People go to the monastery with very serious intentions in order to improve themselves, to acquire the virtues of obedience, humility, and patience. All these virtues are tested in the person himself, and this requires strong faith. Almost all monasteries accept novices and novices, they need people who visit their monastery with good intentions to pray, work, and obey.
It is in the monastery that one can reject oneself, take up one's cross and work and labor, be a follower of Christ, not look back before difficulties. A person should not fall into despair or indulge in despondency. If a person decided to enter a monastery, it means that he came to be saved and to acquire humility. And humility is achieved through obedience, obeying the leaders of the monastery.
There are several ways to get to the monastery. The simplest of them, but also the most risky, is to get there on your own, without prior agreement with the services of the monastery, because in this case there may be no room in the hotel at the monastery. It will be better if you first try to coordinate your visit with the pilgrimage service of the monastery.
By applying for monasticism, a person makes vows to God. This is a rather serious step, and so that a person does not make a mistake, once deciding on this, he is tested for a long time in the monastery. There are several stages of monastic life:
1. The first stage is the worker. When a person comes to get acquainted with the monastery and work there "For the glory of God", that is, not for money. As a worker, a person can always return to the world, and this will not entail sin. The worker must live in the monastery, obeying his internal order, performing the work that the leadership of the monastery entrusts him with. The monastery provides a hostel and food for the laborer.
2. The second stage is the novice. Novices are people who have decided to become a monk and have written a petition for admission to the brethren. If the Abbot is sure of the seriousness of a person's intentions, he is enrolled in the brethren of the monastery, given a cassock, and this person begins a probationary period. The term for each is different and can reach several years. The novice can renounce his intention and go into the world. This is not welcome, but it is not forbidden either.
3. The third stage is monasticism. A person makes vows, and there is no turning back, because betrayal of vows is a betrayal of God and a great sin.
Many monasteries have their own sites on the Internet, and if you decide to apply to a monastery, write about yourself to the e-mail address of the monastery you are interested in so that its management can make a decision.
