Monks Of Monastery Research Articles

The reflection of spiritual crisis of the late XIX century among creative intelligentsia (on the example of relationship between the monks of male Orthodox monastery “Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn” and Chekhov family in 1892-1899)

The subject of this research is the character of relationship between Chekhov family and the Orthodox male monastery “Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn”. The object of this research is the religious life of Chekhov family. The goal consists in analysis of the religious and secular contacts between the Chekhov family and the abode, clarification of the question of religiosity of the prominent Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, as well as answering the question regarding the impact of spiritual crisis of the late XIX upon him. The article explores the life of Chekhov family in their estate in Melikhovo from 1892 to 1899. Chekhov’s parents, especially his father, was a deeply religious person. The article also discusses the relationship between the writer and monks of the monastery, his visits of worship services in the abode. Russian Chekhoviana is quite extensive; the period from 1990 to 2010’s marks the emergence of works dedicated to religious views of the writer. The article is prepared on the basis of archival and unpublished materials (particularly Chekhov’s correspondence and the diary of his father Pavel Egorovich). The modern publications usually underline the presence of staunch atheistic creeds. Sometimes his life in Melikhovo is described without mentioning contacts with the monastery. This article is first to determine the problem of relationship of Chekhov family and one of the male monasteries of Moscow Region.

Dwie monastyczne koncepcje – o tym co łączy a zarazem dzieli Jana Kasjana i św. Augustyna

Author of this paper juxtaposes several issues which are fundamental for mo­nastic concepts of St. Augustine and John Cassian, two figures that had the great­est impact on the development of the western pre-Benedictine monasticism. The difference in intellectual inspirations, personal monastic experiences, addressees of their monastic works and positions held by them in the institutional Church in­fluenced very deeply their teaching. Thus they interpret in a different manner an ac­count on the Jerusalem community (Acts 4:31-35) that – in their common opinion – began the history of monasticism. Cassian sees in it just the historical outset for this phenomenon while Augustine perceives it as a still valid model of behavior for his monks. They look differently at the relation of monastic communities towards the community of the Church but also at inner rules governing the life of monks in monasteries. Unlike Augustine, Cassian sees possibility of spiritual growth gained by monks through ascetical practices and decisions made on their free will. This anthropological optimism had played the key-role for the statement that Cassian made in the face of radical views of Augustine on the Grace and free will, formu­lated by him during the Pelagian controversy but also in other controversial issue, namely of possible legitimacy of lying under particular circumstances.

Медицина давньоруських монастирів з точки зору сучасної лікувальної практики

Дається спроба на основі давньоруських літописних та літературних джерел провести аналіз досягнень монастирської медицини Княжої доби. Наводиться фактичний матеріал щодо існування на Русі доволі розгалуженої для свого часу мережі лікувальних установ, створених спільними зусиллями церковної та світської влади. Подається порівняльний аналіз доступності та ефективності лікувальної практики руського знахаря, світського медика та монастирського лічця. Із використанням джерел давньоруського періоду проводиться думка про фахову спеціалізацію монастирських лічців, їх високу для свого часу кваліфікацію.Робиться висновок про ефективність монастирської медицини з точки зору сучасної лікувальної практики.

Tuberculosis among Tibetan refugees in India

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem among Tibetan refugees in India. To determine the incidence of and risk factors for TB among Tibetan refugees in India, data on TB were included in the demographic and health surveillance project carried out by the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala from 1994 to 1996. Risk factor and morbidity data were determined by baseline and monthly follow-up home visits, and reported TB was confirmed by clinic records. The surveillance covered ∼90% of the refugees in civilian settlements and ∼70% of the monks in monasteries. In the settlement population, TB incidence was extraordinarily high in the settlement population, 10.9/1000 in 1994, but decreased to 7.7/1000 in 1996. Incidence rates varied between regions, age groups, and occupational groups, being highest in the Doon Valley (14.8/1000), in sweater sellers (16.7/1000), and in the unemployed (23/1000). Among monastery monks, incidence rates were even higher than in the settlements, averaging 17.2/1000 over the 3-year period. The proportion of patients without sputum results and variation in the proportion of smear positive cases indicated inadequate use and poor quality of laboratory services. India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program, based on WHO-recommendations, has been highly successful in pilot districts and is being extended to the whole country. This program should be adopted promptly by the health care system serving Tibetan refugees and vigorously implemented among the refugee population.

Zen and Benedictine Monks as Mythopoeic Models of Nonegocentered Worldviews and Lifestyles

lead to any real feeling of equality and respect for the people studied. Only shared human experience seems to assure that. This principle holds good, it seems, respecting dance, theater, music, and all the performing artsincluding religion. Performance, it would appear, awakens deep resonances which make it ridiculous to think that there is no underlying human basis for mutually comparing, understanding, respecting, and even deeply loving one another's most beloved cultural treasures-including religion. The modern world has brought Protestants, Catholics, and Jews together in community activities and in marriage. They are close enough to feel each other's faith-and they are learning mutual respect even for the doctrines which formerly had them killing one another. More recently Buddhists and Christians are beginning to have the same experience, which brings us directly ,into the area of monastic encounter. In August of 1979 some fifty Buddhist practitioners spent three weeks living the life of Catholic monks in monasteries of Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. In October of 1983 seventeen Catholic monks and nuns returned that visit, spending a month living the life of the Zen monk or unsui. As Professor Anzai's' sociological studies of these encounters reveal, the vast majority of the participants on both sides came out of these intense encounters with a vastly deeper respect for and admiration of their host's tradition. For the great majority of these men and women, the idea that there is no common human ground uniting their own with their host's religious traditions would be absurd. In our present brief work concerning the lives of Zen and Benedictine monks, we will first point out some rather indisputable commonalities. Then we will attempt to marshal and develop some of the best contemporary insights into the reasons why such commonalities exist. Hopefully, in carrying out our