ALL HOLY ASCETICS

On the last Saturday on the eve of Great Lent, the Church honors the memory of all holy ascetics. This celebration is tied to the Lenten cycle. Depending on the date of Easter, it varies from year to year.

In the Orthodox tradition, holy ascetics are called saints who completed their life’s journey in monasticism. In 2024, the memory of all holy monks, men and women, who achieved holiness through ascetic deeds and lifestyle is commemorated.

The original monasticism was not any kind of church institution. Believers in Christ Jesus left public life, settled outside the cities, and spent their days in prayer and self-restraint.

Tradition considers Anthony the Great (251–356) and Paul of Thebes (227–341) to be the founders of monasticism. Both were Egyptians. Anthony eventually gathered disciples around him, and Paul was the first hermit.

A little later, in the monasteries of Pachomius the Great (292–348), who became the founder of cenobitic monasticism, there were a huge number of ascetics, both those who had achieved perfection in experience and those who were just embarking on the path of piety. Among them were still unbaptized. On Easter they were baptized and solemnly pronounced their baptismal vows in front of the entire community. This is the origin of monastic vows, which over time spread to the entire institution of monasticism. That is why the Church does not consider monasticism a sacrament but views it as a continuation of the sacrament of baptism.

The general remembrance in honor of all the holy ascetics in the Orthodox tradition is very significant. It is rich in theological implications and endowed with sacred semantics.

Thus, the Symbol confesses faith in “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” Holiness is one of the main characteristics of the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ and the community of believers. Therefore, all its members are called to holiness, both together and individually.

Scripture, theology and history know different types of holiness. Biblical holiness is separation from everyday life, absolute dedication to God. Gospel holiness, the features of which are revealed on the pages of the New Testament, is the holiness of correct moral behavior, ethical holiness, the holiness of serving others and fulfilling the commandments. Finally, ascetic holiness is holiness in self-restraint, in renunciation of the joys of life, food and drink, in extreme prayer exercise and constant reading of Scripture.

It is this monastic type of holiness that, over the centuries, has become the most important in the collective consciousness of the Orthodox. “Monks imitate angels on earth, laity imitate monastics,” this axiom of spiritual life is often repeated in sermons and determines the everyday life of many believers.

In addition to the martyrs, most of the saints canonized by the Church, whose names are preserved in Orthodox liturgical calendars, are monastics. Thus, it turns out that this memory on the Saturday before Lent is the small day of All Saints.

It turns out that the memory of all the saints is the most inconspicuous of the significant calendar memories. As if reflecting humility - this main virtue of monastics, the day of all saints is a quiet and humble celebration, devoid of any solemnity.