Testament of St. Theodore

TESTAMENT OF SAINT THEODORE THE STUDITE

(Edition of Sirmond, p. 63.)

^A Testament of the holy and God-bearing Father of ours and confessor Theodore, Abbot of Stoudios. It is read before his falling asleep.

Hearing the divine David saying, "I was prepared and not troubled," and again stating, "My heart is ready," ^B since I have fallen into the continuous infirmity of my wretched body, I am not able to bring you all, my children and brothers and Fathers, before me at the time of my departure, because those monasteries are situated in different places, and some, moreover, have departed abroad. As the hour of my migration from this life is already come, I hasten to draw up this testament for you, deeming it appropriate and safe; so that those who hear my final voice may know how I believe and think, and what kind of superior I leave behind after me; and that you may thereby preserve concord and the peace in Christ, which the Lord, when He was about to ascend into the heavens, left to His holy disciples and apostles.

On Faith.

^C II. I believe, therefore, in the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the holy and consubstantial and primordial Trinity, as I have been baptized, and reborn, and perfected; confessing God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the three as one in deity, just as conversely the one as three in subsistence. For the Trinity is one God, because of the consubstantiality; even though it is distinguished because of the distinctness of the subsistences. ^D I confess, furthermore, one of the Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ, who through boundless love for mankind came in the flesh for the salvation of our race, having taken up flesh from the holy and immaculate Theotokos without human seed, and having been born from her womb according to the divine oracle by the law of nature; being the same, two-fold, wholly perfect in deity, inasmuch as that which He was was not changed, and wholly perfect in humanity, inasmuch as He did not lack anything of that which He assumed. The same one, according to hypostasis, just as He is recognized in two natures, so also in as many wills and operations, through which He performed works divine and human accordingly.

^A In addition to these, I turn away from and abhor every error of heretical communion, adhering to the six holy and ecumenical synods; and also to the one recently assembled for the second time in Nicaea against the accusers of the Christians, worshipping and accepting the venerable and sacred images of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Theotokos, of the apostles, prophets, martyrs, and of all the holy and righteous ones. Moreover, I seek their immaculate intercessions, which render God propitious; I venerate with faith and fear their all-holy relics, as being full of divine grace.

I also receive every divinely inspired Scripture of the Old and New Testament; and likewise the lives and divine writings of all the inspired Fathers, teachers, and ascetics. I say this, however, because of that mad Pamphilus who came from the East and slandered these holy men: I mean Mark, Isaiah, Barsanuphius, Dorotheus, and Hesychius. I do not mean that Barsanuphius, Isaiah, and Dorotheus who were fellow-heads ^B with the Acephali and co-horned—as it was said—with the so-called Decacerati, and who were anathematized by Sophronius of blessed memory in his libellus; for these are undoubtedly different from the aforementioned ones, whom I receive according to patristic tradition, following the inquiry of the most holy Patriarch Tarasius, who has already ^C served as high priest, and of other trustworthy men, both natives and Easterners; especially since the image of Barsanuphius is known to exist in the sacred vestry of the Great Church, together with Anthony, Ephraim, and other holy Fathers, and since I have found no trace of impiety in their teachings—on the contrary, a great spiritual benefit for the soul—until such time as some crime might be proven against them through synodical inquiry. For if those very ones who were branded with anathema should be found to be the same, or others different from them but infected with that same heresy, then anathema to them, and let them be cast out and thrice-anathematized by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, I confess that the monastic state is sublime, exalted, and angelic, a purifier of all sin through the perfection of an absolute life, ^D provided that it is pursued fully according to the ascetic laws of the divine and great Basil, and not half-heartedly, as some are accustomed to do—choosing some things and omitting others as they please—so that it is not possible to live this life legitimately outside of the three stages demonstrated in the divine ladder; and not to possess a slave, or a beast of the female sex, because both are alien to the profession and dangerous to the soul. I have touched upon these matters briefly and in passing, for the time does not allow me to expound upon them at greater length, lest anyone might perhaps attribute to me some perverse opinion, contrary to what I rightly hold and teach.

^A

Concerning the Hegoumenos.

Commandments given to the Hegoumenos.

^A

5. Do not keep an animal of the female sex for the purpose of service, you who have renounced the female sex entirely; neither in the monastery nor in the fields. Just as none of our holy and sanctified Fathers used them, nor does nature itself permit it.

6. Do not ride on horses or mules unless there is necessity; but rather, in imitation of Christ, you shall travel on foot. If, however, there is a need, let a foal be your beast of burden.

7. You shall absolutely safeguard that everything in the brotherhood be common and undivided, and that nothing be held by any individual under the right of ownership, even down to a needle. As for your own body and soul, let them be divided with an equal balance of love among all your spiritual children and brothers, and nothing else.

8. Do not engage in brotherhood-making or god-parentage with seculars, you who flee the world and marriage; for this is not found among the Fathers; and if it is found, it is rare, and this is not a law.

9. Do not dine with women, except for your mother and sister according to the flesh, whether they are canonesses or secular; I do not know if such a thing is acceptable, unless some force or necessity compels it, as the holy Fathers admonish.

10. Do not be prone to going abroad and wandering about, abandoning your own fold without necessity; for it is better and more desirable, even if you are in seclusion inside the fold, to be able to save the quite varied and scattered rational sheep. ^B

11. You shall observe with absolute care to perform the catechesis three times a week, and every evening, either by yourself or through another of the children; since this has been handed down by the Fathers and is saving.

12. Do not give what they call the small habit, and then subsequently the great; for there is but one habit, just as there is one baptism, as the holy Fathers practiced.

13. Do not transgress the laws and canons of the holy Fathers, and before all, those of the divine and great Basil. But whatever you do or say, you should do so as having testimony from the Scriptures or from patristic custom, without transgression of the commandment of God.

14. Do not abandon your fold and move to another, or return to a position of dignity, without the consent of your own brotherhood. ^C

15. Do not cultivate friendships with a canoness; nor shall you visit a women's convent; nor shall you converse alone with a nun or a secular woman, unless some necessity draws you, and then with two persons present from each side; for the one—as they say—is easily open to calumny.

16. Do not open the door of the monastery for the entrance of any woman at all without great necessity; but if you are able to receive her without mutual sight, this is also not to be rejected.

17. Do not construct for yourself a lodging, or for your spiritual children a secular house, in which there are women ^D

instead, frequent, visiting often; but rather lodge with religious men, and seek to obtain transitorily the necessities of the way. ^A 18. You shall not keep in your cell an adolescent disciple, by whom you might be affected; but let your services be performed by different brothers, and those beyond suspicion. 19. You shall not acquire clothing that is eccentric or costly, except for priestly use. But [dress] in humble fashion, after the example of the Fathers, both in your robes and your footwear. 20. You shall not be delicate or luxurious, neither in your private spending, nor in the reception of guests, as if you were distracted by such care; for this is a part of a life of pleasure. 21. You shall not hoard gold in your monastery; but whatever abounds in every category, distribute to the needy, with your courtyard open, as the holy Fathers did. ^B 22. You shall not keep a fortified place, nor take on the burden of economic care; but let your key be the greatest care for souls, to loosen and to bind, according to the Scriptures. As for gold and things useful, entrust these to the stewards, to the cellarers, and as befits each service; it is clear that you have authority over all, and you may transfer them as you counsel with those in charge—in any given instance—demanding an account of every administration. 23. You shall not prefer to the advantage of the brotherhood the person of any other human being, even one who is eminent and in authority in the present age; nor shall you shrink, even unto blood, ^C in the guarding of the divine laws and commandments, from laying down your soul. 24. You shall not do or perform anything according to your own opinion, in any matter whatsoever, whether it concerns the soul or the body; first, not without the counsel and prayer of your lord and Father, then [that] of others who are eminent in knowledge and piety according to the subject at hand; for you may have need perhaps of one, or two, or three, or even more, just as we have been commanded according to the Fathers, and as we have acted.

All these things, and whatsoever else you have received, you shall guard and keep, so that it may go well with you. And you shall be prospered in the Lord; for the contrary is something that should be far from your speech and thought.

Precepts given to the brothers.

^D Come, you also, my children and brothers, and hear my most pathetic voice. Receive the lord superior, just as you all have chosen him; for it is not permitted for anyone in any way to choose any life other than that which has been assigned to him; and this bond is from the Lord. Embrace him as my successor, looking upon him with reverence and honor; and keep the legal rule of obedience towards him just as you did towards me, not despising his recent elevation in the Lord; nor seeking anything more than the gifts granted to him by the Holy Spirit. It is sufficient for him to maintain those things which have been commanded by my humility. And if you love me, my children, keep my commandments. And have peace among yourselves. Angelic promise

^A keep your pledge unbesmirched, walking in a heavenly manner. Hating the world, do not turn back to the works of the world. Freed from the bonds of attachment, do not become entangled again in fleshly relations. ^B Having renounced all the delights and fleeting things of the present life, do not, through listlessness, leap away from your ascetic obedience, thereby becoming a subject of laughter for the demons. Persist in the course of obedience until the end, that you may receive the unfading crown of righteousness. Follow after humility, and deny your own will, conforming yourselves only to those things which have been approved by your superior. And if you know these things, you are blessed if you keep them until the end. For the choir of the martyrs will receive you. And being crowned in the kingdom of the heavens, you shall enjoy eternal goods.

Epilogue

And finally, children, fare ye well; for I am setting out on a journey from which there is no return, a journey which all from the beginning of time have traversed, and upon which you yourselves, having completed the tasks of this life, will embark a little later. Yet I do not know, my brethren, where I am going; or what judgment awaits me; or what place will receive me; for I have not performed one single good work in the sight of God, but on the contrary, I am guilty of every sin. Nevertheless, I rejoice and am glad that I am departing from the world to heaven, from darkness to light, from servitude to freedom, ^C from sojourning to a true habitation and fatherland; from strangers and aliens (for I am a sojourner and a wanderer, as all my fathers were), to my own home. I will speak even more boldly, that I am going to my Master, to my Lord and God, whom my soul has loved; whom I have recognized as Father, even if I did not serve Him as a son; whom I have possessed above all things, even if I did not serve Him as a sincere servant. I have spoken these things as one beside himself; but I have spoken them for your sake, that you might be more ready to pray for my salvation; and if I attain to it, behold, I give my word before the truth, that I will not cease to pray boldly to my Lord and Master for all of you, that you may prosper, that you may be saved, that you may be multiplied; expecting to see, to receive, and to embrace you one by one as each of you departs from the world. ^D For I have this confidence, that His goodness will keep you all together, as it does here, even in the age to come, provided you have kept His commandments, so that you may praise His all-holy power. Remember my humble words, my children; keep the deposit of faith; in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Our most holy Father and great confessor Theodore fell asleep, being sixty-seven years of age; on the eleventh of November, on a Sunday, at the sixth hour. Indiction fifth, in the year 6335.