prudence, any vigilance.”
The great Russian pastor Protopriest Valentin Amphiteatrov also paid a
great deal of attention to the Holy Fathers’ teaching on the bearing of
one’s cross, and provided constant instruction on the proper endurance
of sorrows, unquestioning fortitude, and complete submission to the will
of God.
“Let us, Christians, follow the example of the Mother of
God and immerse our will in the will of the Almighty, awaiting from Him
instruction and aid in all good things…” “Why does the Saviour exhibit
such wondrous tranquility amid the most terrible suffering? – because of
His complete submission to the will of God the Father. He suffered, He
pleaded in His humanity to have the chalice of suffering pass Him by.
But the moment arrived in which He ended with a prayer: not as I will,
but as Thou wilt. After that the Saviour no longer prayed to have His
predestined chalice of suffering pass Him by…
The Lord showed such an example so that we, too, would
seek tranquility in absolute submission to the will of God. For this
reason He demands self-sacrifice from us, saying: whoever wishes to
follow Me should deny himself. It is as though He were saying: whoever
wishes to attain the perfection prescribed in the Gospel should reject
his own will and live according to God’s commandment, because without
God’s will even a single hair will not fall from your head. Do not pay
any attention to things that are both pleasant and unpleasant for your
vanity. Do not depend on mighty protectors and do not be offended by
your visible enemies. Pleasant things are given to you for you not to
become despondent, while unpleasant ones are given so that you do not
overstep yourself. The mighty of this world may offer support to you
only if God allows it, while persecutors may torment, humiliate, and
harm you only as long as God allows it. Raise you mind and heart to
God, and you will easily believe that God decisively rules over
everything. One can do evil without the will of God, but even evil
itself leads to a point at which good becomes clearer and more
precious.”
In showing that life on earth does not represent any real
joy or comfort except for the hope of salvation, St. Ignatius explains
that the entire Christian life on earth consists solely of repentance.
“Having taken upon Himself the human flesh and all human weaknesses
except sin, the Lord also took penitence upon Himself… The innocent and
most holy Lord, having suffered in His humanity for the guilty and
sin-infected mankind, has shown suffering to be the path of salvation
for all His followers, for all those of His provenance and ancestry… The
innocent and most holy Lord spent His entire earthly life in suffering:
even more so should the guilty suffer in full realization that they
deserve to suffer; they should rejoice that by means of short-lived
suffering they are delivered from eternal torment, they enter the ranks
of the Lord’s followers and intimate ones. Whoever rejects suffering
does not believe himself worthy of it, – such a one does not acknowledge
his fall and damnation! Whoever passes his earthly life in pleasure –
such a one renounces his own salvation!”
Acknowledging oneself worthy of all manner of punishment
leads to a knowledge of the Saviour, as can be seen in the example of
the wise thief. Some may say, perhaps, that the thief was an obvious
criminal, and thus such a repentant state was natural for him. However,
the other thief who was crucified next to Christ was likewise an
obvious criminal, and yet he did not arrive at a realization of his
sinfulness because there was no mercy or humility in his heart, but only
hardness and pride. God’s saints continuously thought of themselves as
sinners despite evident gifts of grace; the greatest villains, on the
contrary, justified themselves and, being up to their neck in evil
deeds, did not cease to proclaim their own virtue.”
All righteous people spent their earthly lives in sorrow:
“For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
He receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). When the Lord came across the virtuous youth
in the Gospel, He offered him to follow after Him, taking up his cross.
Let us not reject the summons! The summons is accepted when, upon the
arrival of sorrows, a Christian deems himself worthy of these
tribulations; a Christian takes up his cross and follows the Lord when
he thanks and glorifies God for all the sorrows that have been sent,
when he submits himself entirely to the will of God, when he fulfills
the Gospel commandments, especially the commandment on loving one’s
enemies.
“The cross of true crossbearers is a good-natured
endurance of unmerited suffering. When we see a sick person calling
upon the name of God without complaint, when we see before us widows and
orphans who, having lost their dear ones, submit themselves to the will
of God, – these are Christ’s crossbearers. When we see before us
people who are ragged and deceived, when we see people whose honor and
innocence is being trampled upon by envy, malice, and slander, – these
are Christ’s crossbearers. And we ourselves are Christ’s crossbearers
when we allow goodness to take over our hearts.”
The Holy Spirit Himself extends a celestial greeting to
those who have been subjected to misfortunes: “My brethren, count it all
joy when ye fall into diverse temptations” (James 1:2). “Blessed are
ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:11-12).
Nowadays this teaching is especially important, because,
according to the prophecies of the Holy Fathers, in the end times the
monastics and all Christians will be saved primarily through endurance
of sorrows. Other endeavors: fasting, spiritual labors, great physical
feats, nightly vigils, etc. will be taken away from us because of a
paucity of spiritual and physical strength. “One time the Holy Fathers
of an Egyptian skete were prophetically discoursing about the last
generation. “What did we do?” – they said. One of them, the great abba
Ischerion, replied: “We fulfilled God’s commandments.” They asked him:
“What will those who come after us do?” “They, – said the abba, - will
fulfill only half of our endeavors.” And again he was asked: “And what
will those who come after them do?” Abba Ischerion replied: “They will
not engage in any monastic endeavors, but they will be subjected to
sorrows, and those of them who endure will have a higher standing than
either we or our fathers.”
The same applies to the whole of Christendom!
Reprinted from “Orthodox Russia,” No. 17, 2004.
