A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GREEK MONK

　　希腊修道士的一天

　　by Chris Hellier

　　Every morning at 5:30, Father Iakovos, a monk at Iviron monastery in northern Greece, is awakened by a sharp knock on the door of his sparsely furnished room. He quickly dresses in a black habit, the traditional garb of Orthodox monks, runs his fingers through his long gray beard, and hurries off to a church for morning prayers. In the church, he kneels before an icon of Christ and the Virgin Mary before taking his customary place at the rear of the church where monks pray, half crouching, in narrow stalls.

　　Father Iakovos is one of about 80 monks at Iviron who follow a strict daily routine that has changed little for centuries. After matins (morning prayers), the monks assemble in the upstairs refectory for a simple breakfast of tea, bread, and olives. Monastic meals are often meager, but they give the monks an opportunity to chat about work at hand or to discuss, in hushed tones, news of the outside world.

　　The rest of the morning is set aside for daily chores. The abbot, or hegoumenos, the leader of the Greek Orthodox monastery, assigns each monk a specific role. Some monks are responsible for the church and chapels; others tend the gardens or work in the kitchens. The bibliophylax, or librarian, looks after the monastery's historic manuscripts and religious texts. The chartophylax, or monastic clerk, handles the administrative duties.

　　Father Iakovos is Iviron's gatekeeper, or guest-master. He welcomes guests and shows them to their rooms. He was chosen for this job because he is fluent in several languages and has a jovial, or cheerful, nature.

　　Iviron is one of 20 monasteries that form part of the semi-autonomous community of Mount Athos, the leading center of Orthodox monasticism for more than 1,000 years. The area forms a narrow peninsula, jutting into the northern Aegean. It covers an area of 130 square miles (336 square kilometers). Athos itself, the holy mountain of the Greek Orthodox Church located at the tip of the peninsula, rises 6,417 feet (1,956 meters).

　　The Byzantine emperor Basil I officially recognized Mount Athos as a spiritual center in A.D. 883. In a decree issued that year, the mountain became the exclusive domain of hermits and monks. Shepherds, women, and all female animals were forbidden from entering the peninsula.

　　In Greece, every district once had a monastery or nunnery such as Iviron. It was usually the most imposing or impressive building in the area. During the height of monastic power in the Middle Ages, thousands of monasteries dotted Greece. Today, about 3,000 monks live in the 200 stand- ing monasteries scattered around the mainland or perched on rocky island sites. Although the number of monks in most monasteries has declined over the decades, Mount Athos has enjoyed a revival in the last 25 years.

　　On Athos and elsewhere, monasticism plays an important symbolic role in Greek culture. Indeed, the word "monastery" is derived from the Greek word monachos, meaning "living alone," and dates from the time that Greek was the language of the Christian church. Today's monks, the young as well as the elderly, are drawn by a tradition that dates back to the beginning of Christianity, when hermits retired from the world to live in remote caves.

　　Being a monk requires dedication and obedience to the abbot. All monks such as Father Iakovos start as novices, sometimes spending several years in different monasteries before settling in the one that suits them best.

　　Numerous religious festivals break up the daily ritual of prayer and meditation. Most important for Orthodox Christians is Easter, the "feast of feasts," followed by the Twelve Great Feasts including Christmas and Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. A number of other festivals of varying importance commemorate Christian saints.

　　There are fasts as well as festivals. Traditionally, the fasts are far more important in Orthodoxy than in other forms of Christianity. All Wednesdays, Fridays, and, in the strictest monasteries, Mondays, are fast days. During four main fasting periods, monks refuse to eat meat, and on some occasions fish, animal products, oil, and wine.

　　Mount Athos monks were once recruited from farming backgrounds. Now, however, increasing numbers of educated young men, often with professional or academic backgrounds, are being drawn to the tranquil monastic lifestyle. Recent recruits include a former oil prospector and a nuclear physicist, social workers, doctors, and dentists.

　　As night draws in on Mount Athos, the monasteries resonate with a repetitive "tack, tack, tack," a haunting sound that seems to echo around the courtyards. This is the call of the semantron, a wooden beam struck with a mallet, and a sign that monks should assemble for evensong. A monk's day ends as it begins, in chanting, prayer, and meditation.

　　每天清晨5：30，希腊北部的Iviron修道院的Iakovos神父便被急促的敲门声唤醒，神父住在一间家具不多的屋子里。他迅速地穿上那件传统的东正教的修道士服，用手指梳理完他那长长的灰色胡须，便急忙走向教堂去做早祷。神父来到教堂，先在耶酥和圣母玛利亚的神像前跪下，然后去教堂后部就座。那儿，修道士们在窄窄的牧师座位上半屈着身体在做祷告。

　　神父Iakovos是这座教堂约80名修道士中的一员，他们严格遵守着几个世纪以来没怎么改变的日常规矩。晨祷后修道士们一起来到楼上的餐厅用简单的早餐，有茶、面包和橄榄。修道院的伙食一般是很清淡的，但用餐时他们可以聊聊手头的工作，轻声谈谈外面的新闻。

　　上午其他的时间用来做日常工作。修道院院长，这个希腊东正教修道院的头，给每个修道士分配工作。一些人负责教堂和礼堂，一些人修整花园或在厨房干活，书籍管理员整理修道院的各种宗教藏书和历史文稿。修道院工作人员具有行政管理职责。

　　神父Iakovos是这所修道院的接待员，他负责迎接客人，引导客人到他们的房间。之所以选他做这项工作是因为他会流利地讲几种外语，并且性格开朗热情。

　　半自治区性质的阿索斯山一千多年来一直是东正教的统领地区，该地区有20所修道院，Iviron修道院是其中之一。这个地区呈狭窄的半岛伸向爱琴海北部，其面积为130平方英里（336平方公里），在半岛的尖端处就是希腊正教的圣山——阿索斯山，其海拔为6415英尺（1956米）。

　　公元883年，拜占庭皇帝巴息勒斯一世正式把阿索斯山定为教会中心。同年颁布法令，将这座山划为隐士和修道士的特区。牧羊人、妇女和所有的雌性动物都禁止进入这个半岛。

　　在希腊，每个社区都曾有一所像Iviron 这样的男修道院或女修道院，它们通常是该社区最庄严或使人印象最深的建筑。在宗教权力最强的中世纪，希腊分布着数千所修道院。今天，约3000名修道士生活在散布于大陆或高处于岩石岛屿上的200所修道院中。尽管近几十年大多数修道院的修道士数量大大减少，但阿索斯山在过去的25年里仍经历了复兴。

　　在阿索斯山和其他地区，修士制度在希腊的文化中有着重要的象征意义。的确，修道院“monastery”这个词源于希腊词“monachos”,意思是独居，这可以追溯至希腊语成为基督教会的语言之时。今天的修士，无论年轻的还是年老的，都饱受基督教早期的传统影响，那时隐士们远离俗世居住在遥远的洞穴之中。

　　作为一名修道士，必须作奉献，并服从修道院院长。所有的修道士，如Iakovos神父，都要从见习修道士做起，有时要花几年的时间到不同的修道院实习，然后才能在最适合他的一所修道院长期生活下来。

　　为数众多的宗教节日扰乱了教徒的日常祈告和默念仪式。对于东正教徒，最重要的节日是复活节，那是“节日中的节日”，是庆祝耶稣在耶路撒冷的复活，然后才是包括圣诞节和棕榈主日在内的十二大节日。其他一些重要性程度不同的节日是为纪念基督圣徒的。

　　除了节日还有一些斋戒日。传统上，东正教的斋戒远比其他基督教派的戒律更重要。斋戒日为所有的星期三和星期五，在最具清规戒律的修道院里，甚至星期一都是斋戒日。在四个主要的斋戒时间，修道士不能进食肉类，有些场合不能吃鱼、动物制品、油和酒。

　　阿索斯山的修道士们一度是从务农的人中招募的。然而，现在加入到过着宁静清贫生活的修道士行列的年轻人越来越多了，这些年轻人受过良好教育，常常具有专业或学术背景。最近吸纳的新成员有一位前石油勘探工作者、一位核物理学家、社会工作者、医生和牙医。

　　随着夜幕降临阿索斯山，“梆”“梆”之声在修道院中响起，在庭院中萦绕回荡。这是木梁和木槌相撞击的声音，它召集修道士集合晚祷。如同一天的开始，修道士的一天在唱圣歌、祷告和默念中结束。