The Clergy and Monastics in the Last Times

By Ioannis Rizos

 

In the letters of commission with which the Church entrusted newly ordained Bishops, the first duty reminded to them was the safeguarding of the Orthodox Faith.

Through the institution of the Episcopacy, "the marks of the pure and undefiled faith are preserved, and the unadulterated beauty of Orthodoxy shines forth." Moreover, "the divine and apostolic decrees must be received with upturned hands and honored and guarded as God-inscribed tablets." [1]

Even the very name of the Bishop, observes Zonaras in his interpretation of the 58th Apostolic Canon, must serve as a constant reminder of the Bishop’s spiritual duty toward the people. The Bishop is the watchman who oversees from a high place, lest he detect in time any hostile action. Woe if the Bishop falls asleep! The city will be destroyed because of him. To him is addressed the voice of Ezekiel: "Son of man, I have set you as a watchman for the house of Israel and the house of Judah; if you do not warn, nor speak, the lawless one shall die in his lawlessness, and I will require his blood from your hand." [2]

When the prefect of Emperor Valens (304–378), Modestus, pressured the bishops to sign in favor of Arianism, Saint Basil the Great, undeterred by threats of property confiscation, exile, and even a death sentence, refused. Enraged, Modestus told him that no bishop had ever spoken to him in such a manner. To this, Saint Basil replied: "It seems you have never met a true Bishop."

Such were the Bishops of Christ. But what will the Clergy and Monastics of the last times be like? What do our Saints say?

Saint Hippolytus:

The shepherds will become like wolves. The priests will embrace falsehood. The monks will long for the things of the world... [3]

Saint Kosmas the Aetolian:

The clergy will become the worst and most impious of all. [4]

Saint Nilus the Athonite:

When the time of the coming of the Antichrist approaches, the minds of men will be darkened by the passions of the flesh, and impiety and lawlessness will greatly increase... The shepherds of Christians, both bishops and priests, will be vain men, completely ignorant of the right path from the left... The Churches of God will be deprived of devout and pious shepherds, and woe to the Christians who remain in the world, for they will be utterly deprived of faith, seeing no light of true knowledge from anyone... [5]

Abba Moses:

In those days... they will appoint as abbots and shepherds men untested in virtue, unbelieving... unable to discern the right path from the left, negligent, preoccupied with worldly cares, seizing positions of authority through gifts... incapable of instructing and admonishing the flock... and due to such negligence and contempt from the shepherds, the brethren will be lost... [6]

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem:

We seek a sign of the [Second] coming of the Lord. We, the ecclesiastical ones, seek an ecclesiastical sign, and the Lord says: "And then many will be scandalized, and will betray one another, and will hate one another." [7]

If you hear that bishops turn against bishops, clergy against clergy, and peoples against peoples, even to the point of bloodshed, do not be troubled. For such things are already written. [8]

Abba Ischyrion:

Once, in the 4th century, when some monks were asked about how the monks and clergy of future generations and the last times would live and be, Abba Ischyrion responded: "They will labor and achieve only half of what we have been able to accomplish." They asked again, "And what about those who come after them?" He replied: "They will have no spiritual work and no real virtue. However, they will face a great and severe trial, and those who manage to endure and persevere until the end will be shown to be greater than all of us and even our saints."[9]

Abba Pambo:

"Tell me, Elder, is it true that the customs and traditions of Christians will change and that there will be no priests in the churches?"

And the Elder answered: "At that time, the love of many will grow cold, and great tribulation will come. There will be invasions of nations, migrations of peoples, instability among kings, disorder among rulers. The priests will become dissolute, and the monks will live in negligence."

"The abbots will be indifferent to their own salvation as well as that of their flock. They will all be eager and first at the banquet tables and contentious. Lazy in prayer but eager in slander, always ready to accuse. They will neither want to imitate nor listen to the lives and words of the Elders, but instead, they will chatter and say, 'If we had lived in their days, we too would have struggled.'

"The bishops of those times will show servility to the powerful, issuing decisions according to the gifts they receive, and they will not defend the poor when they are judged. They will grieve the widows and oppress the orphans.

"Moreover, among the people, unbelief, debauchery, hatred, enmity, jealousy, strife, theft, drunkenness, reckless entertainment, adultery, fornication, murder, and plunder will prevail."

Then the brother asked, "And what can one do in such difficult times?"

And the Elder answered: "My child, in such days, the one who desires and strives to save his soul will be saved, and he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." [10]

Starets Anatoly:

The enemy of mankind will act cunningly to lead even the elect, if possible, into heresy. He will not begin by coldly rejecting the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and the Virginity of the Theotokos. Instead, he will subtly begin to undermine the teachings and traditions of the Church and the great spirituality that has come down to us through the Holy Fathers from the Holy Spirit. Few will notice these flattering deceptions of the enemy—only those who are very experienced in the spiritual life. The heretics will gain power over the Church and will place their servants everywhere. The pious will be looked upon with contempt. The Lord Himself said, 'By their fruits you shall know them,' and thus, by their fruits and actions, strive to distinguish the heretics from the true shepherds. These are spiritual thieves, plundering the spiritual flock. They will enter the sheepfold (the Church) by climbing in another way, using force and trampling upon the holy canons.

The Lord calls them robbers. [11]

Indeed, their first action will be the persecution of the true shepherds—their imprisonment and exile—because without this, it will be impossible for them to seize the flock. For this reason, my child, when you see the violation of the Patristic Tradition and the divine commandments within the Church—those commandments that were established by God—know that the heretics have already appeared. Even if, for a time, they may conceal their impiety or subtly undermine the Holy Faith, they do so in order to more effectively ensnare and entrap the ignorant in their nets.

The persecution will be directed not only against the shepherds but also against all the servants of God, for all those who are led by heresy will not tolerate piety. Recognize these wolves in sheep’s clothing by their prideful disposition and their love of power. They will be slanderers, traitors, spreading enmity and malice everywhere. This is why the Lord said that they will be known by their fruits. [12]

The true servants of God are humble, love their fellow man, and are obedient to the Church. The monks will suffer greatly at the hands of the heretics, and monastic life will be despised. Active monasteries will become rare, the number of monks will decrease, and those who remain will endure violence. Those who hate monastic life, while maintaining only an outward appearance of piety, will strive to win the monks over to their side, promising them protection and worldly goods while threatening those who oppose them with exile. These threats will cause great despair among the faint-hearted. But you, my child, rejoice that you have lived to see this time, for then the faithful, even those who have shown no other virtues, will receive crowns simply because they have remained steadfast in the faith, according to the Lord’s words: "Everyone who, being with Me (ἐν Ἐμοί), confesses Me before men, I will also confess him, being with him (ἐν αὐτῷ), before My Father in Heaven." [13]

Fear the Lord, my child. Fear losing the crown that has been prepared for you. Fear being cast by Christ into the outer darkness and eternal torment. Stand firm in the faith, and if necessary, endure persecution and other sorrows, for the Lord will be with you, and the Holy Martyrs and spiritual fathers will look upon you and your struggle with joy.

But woe to the monks in those days who will be bound by possessions and wealth, who, for the sake of love of peace [comfort], will be ready to submit to the heretics. They will soothe their conscience by saying, "We are preserving and saving the monastery, and the Lord will forgive us." These unfortunate and blind ones fail to realize that through heresy, the demons will enter the monastery, and thereafter, it will no longer be a Holy Monastery but merely walls, from which grace will have departed. Yet God is stronger than the enemy and will never abandon His servants. True Christians will endure until the end of this period, but they will prefer to live in isolated and deserted places.

Saint Niphon, Bishop of Constantiana:

Until the end of the age, my child, the prophets of the Lord God will never cease to exist, just as the workers of Satan will never be absent. However, in the last days, those who truly serve Christ will wisely hide themselves from people. And even if they do not perform signs and wonders as they do today, they will always walk the difficult path with all humility. These will be found greater in the Kingdom of God than the wonder-working fathers, for in their time, there will be no one performing miracles before their eyes to rekindle their zeal and inspire them in spiritual struggles. Those who occupy the hierarchical thrones throughout the world will be entirely unworthy and will have no understanding of virtue. Likewise, the leaders of monks will be similar. They will be overcome by gluttony and vainglory, becoming more of a scandal to people rather than an example to follow. As a result, virtue will be neglected, and greed will reign everywhere. Woe, however, to the monks who will be rich in gold, for they will be a disgrace in the eyes of the Lord and will never see the face of God. Both monks and laypeople will lend money at interest, refusing to allow God to multiply their wealth through almsgiving to the poor. If they do not turn away from this greed, they will be cast into the abyss. Then, as I have said before, most will fall into deception out of ignorance and be led into the chaos of the broad and spacious path of perdition. [14]

The warning of the Apostle Paul regarding the apostasy that will occur before the coming of the Antichrist [15] clearly refers to the apostasy of the governing Church rather than that of individuals. The apostasy of individuals and large groups—whether through heresies or general impiety and unbelief—has always existed, will always exist, and cannot serve as a forerunner sign of the coming of the Antichrist. Moreover, if the Apostle’s words referred to individual apostasies, his statement would have been disproven thousands of times by now, since countless apostasies have taken place, yet the Antichrist has not come. Ecumenism, as an eschatological pan-heresy, already—through Orthodox clergy and bishops—leads the flock away from the true and salvific teaching of Christ. By preaching diabolical ideas, it creates a new "New Order" type of "Christian," one who is indifferent to whether the clergy he follows and the teachings he hears from them are Orthodox or heterodox, truth or falsehood, as long as he is pleased with words of love and peace. However, "Even if the words of the false prophets are sweet, nothing is more bitter than them." The clergy whom the world will follow, the Lord "will cast into the dung heap" [latrine]. [16]

The clergy, therefore, will become an instrument of the Antichrist. It will teach blind obedience as a virtue of peace and salvation— a satanic obedience that will demand from the "faithful" ignorance, disregard for the teachings of the Saints, indifference to the Truth, and a superficial piety. "The lying [shepherds] will first speak the truth and what is acceptable to all, and then they will introduce falsehoods and doubtful teachings." [17]

The Antichrist will not close the churches, nor will he burn them as was done in the past. Instead, he will fill them with Christians who will be baptized, confess, receive Communion, and perform acts of piety, yet in reality, they will not believe in Christ but in the Antichrist himself. He will deceive the world by pretending to be Christ and will strive to imitate Him in all things. Saint Hippolytus writes:

"…He will perform many false miracles. At first, he will appear humble, gentle, beloved by all, devout, a peacemaker. He will hate injustice, reject bribes, love the Holy Scriptures, cherish priests, honor the elderly, flatter the youth, abhor adultery, despise slander, love strangers, assist the poor, have mercy on orphans, care for widows. He will prophesy future events, raise the dead, give sight to the blind. He will be without greed, reconcile people, and all will honor and love him. Everyone will say, ‘Let us make him our king, for such a holy and just man does not exist in our days.’ And he will refuse kingship to appear humble and holy. But when he finally becomes king, and his true face—the face of hell—is revealed, woe to those who believed in him. Then the whole earth will wail… They will envy the dead and beg for the graves to open so they can enter them…" [18]

The Holy New Martyr Andronik, Bishop of Perm, says:

"…The persecution of the Church by a state that is not merely irreligious but actively anti-Christian will inevitably follow… Whether we want it or not, such a development is not far away. We must therefore prepare ourselves, for our faith will be tested as in fire—first by the spirit of the Antichrist and then by the Antichrist himself…" [19]

Thus, anyone who truly cares for their salvation must begin to familiarize themselves with the idea of Walling Off, so that when they see themselves being shepherded by enemies of Christ, they may protect themselves and not be found among the foolish.

(Excerpt from the book: "The Robbers of Divine Teaching," Part II)

 

[1] Syntagma by Rallis-Potlis, Athens 1855, vol. 5, p. 544.

[2] Ezekiel 3:15.

[3] Saint Hippolytus, BEΠEΣ 6, 278.

[4] "Patrokosmas," 57th Prophecy, p. 39.

[5] Prophecy of Saint Nilus. Faithful copy from the book "Evangelikos Kipos" of the Holy Monastery of Stavrovouni, Cyprus.

[6] D. Panagopoulos, "Saints and Wise Men on the Events to Come," Prophecy of Abba Moses, p. 6.

[7] Matthew 20:16.

[8] Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, E.P.E. 2, 130.

[9] Abba Ischyrion, Gerontikon, p. 53.

[10] Great Gerontikon, Abba Pambo.

[11] John 10:1.

[12] The threats and persecutions against clergy and monks who denounce impiety are in full effect in our times.

[13] Matthew 10:32.

[14] "A Hermit Bishop," Holy Monastery of Parakletos, from an unpublished manuscript of 1334.

[15] 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

[16] Malachi 2:6.

[17] E.P.E. 30, 264.

[18] "Thesauros" of Damaskinos, Logos XXIII, Rigopoulos edition.

[19] Hieromartyr Andronikos, "An Uncompromising Hierarch," p. 88, Holy Monastery of Parakletos edition.

 

Greek source: 

https://orthodoxoiorizontes.gr/Profhteies/Profhteies/Oi_klhrikoi_kai_monaxoi_sta_esxata_xronia.htm