A Vocation of Love and Union with God - a Divine Calling

Monasticism in the Orthodox Christian tradition is not merely a lifestyle or personal preference—it is a vocation, a sacred calling from God that is met with a deliberate and grace-filled acceptance to Christ’s invitation to “leave all” and “follow Him” in total devotion, prayer, and imitation.

As a divine calling it requires discernment and commitment. It is not random, not forced not in theory, but in every breath a deeply spiritual response to God’s invitation. It can be considered as a specific path chosen, much like the calling of the apostles or prophets. The Gospel bears witness to Christ’s call to discipleship: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”— Luke 9:23.

Monastics reciprocate in communion with God during their daily worship and prayer as sung in the Canonical Hours of the Midnight Watch of Midnight Praises; “We follow you with all our heart, and we fear You, and we seek Your face. O God do not forsake us. But rather deal with us, according to Your meekness, and according to Your great mercy, O Lord help us. May our prayers ascend unto You, Our Master, like burnt offers of lambs, and fatted calves.”

In the Orthodox Church, this call is mirrored in the monastic life, where individuals like Saint Anthony the Great, the Father of Monasticism, and all those who followed in these steps willingly leave behind the diversions of the world to pursue deeper communion with God. Saint John Climacus writes in The Ladder of Divine Ascent: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men.”

“Beloved, it is enough for you to meet with Christ, to talk with Him, to listen to Him,  to create a relationship with Him,  finding all your necessities in Him, not needing anything but to be with Him, to give Him your heart, then you will feel the ridiculousness of the whole world, and will delight in God’s love.”

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Being with God.