I've never read a book like this one. As the front cover describes, The Mountain of Silence is "a fascinating narrative that is... dialogue and meditation, history and politics, theology and travelogue." Viewing his native Orthodox spirituality through a skeptical, academic lens, Kyriacos Markides wrestles with and ultimately weaves together his modern scientific knowledge with the rich and ancient tradition of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. Over the course of the 1990's, Markides' many travels to Greece and Cyprus allowed him to assemble quite a collection of conversations with, stories about, and meditations by Orthodox monastics, particularly an influential and charismatic figure named Father Maximos. It is his wide-ranging conversations with Father Maximos that form the core of the book, and also which make a complete summary of the book impossible. You just have to read it!
The big idea behind the book is that "the spiritual practices and psycho-technologies we seek in India and Tibet are also present at the very heart of the Christian tradition, preserved in the cliff-hanging monasteries and hermitages on Mount Athos since the early centuries of the common era. Yet churches of all denominations as well as biblical scholars of the West are oblivious to the mystical wisdom that still flourishes in some of these monastic communities (6)." This book will change that ignorance. And the truths it wrestles with have the potential to not just slake the thirst of the spiritual seeker, but heat up the hearts of the "frozen chosen," lend an appreciation of ambiguity to the black-and-white Baptist, provide depth to the shallow emotionalism of the charismatic, and enliven the dead faith of the casual Christian. True Orthodox spirituality is indeed deep, rich, powerful-- radical, in the original "rooty" sense of the term.
That being said, I would like to highlight in a couple stories that have stuck with me, and a few key takeaways from the book. Quoted from page 146:
In this story that came to mind, Tolstoy wrote of the encounter between a Russian Orthodox bishop and three hermits, The bishop was traveling by boat with other pilgrims from Archangel to the Solovetsk monastery. On the way her heard rumors that on an obscure little island along the way there were three old hermits that had spent their entire lives trying to save their souls. The bishop became intrigued and implored the captain to stop the ship so that he could visit them. The captain reluctantly agreed and dropped anchor near the island. The bishop was then placed on a boat and with a group of oarsmen sent ashore, The three hermits were dressed raggedly with long white beards to their knees. In total humility they welcomed the bishop, making deep bows. After he blessed them he asked them what they were doing to save their souls and serve God. They replied that they had no idea how to serve God. They just served and supported each other. The bishop realized that the poor hermits didn't even know how to pray, since all they did was lift their arms up towards heaven and repeat "Three are ye, three are were, have mercy upon us." The bishop considered it his ecclesiastical duty to teach the illiterate hermits the Lord's Prayer. They, however, were poor learners and required a whole day of instruction. At dusk and before returning to the ship, the bishop even offered them a short and simple lesson on Christian theology.
But lo and behold! During sunset as the boat left the island all the passengers saw a sight in the distance that filled them with fright. The three hermits were running on water as if it were dry land. When they came by the side of the ship they implored the bishop to remind them of the Lord's Prayer because, poor fellows, they had already completely forgotten it. The bishop crossed himself in awe and told the hermits to continue their own prayers, for they had no need for instruction. Then he bowed deeply before the old men and asked them to pray for him as they turned and ran back across the sea to their island. "And a light shone until daybreak on the spot where they were lost to sight."
Another story involves Father Maximos himself as he is visiting elder Paisios, a legendary Athonite monk who had been his spiritual father. From page 82-83:
...While I was getting ready to recite "Mary Mother of God," suddenly and inexplicably everything was transformed around us... a very subtle wind rushed into the chapel even though the door as well as the window were both firmly shut. The lamp in front of the icon of the Holy Virgin began swinging back and forth by itself. There was a lamp in front of each of the five icons. Only the one hanging in front of the Holy Virgin went on moving back and forth, back and forth...
After about half an hour... everything went back to normal. Elder Paisios stood up and signaled me to follow him outside for some fresh air. 'What was that all about?' I asked him. 'What?" he replied, pretending not to have a clue of what I was talking about. 'That phenomenon in the chapel. What happened, really?' I asked. 'What did you see?' he asked me again. I told him that I saw the lamp in front of the icon of the Holy Virgin swing back and forth and described everything else that took place. He asked me whether I saw anything else. I said not. 'Oh... it was nothing, it was nothing,' he said and waved his hand. 'Don't you know that on the Holy Mountain the Panagia [The Most Holy One] goes from monastery to monastery, from cell to cell to find out what we monks are up to? She just passed by here also. She saw two idiots praying and moved the lamp to let us know that she was paying us a visit.' As he finished his sentence he burst out laughing."
"What impressed me about elder Paisios during the brief period that I met with him, "I commented, "was his good humor."
"That's who he was. Even such intense experiences could be a cause of laughter for him. Saints, like all other human beings, have their own unique personality characteristics. Some are gregarious and lighthearted like Paisios. Others are somber and introverted. I've known both types. The attainment of sainthood, you see, does not make everybody share identical personalities."
I could continue on with these worldview-blowing anecdotes, but you get the idea. In addition to many anecdotes, the book contains extensive discussions on spiritual topics such as prayer, other spiritual disciplines, strategies, and ascetic practices, icons and idols, miracles, demons, justice, and humility. Towards the end of the book, Markides does a fine job of tying many of these ideas together in a chapter entitled "The Threefold Way," which is his distillation of Orthodox monastic theology. From page 213:
The soul's journey towards God... must go through three identifiable and distinct stages. At first there is the stage of Catharsis, or the purification of the soul from egotistical passions. It is then followed by the stage of Fotisis, or the enlightenment of the soul, a gift of the Holy Spirit once the soul has undergone its purification. Finally comes the stage of Theosis, union with God, as the final destination and ultimate home of the human soul.
This vision, and the tools from the monastic tradition which must accompany it, forms a powerful framework for understanding spiritual development. For a more detailed look at these ideas, read this book! It's my top pick of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment