This talk is not an ascetic discourse on life in all its fullness, but a personal testimony of my experience in the monastic community of which I am a member, one of Roumania's most ancient centres of spirituality and pilgrimage. There is, I think, a relationship between the promise in the Gospel of life in all its fullness and the monastic life, which has as its sole aim to 'live according to the Gospel', that is, to live intensely in the love of Jesus Christ, in whom 'the whole fullness of deity dwells' (Col.2:9).

Spiritual life in a monastic community is most faithful living out of the Gospel, because we are able to say in all humility that we 'have come to fullness of life in Christ' (Col.2: 10). 1 am encouraged to speak of this experience for two reasons: first, because recent research into the tradition of Hesychasm in Roumania ( I ) has brought out the influence exerted by monasticism on piety and social ethics in former times, and, secondly, because monastic communities in our day offer an answer to all who are seeking an authentic life-style. It is my firm belief that those men and women who shut themselves up in cells to converse with God and who retire into isolation and do theology in voluntary withdrawal from the world can open people's hearts to the love of God. I should like to emphasis some particular aspects of monastic life

The Christian life, whether lived in a family or in a monastic community, is based on one's baptism, as initiation into the life of the Church, that is, into life lived in loving fellowship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and with our brothers and sisters in the faith, and with all other human beings. It is simply a concrete response to differing vocations and the outworking of the various charisms received in baptism. Viewed in that light, monastic life is a particular vocation, but it has as its aim one common to all Christians, life lived according to the Gospel, or life in Christ - because baptism, which is common to all Christians, is a new birth, a passing from life lived for ourselves to life lived for God and with God, for our fellow human beings and with them.

Beyond the difference of form which various vocations take, the Christian life has love, agape, as its sole basic principle. People do not come into being by themselves or for themselves, but always for a life lived in fellowship with others. The Christian life in the Church is always existence for others. And that fellowship alone gives life its fullness. Selfishness, whether individual or collective, in the family or monastic community, always leads to impoverishment of life: it is an attack on life's fullness, For that reason, the Orthodox Church does not see Christian life lived in the family and Christian lives in the monastic community as opposites.

The Orthodox people have always respected and loved their monasteries, and there are very close links between monasteries and parishes. The spiritual influence of the monasteries affects parish life. The interest shown by parishes in monasteries as places of spiritual refreshment means that the monasteries are involved in providing spiritual, missionary and pastoral help to the parishes. Those living in the monasteries pray day and night for the whole Church and the whole world. Thus bound together in one life, Orthodox Christians acknowledge that the one life in Christ or in the Holy Spirit can be lived fully following differing vocations which have the same aim: the fulfilment of the commands of the Gospel.

The monk's identity can be summed up in these words from the tradition of our fathers: 'The monk is one who is separated from everyone and united with everyone.' How do those who have left all behind and withdrawn from the world live the Christian life in its fullness? That is a challenge often directed at us! The word monahos, or monahia, meaning 'the person who is alone' can give the impression that the spiritual life of the monastery is an isolated life, But monks and nuns are not merely celibate. Those who practice monastic asceticism understand their life differently from that.

Their life is based on the complete giving of themselves to and on continuing fellowship with him. Everything else is understood, organized, lived and expressed on the basis of that relationship at the centre of their lives. Everything is to be held together as one because it has that relationship at the centre. Thus, the word monahos can mean a human's being possessing an inner unity, That is why the most important activity in the monastic life is prayer (the prayer of the heart of the Jesus Prayer).

The monk and the nun are called to live their lives in such a way that their lives become a prayer, an unceasing conversation with God. Their spirit must always keep watch and pray.

The desire truly to live begins when we desire to pray. Prayer in that sense is a difficult step to take. People today are secularized and they run away from prayer because they are afraid to look into their inner lives, which are very often fragmented and disintegrated. Prayer restores the human spirit to a state of fellowship and love. It makes an individual into a person, someone praying, that is, with few turned towards God, is like a sunflower turned to the sun- the source of their life and identity. That is why the love of monks and nuns for God is expressed first by praying and grows out of their praying. Their love for the world is expressed first by their praying for the world.

Modern thought, which is very often dualist and reductionist, thinks of contemplation and action as opposites. But in Orthodox monasticism there is no division between the contemplative and the active life. The two compliment each other- the spiritual life, union with God, sustains charity and transforms physical and mental work done for our -neighbours. In Orthodox asceticism all is at once individual and communal, contemplative and active. They cohere in a way which is apparently paradoxical, but which is basically harmonious and melodious.

That is what the Fathers meant when they said that you should pray as you work, keep watch while you sleep, be fasting while you eat, and speak while remaining silent. All this spiritual activity leads to purity of heart, which is nothing short of the liberation of the individual from the tyranny of the passions. For those whose hearts are pure will see God (Matt.5:8). It is the vocation of those with pure hearts to see God. They will see him only if they are free from all the evil passions troubling the heart (Matt. I5: 19). which lead human beings to corruption, decay and death .

Conversely, purity prepares the heart for true peace, that deep spiritual stillness and calm which Fathers call hesychia. It is the calm which Our Lord referred to when he said, 'Let not your hearts be troubled...' This peace frees human beings from the restlessness of the world, from their state of chronic anxiety. This calm frees them from the spiritual anguish of a life foolishly ruled by pride, How can this emptiness be filled?

Hesychia is the supreme mark of the ascetic life and of our victory over our passions. For St John Climacus hesychia is the sum of the virtues, paradise restored, heaven in our hearts. It is a different way of speaking of the gifts of the Spirit mentioned by the apostle Paul (Gal.5:22).

The hesychast in Roumanian 'sihastru') possesses these gifts and exhales them in all directions like the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14) as a flower gives off its scent or the sun sheds abroad its kindly light.

That is why the purity of the Christian is not comparable to apathy, detachment or spiritual nihilism. Hesychasts are 'dead' to everything that is passion, but at the same time 'alive' for everyone. They perpetually radiate a spirit of generosity, self-surrender and compassion for others without any trace of selfishness. They communicate their warmth to others, like a power assuring them that they are not alone. Saints are like the innocent lamb, always ready for self-sacrifice and to bear the suffering of others. But at the same time, they are like a firm steady rock on which people can lean. Such love and such firmness are nothing less than the reflection and the witness of the presence of Christ in all those who live the monastic life.

This power of radiance is given us by the Holy Spirit in baptism and chrismation. The Holy Spirit causes our spirit and heart to receive a multitude of gifts, which are like lights reflecting the one Light of God, the Father of lights. Through the gifts of the Spirit, which are lights of Light, not only does the human heart become transparent and illumined, but so does the whole of creation. Just as he is present in the Scriptures, so God is mysteriously present in his creatures.

Through the Holy Spirit those whose hearts are illumined see and understand, at one and the same time, Scripture and creation. They see God in all creatures and all creation in God. And because of that they accept all creatures as a gift from God, and in accepting the gift they receive the Giver, and taste his goodness (Ps.34:8). As it contemplates the created world in the Spirit, the heart apprehends it as a sacrament, a divine mystery. As with the burning bush the living fire of God enters into created things without consuming or destroying them. It transfigures them.

The spirit which is transformed by God's grace realizes that it must itself be involved in the created world, as light and creator, without destroying it. Thus we must discern the light of God in every created thing; and in every human being we must see, love and protect the divine image. And so the spirit comes to view the created world through God's eyes, with the love of God which gave itself for the world. It is called to live in the world in the light of God. Evil consists in reducing creation to meaninglessness, destroying the stamp of God which it bears upon it, keeping it imprisoned in darkness. Goodness is everything which acknowledges the presence of God in the world, makes it real, sheds light upon it and discloses its mystery.

The peak of the spiritual life is union with God. But we know that this theosis in its fullness is a mystery belonging to the ages to come. Our present knowledge, which is partial and like puzzling reflections in a mirror, will become a vision face to face ( 1 Cor. 13:12). We prepare for the eschatological reality here below, and a foretaste of it, just as the transfiguration is a foretaste of the resurrection, and the Church is a sign of the sacrament of the Kingdom. That preparation began at the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whose sole aim is to share his life. His love is an exchange of lives.

In his incarnation, Jesus Christ takes on our life and in exchange he offers us his own. That exchange takes a sacramental form in the eucharist. He himself is the eucharist. 'The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world' (John 6:33). After the communion in the eucharist Orthodox Christians cry out 'We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly spirit God is light. God is love. Only in light and love can he be known. And that divine light and love are not created (2 Pet. 1:4) ; they are not our light or our love. But our light and love can become symbols and signs of his light and his love. The saints say those who feed on love feed on the life of Jesus, and those who live in love breathe in the love of God in this world.

Monastic vows are also a challenge to the false Gods of wealth, pleasure and pride, Seen in that light, they have an ethical message for all Christians, and everyone should try to live by them in a form appropriate to their particular vocation.

The monastic life is repentance and joy, experience of the cross and celebration of the resurrection in the midst of daily life. The black habit of the Orthodox monk or nun symbolizes their permanent state of repentance, of matanoia. The habit is a sign of mourning and it reminds its wearers that they should at every moment of every day die to sin, crucify selfishness in themselves, so as to find forgiveness and genuine love for God and their fellow human beings. 'God, be merciful to me a sinner'. (Luke 18:13) is the monastic prayer per excellence.

But, whist their habit is black, their faces by contrast are radiant with everlasting joy, the joy of fellowship and reconciliation with God. We call our monks calugeri, from the Greek kalogeros, that is those whose body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit. That spiritual beauty is the completion of the ascetic's upward journey symbolized by the heavenly ladder. Generally, because they are humble and discreet, Orthodox monks and nuns never speak of their own spiritual experiences, but the quality of their lives is manifest in their spiritual beauty, in which we can decry the new humanity.

The monastic life is marked by both asceticism and joy; it is a struggle against selfish passions and a celebration of glory; it is prayer and sharing, repentance and hope, a quest for the kingdom of heaven and prayer for the world. It has become in large measure a pattern for the Church's spiritual life, bringing together the love of the cross and the joy of the resurrection so as to express the fullness of life in Christ. By means of a life lived in conformity with the Gospel, the monastic community becomes a church family and the family becomes a spiritual community.

It is interesting to note that, having 'fled' the world in order to devote ourselves more fully to prayer, we very often find ourselves invaded by the world! The approximately one hundred Orthodox monasteries in Roumania are thronged with women and men from the town and village at the great church festivals.

The lay people love our monasteries, because they find in them, not only an atmosphere of holiness, but particularly a source of life, light and love for the world. Although we are separate from the world outside, we call that world to repentance and salvation by our discipline and life style. As I said before, there are close links between the community in the monastery and the community in the parish. In the monastery the beatitudes are seen in an eschatological perspective, while the parish is itself the setting for living them out in history.

Many lay people are reviving the practice of ceaseless prayer to Jesus Christ in their daily lives. The great collections of writings called the Philokalia (2) and the books on asceticism written by monks are being read more and more widely. We marvel at the ascetic life of many Christians, who are an example to us all. Lay people are writing new prayers and new liturgical poems for us. Moreover, there are monks and nuns who have become body and soul true intercessors to God for the world. They devote themselves to unassuming but persistent prayer that all may become one in Jesus Christ. Their spiritual power stands in contrast to their humble life style.

Monks and nuns are called by their vocation to live a unified life, stripped of all ambiguity and fragmentation. That is why they are always calling people to the underlying unity of all people in God. Monastic life makes a contribution to the unity of the life of the Church and of the oikumene.

In conclusion, we understand our monastic life as an experience of fellowship, and our wish is that all Christians should become builders of human fellowship. In former days monastic life played and important role liturgically, spiritually, culturally and socially - the monasteries were our universities; and today their task is to bring people to see the mystery of life in God, which is life in its fullness. It is not enough to speak of this life hidden in God: we must also reveal it through our spirituality and witness. In our monastic spirituality, Jesus Christ the life of the world, is Jesus Christ, the life of every human being.

Notes. ( I ) See Pasterikon roumain and Anciens centres hesychastes roumains, by Fr lonikie Balan, Bucharest 1980 and 1982. Both contain new material in this field.
(2) Translated into Roumanian in ten volumes with commentary by Fr Dumitru Staniloas. There is a partial English translation from the Russian in Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart and Early Fathers from the Philokalia. by E.Kadloubovsky and 0 E H Palmer, Faber & Faber, London 1951 and 1954.