Do Only Monks Go to Heaven?
“The fact that I am a monk and you are a layman is utterly beside the point.” — St. Seraphim of Sarov
One of the most common complaints against Orthodoxy is that we place too much emphasis on monasticism.
Most of our saints and theologians are monks and nuns. We often seek out a spiritual father or mother among the monastics. Our spirituality (the Jesus Prayer, etc.) is largely derived from monastics. And so on.
This has led some to conclude that, in Orthodoxy, only the monks have a real chance of being saved. But is that true?
Absolutely not. The following quotes from great monastic saints should prove once and for all: in Orthodox Christianity, holiness is available equally to monks and laymen equally.
Hopefully these lines will provide encouragement to those who are in—but not of!—the world.
Sayings of the Desert Fathers: “It was revealed to Abba Anthony in the desert, ‘There is somebody in the city like you, a physician by profession, who provides for those in need with his superfluous income and is singing Holy, Holy, Holy with the angels of God all day long.’”
St. Gregory the Theologian: “We do not dishonor marriage because we give higher honor to virginity.”
St. John Climacus: “God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all—faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old—just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; ‘for there is no respect of persons with God.’”
St. Symeon the New Theologian: “Living in the city does not hinder us from practicing the commandments of God as long as we are zealous and vigilant, and solitude and retirement from the world are useless if we are slack and careless.”
St. Gregory Palamas: “Let not one think, my fellow Christian, that only priests and monks need to pray without ceasing and not laymen No, no; every Christian without exception ought to dwell always in prayer.”
St. Seraphim of Sarov: “The fact that I am a monk and you are a layman is utterly beside the point. What God requires is true faith in Himself and His Only-begotten Son. In return for that the grace of the Holy Spirit is granted abundantly from on high. The Lord seeks a heart filled to overflowing with love for God and our neighbor; this is the throne on which He loves to sit and on which He appears in the fullness of His heavenly glory.”
St. Silouan the Athonite: “A monk is one who prays for the world.”
St. Paisios of Mount Athos: “If laymen do not murmur, they will receive the same reward from God as ascetic monks.”
St. Ephraim of Katounakia: “If I read a hundred prayers in the silence of Athos a day, and you, in the noise of the city, with work and family responsibilities, read three prayers, then we are in the same position.”
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica: “I thought that all monastics, priests, and bishops had the gift of gratuitous Grace and—would you believe it?—I have spent so many years now among monks and priests and I have met only one monk who had this gift. Only one! However, among lay people who live with their families, I have encountered many individuals who have received this gift of Grace.”
Elder Joseph of Vatopedi: “The question is always being asked, ‘Is it possible for those living in the world to occupy themselves with noetic prayer?’ To those who ask, we answer quite affirmatively, Yes.”
