On the evening of Wednesday, March 15, two men were tonsured into monasticism in the caves at the famous Kiev Caves Lavra. The rite of tonsure was celebrated by the abbot of the monastery, His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl.
Of course, the Great Fast is the most fitting time to give one’s life to Christ in the angelic habit with the requisite vows of asceticism.
It’s also fitting to remember this event today, on the Sunday of the Cross, as monasticism is nothing less than co-crucifixion with the Lord. As St. John of Climacus teaches, angels are a light for monks, and monks are a light for men, because it’s the monastics who most fully live out the Gospel of picking up one’s cross and dying to oneself. The spirit of monasticism is a continuation of the spirit of martyrdom, of the pursuit of the perfection of Christ.
And further, these specific men, now named Frs. Elisha and Clement, took their monastic vows just two weeks before their government intends to drive them out of their chosen home. The future is uncertain for these men and for the whole of the brotherhood of the Kiev Caves Lavra, but the task of the monk is to maintain inner stability in even the most unstable of situations.
Met. Pavel has said that the monks have no intention of voluntarily leaving their home come March 29, and it remains to be seen what other crosses await them.
Photo source: Lavra.ua Facebook
