- Jun 1, 2022
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I don't have a very good grasp of the eremitic way of life, or very much knowledge of Orthodoxy in the first place, but in what little reading I have done I have come across some stories about famous hermits who are venerated by the Church as saints.
From what I understand, regular participation in the Eucharist and confession, etc. in Orthodoxy are the/a primary means of grace for people and are at least extremely helpful for salvation. That is what I understand. But how did someone like St. Mary of Egypt avail herself of the Eucharist and Confession during her time in the desert? She did take communion before going into the desert, but during all her time there I don't think that she did. I understand that St. Zosima brought her Communion after encountering her. Was she Confessed? I thought that Confession was extremely important in the life of a Christian.
I don't remember the names, but that there have been lots of other hermits who only took communion or were confessed at very infrequent intervals due to their seclusion.
On the basis of that assumption, what is the Orthodox teaching on the frequency that these sacraments should be received, and how that frequency relates to theosis and salvation? St. Mary is highly venerated, and I assume that she must have been extremely holy and very near to God during her time in the desert--how was this possible without access to the sacraments? On the one hand, the situation of a desert hermitess like St. Mary is pretty atypical, but on the other hand she was a human being so it seems relevant.
I am abandoning Protestantism for lots of reasons, but the sort of individualistic "just me and Jesus" idea of religion is part of it. I'm not saying that's the outlook of holy hermits, but I don't have a way (yet) of reconciling this idea of eremitism as an individual spiritual exercise largely separated from the corporate life of the Church, and the all-important corporate aspect of Christianity, where the sacraments are received and so forth. I suppose there are false assumptions in what I just wrote, so please point them out to me. I don't really know what I'm talking about.
From what I understand, regular participation in the Eucharist and confession, etc. in Orthodoxy are the/a primary means of grace for people and are at least extremely helpful for salvation. That is what I understand. But how did someone like St. Mary of Egypt avail herself of the Eucharist and Confession during her time in the desert? She did take communion before going into the desert, but during all her time there I don't think that she did. I understand that St. Zosima brought her Communion after encountering her. Was she Confessed? I thought that Confession was extremely important in the life of a Christian.
I don't remember the names, but that there have been lots of other hermits who only took communion or were confessed at very infrequent intervals due to their seclusion.
On the basis of that assumption, what is the Orthodox teaching on the frequency that these sacraments should be received, and how that frequency relates to theosis and salvation? St. Mary is highly venerated, and I assume that she must have been extremely holy and very near to God during her time in the desert--how was this possible without access to the sacraments? On the one hand, the situation of a desert hermitess like St. Mary is pretty atypical, but on the other hand she was a human being so it seems relevant.
I am abandoning Protestantism for lots of reasons, but the sort of individualistic "just me and Jesus" idea of religion is part of it. I'm not saying that's the outlook of holy hermits, but I don't have a way (yet) of reconciling this idea of eremitism as an individual spiritual exercise largely separated from the corporate life of the Church, and the all-important corporate aspect of Christianity, where the sacraments are received and so forth. I suppose there are false assumptions in what I just wrote, so please point them out to me. I don't really know what I'm talking about.
