CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be
AN ABBOT who is worthy of ruling over a monastery ought always to be mindful of what he is called—a Superior—and make his actions reflect his very name. For he is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery, since he is called by His name, according to the saying of the Apostle: “Ye have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry Abba—Father.” (Rom. 8:15). Therefore, the Abbot should never teach, authorize, or command anything contrary to the laws of the Lord (God forbid this should happen); but his commands and teaching should be kneaded like the leaven of divine justice into the minds of his disciples.
Let the Abbot always bear in mind that at the dread Judgment of God he must give an account both of his own teaching and of the obedience of his disciples. And let the Abbot know that whatever lack of profit the Father of the Family shall find in the sheep, will be laid to the blame of the shepherd. On the other hand, he will be blameless, if he gave all a shepherd’s care to his restless and disobedient flock, and took all pains to correct its corrupt manner of life; so that their shepherd, acquitted at the Lord’s judgment seat, may say to the Lord with the Prophet: “I have not hid Thy justice within my heart. I have declared Thy truth and Thy salvation.” (Ps. 39:11; 40:11, Vulg.). “But they despising have rejected me.” (Is. 1:2; Ezek. 20:27). Then at length overpowering death will be the penalty of those sheep who rebelled against his charge.
When, therefore, anyone takes the name of Abbot he should govern his disciples by a twofold teaching: namely, he should show them all that is good and holy by his deeds rather than by his words—demonstrating the commandments of God to his thoughtful disciples through words, but declaring the divine precepts to those of hard-hearts or those of more simple minds through his works. And let him show by his actions, that whatever he teaches his disciples as being contrary to the law of God must not be done, “lest perhaps when he hath preached to others, he himself should become a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:27), and lest he himself committing sin, God one day should say to him: “Why dost thou declare My justices, and take My covenant in thy mouth? For thou hast hated discipline, and hast cast My words behind thee.” (Ps. 49:16–17; 50:16–17, Vulg.). And: “Thou who sawest the mote in thy brother’s eye, didst not see the beam in thine own.” (Matt. 7:3).
Let him make no distinction of persons in the monastery. Let him not love one more than another, unless it be someone found exemplary in good works and obedience. Let not a free-born be preferred to a former slave, unless there be some other reasonable cause. But if from a just reason the Abbot deems it proper to make such a distinction, he may do so in regard to the rank of anyone whomsoever; otherwise let everyone keep his own place; for whether bound or free, we are all one in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:28; Eph. 6:8), and we all bear an equal burden serving in the army of Our Lord, “for there is no respect of persons with God.” (Rom. 2:11). We are distinguished in his sight for this respect alone: when we are found to excel others in good works and in humility. Therefore, let the Abbot have equal charity for all, and impose a uniform discipline upon all according to merit.
For in his teaching the Abbot should always observe that principle of the Apostle in which he says: “Reprove, entreat, rebuke” (2 Tim. 4:2), that is, mingling gentleness with severity, as the occasion may call for, let him show the rigor of a master or the kindly affection of a father. He must sternly rebuke the undisciplined and restless; but he must exhort the obedient, meek, and patient to advance in virtue. But we charge him to rebuke and punish the negligent and haughty. Let him not shut his eyes to the faults of offenders, but on their first appearance let him do his utmost to cut them out from the root at once, remembering the fate of Heli, the priest of Silo. (Cf. 1 Sam. 2:11–4:18). The well-disposed and those of sensitive minds, let him correct on the first and second occasions only with verbal warnings; but let him chastise the wicked and the hard of heart, and the proud and disobedient on the very first offense with the rod and other bodily punishments, knowing that it is written: “The fool is not corrected with words.” (Prov. 29:19). And again: “Strike thy son with the rod, and thou shalt deliver his soul from death.” (Prov. 23:14).
The Abbot ought always to remember what he is and what he is called, and to know that to whom much has been entrusted, from him much will be required; and let him understand what a difficult and arduous task he has assumed in governing souls and accommodating himself to a variety of dispositions. Let him so adjust and adapt himself to everyone—with one, encouraging remarks, with another, reproofs, and with another type persuasive arguments, according to each one’s character and intelligence—that he not only suffer no loss in his flock, but may rejoice in the increase of a worthy fold.
Above all things the Abbot must not neglect or undervalue the welfare of the souls entrusted to him, because he has been distracted by fleeting, earthly, perishable things; but let him always dwell on the fact that he has undertaken the government of souls, for which he will have to render an account. And in case he is tempted to complain about the lack of earthly resources, let him remember what is written: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33). And again: “There is no want to them that fear Him.” (Ps. 33:10; 34:10, Vulg.). And let him know that he who undertakes the government of souls must prepare himself to render an account for them; and whatever the number of brethren he has under his charge, let him be sure that on the Day of Judgment he will, without doubt, have to give an account to the Lord for all these souls, as well as his own. And thus, while he should be ever fearful of the Shepherd’s future assessment of the sheep entrusted to him, and while he is vigilant over the account he will need to give about other men, he is made solicitous also for his own sake. And so, by the warnings he uses to correct others, he himself will be purified of his own faults.