This morning we moved to another type of text, the rule, which I think is not so dry as it seems to be at the beginning, but certainly different. Just to remind you of what I said the first day, because when I got to that part of the rule, it was at the end of the hour, so I had to go very fast. The text that we have, the legislative text that we have from Pachomius, there is this series of texts translated by Jerome Charkow, the ruler of Pachomius, divided in three, in four parts. The Praecepta, the Praecepta et Instituta, the Praecepta Acleges, and the Praecepta Acjudicia. So that means precepts, precepts and institutions, precepts and law, precepts and judgment.

[01:07]

Of course, this precepta is the longest, the longest one, and the most important. Precepta et instituta, there is 18 numbers. And the 18th one is important because it's a very different style from the others. And it gives the direction to directives to the superior the heart. And it's very similar in many ways to the list of good works in the Rue Saint-Benedict. opium. And then, Precepta Ecclesiastes, we find in that most of the precepts that we already find in Precepta, it's quite shorter. And Precepta Ecclesiastes is interesting because it's a kind of penitential.

[02:11]

So we will study especially the Precepta, which is the longest part and According to me, the one that includes the oldest precepts, although some people like Ms. Van Loo, think that Pratyekabuddha, she is supposed to be the core, and then that the rest would be a kind of elaboration from that. It is said in the rule in the life of Pachomius many times that he gave to his brothers rules that he took from the gospel for them. It's mentioned many, many, many times. And the thing which is very surprising is that if we read the rule, say for example, the precepts, they are 140 something, 144. There is practically no quotation from the scripture whatsoever. only two allusions and uh... one is one is in uh... paragraph fifty fifty-one is uh... say uh... that when people come to the gate of the monastery they should be received with special honor if they are clerics or monks their feet should be washed according to gospel precepts there is an allusion to uh...

[03:39]

to John 13, 14, 15. Then in the next paragraph there is a quotation, at least a few words. It said in Latin, out of De Vilis, out of Vasa in Firmiora, if seculars are the weak or more fragile creature. And the Latin text is Vasa in Firmiora. I don't know how to translate that. And this is a quotation from the first episode of Saint Peter, as the only direct quotation. And the funniest thing is that in that text, in Saint Peter, that word is, the context is the care and the love and attention that the man should have for his wife.

[04:46]

And here it is used about the attention that the man should have for the guest woman. But those are the only quotations. So let's take the rule in itself at the beginning. Chapter number one. There is a title, but usually all those titles in the Latin translation of Jerome are from Jerome. So when there is something special in the title, we should not draw conclusions too rapidly from that. When we have the beginning of a Coptic text, here we don't have the beginning, but when we have the beginning of a Coptic text, we can always verify that Jerome is adding the title. So probably here he is adding two. Rules of the man of God, our father by communion, who by command of God was the first founder of the synovetical way of life.

[05:50]

Here begins the rules. And just to give you an example, that rule is composed of different groups of precepts that existed separately before. We can find a good number of conclusions at the end of different groups. Take, for example, at the beginning of number eight. The first sentence of number eight really belongs to number seven. It's the end of the group. Here are the rules of life handed down to us by the elders. That's the end of the first group of seven number. It goes with seven rather than with eight. You have something similar in number 22. At the end of number 22 you have, whoever violates one of these stipulations shall undergo the aforesaid punishment.

[06:52]

At also the end of the precepts. You have the same thing, number 48. If one of these stipulations is neglected or omitted, the one responsible shall be corrected with the usual justicement. And then the same thing, number 103. At the end, and if one of the things mentioned above is omitted by content, the offender shall be corrected by a similar punishment. There is a punishment at the end of each group. But at least this helps us to see that there were different groups and probably they come from different periods. You have something similar, I didn't mention, at number 7. There it is. Number 14. It's not so clear because there it will take a long demonstration to show that probably Jerome misunderstood his text.

[08:04]

And he adds a few words in his usual way because Jerome very often in his translation and we can check that when we have the Coptic text that he adds words to make the text clearer. And so, if any of these forgets anything and hesitates in reciting, he shall undergo punishment for his carelessness and forgetfulness. Well, in the Latin, if you suppress the words in reciting, that makes a conclusion just exactly like the others. If anybody forgets or hesitates in any of these things, he shall undergo punishment. Because here Jerome related the text to the preceding paragraph. Now, to give a general idea of the content, the group 1 to 14 form a group in itself, And they deal with the general synopsis, general meeting of the brother in the morning.

[09:11]

And those texts don't deal with the spirituality, don't deal with the content. They deal with just the material organization. How the brother should behave in their meeting. Of course there is a spirituality implied in that. But it's not a rule in the St. Benedict, especially the prologue, does not give a kind of summary of the spirituality, just like the chapter of the rule about the number of psalms that we use. This psalm at that location, that psalm at that other location, and so on. And then paragraph 15 to 22 is still about the the meeting, but especially the meeting on Sunday, the only meeting when there was the Eucharist. And then the 5 rafts 23 to 28, it's about work and reading at the Synaxis. And then 30 to 39 is about the effectory and food.

[10:20]

And then there is an interesting way to link the text to one another. When they speak about the work, they speak about the work in the refectory. And speaking about the food, they will speak of the food to give to the sick people. And so speaking of the food to give to the sick people, then we begin to speak about the sick people. And there's a whole series of paragraphs about the sick people. And then sometimes when someone is very sick, it's a relative will come. So we speak about the visits of his relatives, and then that brings us to speak about all kinds of visits that may come to the monastery. But speaking about the people who come to visit us, it leads us to speak about our visiting them outside. So a series about going out of the monastery. Well, we'll see that later on, but it's not logical. It's not according to our own logic, but there is a kind of connection.

[11:26]

Each group is linked to the other by a kind of hook. Let's read the first one. the uninstructed coming into the assembly of the saints. In Latin it is, Quirudis Collectum Sanctorum Ingreditur. Quirudis, Jerome translated by, not Jerome, the translator here, uninstructed. That's a good translation, illiterate, uninstructed. It can be translated in a different way. Rudis in Latin in that time, Titus and Jerome, could mean also pagan, the non-Christian, the pagan. For example, St. Augustine has a treaty about how to catechize the pagan, the rudis catechumens.

[12:33]

So it would mean the one who is a catechumen. But it was my interpretation, and it was questioned by Father de Vaudreuil, so... There is a good... It's not clear whether it is mentioned here, the one who is not yet baptized, or simply the one who is yet uninstructed. So let's keep uninstructed. Coming into the assembly of the saints, we collect them in gratitude. we have some parallel texts in which it is clear that the collectum here translate synaxis. So the one who entered the synaxis. The synaxis is the meeting of the brothers in the morning. So from comparison with other texts it's quite clear that the word sanctorum here is added by Jerome. So Does that mean that the one who enters that assembly of the saints, which is the community, means simply the one who is introduced in the meeting of the brother, that's like in the morning.

[13:43]

And just mentioned that he has to keep the place which is given to him by the potter. because the one who comes to the monastery, he remains at the gate of the monastery as long as he does not know enough to be able to celebrate the office with the brother. So when he is ready, the father brings him to the assembly of the brother in the morning, and he gives him a place. And when he will be well-formed, he will be will be given to one house and the superior of the house will give him his place, that will be his permanent place. They call it in Latin, locus sedendi and standing, the place where he will sit and stand. So it's only that which is said here. The instructor coming into the assembly and given his rank by the porter at the gate of the monastery, once provided with a place to sit in the congregation of the mothers, shall not be permitted to change place or rank of sitting until the oikiyakas, that is, his own housemaster, has moved him to the place properly his."

[14:54]

A kind of good organization, what place he takes. But before he He is given that place. He has a preparation that will be given to him, a formation by the porter. So we could go immediately to another paragraph that will give more explanation about that. Paragraph 49, which is a beautiful one. And I don't think there is any objection in seeing that paragraph now because where it is situated, it is without any link with the paragraph before and paragraph after it. So it's just placed there. If someone comes to the gate of the monastery wishing to renounce the world and be added to the number of the brothers,

[15:59]

When someone comes, he comes to the gate of the monastery. They are to move a renunciation and a commitment. And he renounced the world, he renounced the title of life, that's been his life up to now. And he wants what? He wants to be added to the number of the brothers. He wants to be a member of a community. That's the aim. He wants to enter into a community. It gives us something about the mentality in which people came to the Thacomean monasteries. He shall not be at liberty to enter. Just like chapter 58 of St. Benedict, when someone comes, he shall not be admitted easily.

[17:07]

What will we do with him? First, the father of the monastery shall be informed of him. And he shall remain outside a few days at the door. Same thing as in St. Benedict. Remains for a few days. And be taught the Lord's Prayer and as many Psalms as he can learn. he would have to learn more later on. But before, even before being received at the portal of life, he has to learn at least that, the Lord's Prayer, as many Psalms as he can learn. So that means that, in many cases, he does not know anything yet if he's a Christian. Yet, in many cases, he does not even know the Lord's Prayer, because if he were a Christian, he would certainly know the Lord's Prayer, which was taught during the initiation to baptism, the first thing that was taught. He shall have a care to make himself known. That's a difficult translation.

[18:13]

He will make his proof. He will show that he is... make a proof of his decision by staying there. Has he done something wrong and troubled by fear suddenly run up? Is he under some sort of influence? In Latin it is subaliqua patestate. I think it doesn't mean under some influence, but is he a slave under a master? Because if he is a slave under a master, according to the law, the master can come and take him out. So that's to be known whether he is a slave. So balikvapada-stati means under a master and not under some sort of influence. Can he renounce his family and his own will? Fakultatem. I will not translate his own will. I will translate his possessions. Fakultatem means possessions.

[19:13]

So can he renounce his family and his possessions? It's important to renounce the world, first of all that, to renounce his family and to renounce his possessions. If they see that he is suitable in all these respects, so that's the essential, first of all. This has to be checked. If they see that he is suitable in all these respects, he shall then be taught the rest of the monastic discipline. the condition. The rest of the monastic discipline, that is, what he must do, whom he must serve, become the monastery to serve each other, whom he must serve, both in the assembly of our brothers and in the house to which he is assigned. In the assembly, General Assembly, when brothers meet, somebody has to do a certain number of services, so he will have to do some of that service, and also in the house in which he will be assigned, as well as in the order of eating.

[20:16]

So the three meetings, meeting of all the brothers in the morning, the meeting in the house in the evening, and the meeting for eating. Instructed to perfection in every good work, he may be admitted to the brotherhood. The Latin text is beautiful. So when he arrives, he arrives, volens agrigari ratum numero. He wants to be added to the number of the brothers, and so we have to verify, to check whether his dispositions are good, and if everything is okay, then he's instructed of everything, and Fratribus Copuleto is united to the brothers. It's a very strong expression. Fratribus Copuleto. He wants to be added to the number of the brothers and he is united to the brothers when everything is considered okay. Then they shall strip him bare of his secular clothing and garb him with the habit of monks.

[21:22]

He is made a monk. Then his formation begins. It's not finished. It begins. He shall be handed over to the gatekeeper so that, and now we come to what we read in paragraph 1, he shall be handed over to the gatekeeper so that at the time of prayer he may bring him before all the brothers. He shall sit where he is told by the master of the house. The clothing he has brought with him shall be given to those in charge and brought to storage, where it shall be at the disposition of the chief of the monastery." Here there is a difference with Benedict. Benedict says that we keep his clothes so that if he wants to get away sometimes, he will take back his clothes. leave the cloth of the monastery here. But Parcommius does not foresee that possibility. He says that his cloths are given to the father of the monastery who will dispose of them.

[22:25]

There is another paragraph that is parallel to those, 139. It's more or less a repetition, but with the differences that make that, that shows that it comes from a different period. Whoever has come into the monastery, Buddhist, uninstructed, shall first be taught what he must observe, and when so prone, he has agreed to it all, they shall give him twenty psalms of two of the apostles' epistles of some other part of the scripture. There is more detail here about what he has to learn at the very beginning. And if he is illiterate, he shall at the first, third, and ninth hour go to the Pope.

[23:29]

Ninth hour. The house is ninth hour. At the first, the third, and the ninth hour. I have not seen that. Go to the teacher, so delegated, and stand before him, and shall learn with the grittiness of eagerness and gratitude. So as I mentioned the other day, that was very special in Upper Egypt, in those far-remoted, backward Catholic village, very few people could read, but that everybody will learn how to read in the the back of the village that was very surprising. I say back of the village because the words which is used in copy to as the name of the monastery means the village. So a monastery is called a village. And as a matter of fact, a Pakomyan monastery was organized for all the material purpose exactly in the same way as any Catholic village.

[24:31]

And when we speak about the houses in the Pakomyan monasteries, one house is for the carpenter, one house is for the infirmary, and one house for the farmers, it's not an original idea of Pakomyan. It is exactly the way all the Catholic villages were organized, a kind of corporation in each part of the village. So he just accepted the organization that was in his time, just as he did for a little bit. And even the wall around the village, he said somewhere in the rule that a massacre should be surrounded by a wall and with only one door. and so everyone and everything that enters the monastery has to go through that door and everything that goes up also but this is not a mistake of the monastic insurgents it is the way every village was built it was the only way to defend oneself against the invasion and so after that they made a whole spiritual mystic about that wall around the monastery but that was simply a question of

[25:41]

defending oneself in a very efficient way. Afterwards, the fundamentals of syllable, verb, and noun shall be written out for him, and even if unwilling, it shall become bell to read. And next paragraph, no one whosoever shall be in the monastery who does not learn to read and does not retain something from scripture. The minimum is the New Testament and the Psalter. That's the minimum. You have to learn by heart the New Testament and the Psalter. Just the beginning. There is another text in the life, in the old societic life, the tenth fragment which comes from what I consider to be the life of Theodore. And it's about what to do with the people who come to the monastery.

[26:42]

And there I find an indication that probably Rudis has to be targeted by a non-Christian, not yet a Christian, a pagan. He says And brothers, all the young, the boys, the children, the children is not five or six years old for them, might be 17, 18. All the young, the boys, and those more, and those older, that the Lord brought to us so that they will be regenerated, the regeneration of the baptism. Let us teach them that God has created them. And then let us teach them about heaven and earth, about the sun and the moon and everything that has been created by God.

[27:43]

And let us teach them how to praise, unceasingly, the one who has created all those things, through their mouth and through their heart, saying, be praised Lord, and so on. And after that, we will give them Psalms to learn by heart. In the same way, they will have to learn other books of the Holy Scripture. And then they will be taught all the things that are agreeable to God, how to do His will, and then the rule of the monastery. They have to learn many things before learning the detailed rules of the monastery. They have to learn about God and God has created them. They have to learn how to praise God. They have to learn the scripture, the New Testament and the Psalms. And that they have to do the will of God. And then they are told the rules of the monastery.

[28:47]

Those rules that I have taken from the scripture for you. but probably not exactly the rule that we have here. So why do we teach them those rules? So that they may love the Lord with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their thoughts, all their strength, and love their neighbor as themselves. So that they may know exactly what is written by the Holy Spirit, and that they may keep their body and their soul pure. and they may become temples of the Lord, and may the Spirit dwell in them. And then the fragment is finished. It's a beautiful text, what we have to teach to those who are coming to the monastery. And the gradation is beautiful. And the rule of the monastery as a place related to something more important,

[29:48]

So let's come back to number two. So the following numbers are just how to behave in the meeting of the brother. Let's not forget that that meeting was a meeting in which people worked. They would sit down and they worked weaving baskets and so on while somebody was reciting the scripture. and from time to time they will raise and then posternate on the ground to adore the Lord and recite Our Father, and then sit down again and continue to work. So work and prayer are bound together. So number two is very important, how to sit down. in a decent way. He shall sit with all decorum and refinement, tucking under his buttocks the lower edge of the hide that hangs over his shoulder, down his side, carefully drawing his garment, the sleeveless linen tunic called Lipiton, so that it covers his knees.

[31:02]

to come to the assembly. When he has entered the assembly, when he hears the sound of the trumpet summoning him to the assembly, he is to leave his cell immediately, meditating on something from scripture to the very door of the assembly hall. So the meditation of the scripture when one leaves his cell to come to the assembly. When he has entered the assembly place on the way to the assembly place, on the way to where he is to sit or stand, he shall not tread upon reeds that have been welled down and readied for rope making. Not even the slightest loss should come to the monastery through one's carelessness. That's very practical. But at the same time, there is the same motivation as in St. Benedict, that we have to respect, to think of the monastery as the person of the altar.

[32:24]

No lust should come to the monastery through one's fearlessness. Always the same concept of fearlessness. If the signals are sounded at night, you must not stand at the fire, usually lighted to warm bodies, and keep off the cold, nor shall you sit idle in the assembly. But with a quick hand you shall prepare strands for the warp of mats, avoiding in any case the weakness of the little body to which the indulgence of stubborn work is granted. Well, I won't try to analyze each word here. The translation is a bit difficult to understand, too. But the idea is that you should not be lazy and keep next to the fire, but to take your place in the assembly and do the work which is assigned to you. And then, during that work, there is the prayer.

[33:30]

And at some point, somebody will make a signal, and then we have to wait for the prayer. So when the one standing ahead on the step is the one who is leading the prayer, has chat for the prayer to end, that means that what they call a prayer is a recitation of one part of the scripture. And at the end of each section, which was recited, there was a chat at the end. That means the end of the prayer, that means that the time to the office is over and we go. That means that one recitation, one reading or vision is finished, and then there is a clap of hands, everybody raise and make a bow and recite our Father. And then we sit down again and there will be another prayer, another end of the prayer. So here the translation is not good. When the one standing ahead on the step has clapped for the prayer to end,

[34:31]

Meditating something from the scripture. So the one who would clap his hand is meditating something from the scripture. Let no one delay in rising. You see the text in Latin for... So, the one who is standing on the steps and meditating something from the scripture, when that one has a slap in his hand, let no one delay in rising, but all shall rise together. The whole meaning there is a bit confused. To understand that, let's go to number 13. Next page, speaking about the role of the different persons. The House of the Madarees. Those should not be chosen who stand on the steps and the congregation of all give out something from a written text, but all in the order of sitting and standing shall spin out what by common they have committed to memory.

[35:49]

So, for a week there is a group of Madarees. who, their role during that week is to make the reading of the scripture. And so each one, by turn, will write, go to the step, recite a text from the scripture, and when it is finished, or via signal, to tell all the brothers it is time to make the prayer. There is in the regulations of Arciages that you don't have the translation in English. It is a Coptic text and then published and translated into French by Lefort. And in that Reglement or regulation from Arciages, there is a description of the synaxis, the morning. Those regulations are parallel to the rule in many, many ways.

[36:50]

And there is a long section on what to do at the bakery, what to do on the farm, what to do at the gate, and so on. And there is a paragraph on what to do at the synaxis. And there is a description of the prayer. When the signal has been given for the prayer, Let's stand up immediately without delay. And the same thing when the signal is given to us to kneel down. Let's not delay in prostrating to adore the Lord after having signed ourselves on the sign of the cross. and then prostrated on our face, let's we interleave our sins, as it is written.

[37:53]

When we stand up again, let's make again the sign of the cross, and let us recite the prayer of the gospel, that means our Father. and everyone saying interiorly with a sigh, purify us, O Lord, from our hidden sins, and so on. And then when the signal is given again, let us sit down, let us make again the sign of the cross, and let us I think it's like, apply our heart and our ear to the words of the scripture again. So, let's see, I don't know if you understand the, the brothers are, they are working, they are weaving baskets and something like that, and they are, I'll sit down, one is reciting by memory.

[39:14]

or meditating scripture and when he has finished a section there is a clasp of hands signal all the brothers rise and make the sign of the cross and recite the Our Father they all prostrate and a moment of adoration, and then there is another signal, they rise again, again the sign of the cross, and the Our Father, and then another signal, and then they sit down and walk again. And this is repeated many times. This is the office, composed of that.

[40:18]

And when they speak about the office of the six treasures in the evening, that means that they do that six times. Six texts that are recited. And after each text there is a moment of adoration and meditation. It's an extremely simple form of office. where the body is involved very much. Involved by work during the reading, and the whole body is involved by prostration, and sitting, standing, sign of the cross, and the Our Father. There is no way of knowing, reading from the scripture. And so there is, I could never find any place that will mention that it will be sound more than anything else. Except that every time it is mentioned, what they have to learn, they have to learn the psalm and the New Testament and the Psalms and New Testament and other books.

[41:24]

So the Psalms are always there. But I think each one was free to recite what came to his heart, from what I got. And from the quotations we have, for example, in Orsiesius, It doesn't seem that they quote the Psalms more often than any other book. In fact, I mean the same thing. The spontaneous quotations in their catechesis come from every book of the Scripture, from the Old Testament, from Genesis, from the Prophets, Ezekiel, and from the Psalms also, a good number of quotations from the Psalms, but no more from the other books. I don't think there is a direct influence there.

[42:29]

The influence comes more from Cassian. Cassian who gave us the structure of the artist as he invented it himself under the influence of what he had seen in in our Egypt. And it's very complicated, the history of the office, and still little is known about it. But the old tradition of the Twelve Psalms is a very complicated one, and it seems that the early monks, they tried to pray all the time, and each one will will make for himself a canon, a certain number of prayers he will say during the day. So many prayers during the day and so many prayers during the night. That means that so many times he will start to say a prayer. It could be a psalm, it could be another prayer. At the beginning it was another prayer.

[43:30]

But then it was more and more a psalm. And some people will say, I made 50 prayers during the day and 40 during the night. but then the number that became more and more standard was twelve twelve prayer during the night and twelve prayer during the day and those prayers will become a psalm with a prayer And in the rule of the angel, for example, where it is mentioned, it is the earliest form, it is 12 prayer in the morning and 12 prayer in the evening. And then there will be three groups of prayer. 12 in the morning, 12 in the evening, and 12 during the night. And so our nocturnes come from that. with the direct influence of that tradition of the Twelve Prayers.

[44:34]

But I don't think there is a direct influence from the... Except that this type of reciting texts in a very simple way was quite general in Egypt. There is a basic feature which is common everywhere and becomes more and more organized. So number 7, no need to comment on that. Number 8 and 9 and 10, it's about how to come to the Xenaxis and don't come late. For example, number nine, when the trumpet blasts are sounded for the daytime assembly.

[45:39]

What is it, I can't do it, I can't do it. to bet on God's signal of an instrument. I don't think it was the silver trumpet of the Vatican. When the trumpets that are sounded for the daytime assembly, the one who comes after the first oration shall be punished by scolding of the seigneur and shall remain standing in the living room. It becomes one prayer late. But during the night, we are more indulgent. It will be punished only if it comes after the third prayer. Number 10. At night, however, to grant a bit more to the weakness of the body, the one who arrives after the third oration will be punished in the same order, both at the assembly and at the meal. You know, there is something similar in Benedict, that we have the invitatory psalm that has to be said slowly to give time to people who come late to arrive. there is a an antican parish in the town next to my monastery and the pastor father hugh and he's always late at everything every meeting every office is always always always late so people call him the late father hugh

[47:06]

So, 11 and 12, it's about work, and 14 is the conclusion of that first part. 15 to 22, it's still about the religious exercises, so nothing very important, except number 18. Then we see something special about Sunday, and it's one of the very few occasions in the rule where we see an allusion to Sunday and to the Eucharist. The one who, without the command of the senior, all those paragraphs are about that we should not leave the assembly without having the permission of the superior. And apparently, the one who, without the command of the senior, leaves an assembly in which the offering is to be made, shall be satisfied immediately. So the assembly in which the offering is to be made is the Eucharist. And the office was a bit different on Sunday.

[48:26]

And there was some ceremony on Sunday, some singing. There was nothing the other day. But we have very few details about it. We just know that there was a ceremony and chant on Sunday. That's all that we know. So all the rest we can guess, but cannot say. In the number 19, In the morning, in the individual houses, once the prayers have been finished, they shall not return right away to their own cell. But remember that that meeting in the morning was not in the individual house, it was in the General Assembly. But after the General Assembly, when they go to their individual houses, Once the prayers have been finished, they shall not return right away to their own self, but they shall share among themselves what they have heard the masters giving out. Then they shall go into their cubicle." So you have to go into the general assembly, you have listened to the father who has given the catechesis and the scripture, then in your house you ponder

[49:39]

over it you meditate together, you share among yourself what you have heard the Master giving out and then you go to yourself for your meditation or for your work. You see something similar in paragraph 138 everything they have heard talked of in the congregation of the brothers, they shall necessarily be obliged to talk over among themselves. That's very strong, you know. They shall necessarily be obliged to talk over among themselves, particularly the instruction of the housemasters given on this day. For the same thing, for here it is about the instruction given by the housemaster on Wednesday and Friday. and the others are about the instruction given by the master of the monastery on Saturday and twice on Sunday. The place of the catechesis was very important.

[50:47]

It is said, number 20, conferences, catechesis, shall be given three times a week by the housemaster. During the conferences, the brothers, the number of conferences vary a little from one source to the other. Sometimes it is two, sometimes it is three. Here it is said three times by the housemaster, but usually it is mentioned twice by the housemaster and three times by the monastery father. During the conferences, the brothers, whether sitting or standing, shall not change their place according to the rank of the house and of the individual men. Let's go to number 24. After the morning prayer, The weekly server, whose work it is, shall ask the chief of the monastery about the various things he believes necessary, and when they ought to go out into the field to work.

[51:56]

And according to the latter's directives, he shall go about to each house to find out what each of them considers necessary." So, after the morning prayer, there is the organization of the work of the day, like we had after prime and after the charter in the old times. the seller will distribute the reward. And when they go out to the field to work, usually they have to go out and they work for salary. And if they come looking for a codex to read, let them have one, and at the end of the week they shall put it back in its place for those who come into service after them. So the Codex is quite probably a Codex of the Scripture. I don't think they had other books on the Bible. It doesn't seem. But they had many Codexes, Codices, and they had to take good care of them. There are many paragraphs of the rule that speak about the care to take of the books and bring them back from the shelves.

[53:02]

Yes? It was Fred who was speaking of the abdomadary, the one who is surveying during that week and he asked to he has to read or to meditate during many of the services he is fulfilling. Maybe that's the reason why he needs that cadets during his week. And after the end of his week as abdomenerate, he brings it back for the other group of abdomenerate. And the houses, each house fulfills the role of abdomenerate during one week at the General Synaxis. I don't think so.

[54:08]

There are other places where each one may have the codex to learn the Bible, but probably a codex will not comprise the whole Bible. I don't know if you know more about that codex. Twelve codexes. Because those scriptures were written on the parchment, you see, parchment. And so if they had the whole Bible, it would have been a huge thing, you know. So I think it was possible for them to have the whole Bible in one... Right. Right. Right, it's just a flex. Or a pen. But the Bible had been translated into Catechism at a very, very early stage in the early Christian generation and it was very much spread in Egypt.

[55:26]

So we have the New Testament and for the text of the New Testament the Sciatic Catechists are very important. Let's go to paragraph 34. So from 30 to 39 it's about the meal. It's good to know something about the meal still. When you have come out from the meal you may not speak while making your way back to your own place. There was a tremendous amount of silence in the Pagoda Monastery. Even if there were numerous, I think the place must have been very silent, because there were always meditating scripture, and of course there was a continuous murmuring. But a very little place for chatting.

[56:28]

There was ample place for sharing on the scripture, sharing on what they had received from their father. And we see from the light a good number of occasions to share on spiritual matters. But a very little place for chatting. There was silence and prayer. The servers may eat nothing else but what has been prepared for the brothers in common, nor may they prepare different food for themselves. And Pachomius was very strong on that. He always insisted that the superiors and everyone who was an office should not profit from his office to get anything special to himself. So he's just applying here to the server what he's applying to himself. The one who strikes the signal and gathers the brothers for their meal shall meditate while striking. The one who hands out sweets to the brothers at the dining room door shall meditate on something from scripture as he does so.

[57:36]

That was a custom which is surprising and I have not spent much time trying to analyze it in detail. But after a meal someone was given a sweet to them and that they could carry to their own cell. But just what they could eat and bring back the rest. So... And then after speaking of sweet, so we speak about sick people. Because they have eaten too much sweet. So number 40 and the following numbers are about the sick people. But nothing very special there, except the care we have to take of them. From number 50 to 53 are about the people coming to the monastery for a visit. This may be interesting.

[58:38]

No one dwelling in the monastery has the power to invite anyone to eat, but shall send him to the guesthouse gate to be received by those in charge. That's like in Benedict, the guests eat at the guesthouse. When people come to the gate of the monastery, they should be received with special honor if they are clerics or monks. Their feet should be washed according to the gospel precept, and they should be brought to the guest house and offered anything suitable for monks. If at the time of prayer and assembly they wish to join the congregation of the brothers and are of the same faith, the guest pastor or guest master shall inform the father of the monastery and they shall be brought to pray." So the guests are always invited to prayer, can always come to prayer, but they don't mingle with the community in the rest of their life. They don't come to meals or so on. a narrative, I don't know if it is in the Greek or in the Carthaginian, when there is a priest who comes to the monastery and speaks with Pachomius, his name is Denis, and he complains that Pachomius does not allow visitors to live with the community.

[60:01]

Pachomius says that the reason is that, you know, in the monastery we are all kind of monks and they are not all of them edifying, and so If people come in the community, they may be undefined. So it is to protect the guests against the community. I'm not to protect the community against the guests. And if seekers of the weak or more fragile creatures, such as women, came to the gate, each shall be received in a different place according to their sakes and the wishes of the Master. Above all, women are to be cared for with greater concern and honor in our care of God. So there is discrimination which belongs to the whole cultural context, but at the same time, a very nice concern, a greater concern and honor in all fear of God.

[61:05]

They are to be given a place set apart, completely out of proximity to males, that there may be no occasion for gossip. So gossip around the monastery already existed in that time. uh... we'll be arriving in the evening it would be wicked to uh... drive them out but as we have said they shall take a separate closed off place without due discipline and caution so that the flock of the brothers may freely tend to its duties and no occasion for detraction be given to anyone well the mentality is not very different from our time but uh... i think there is a good uh... balance of different preoccupations, that it is not so common in this time. I think the general attitude was much more ruthless or austere than the one of the communists. And paragraph... I don't have time to read much more because we are out now.

[62:13]

Paragraph 54 is full of Benedictine discretio about the family that comes to the monastery. And then... Well, I thought we could have time to read more than that, Well, we'll stop here, and tomorrow we'll take the book of Arceusius, and Saturday we'll see whether we'll take Arceusius again or come back to the rule. There are some things interesting that we could see again here, but maybe there is more spiritual truth to gather from Arceusius. Thank you. End of side two.

[63:13]

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