The elders knew that words have great power to harm and distract or to give life and edify. Since human speech affects the lives of others in such profound ways the abbas and ammas valued silence as a steward of both hearing and speech. They took the power of words very seriously and, as illustrated in the incident about Abba Ammoes and his disciple, guided the patterns of their relationships to ensure appropriate use of speech. Ammoes did not want idle speech to distract him or his disciple from the power of God’s truth present in their conversations and silence. Some of the elders’ behaviors to avoid the negative power of words seem very austere, but embody a desire to let words be a source of life rather than harm.
- Abba Psenthaisius, Abba Surus and Abba Psoius used to agree in saying this, “Whenever we listened to the words of our father, Abba Pachomius, we were greatly helped and spurred on with zeal for good works; we saw how, even when he kept silence, he taught us by his actions…. We thought that sinners could not live devoutly, because they had been so created. But now we see the goodness of God manifested in our father, for see he is of pagan origin and has become devout; he has put on all the commandments of God. Thus even we can follow him and become equal to the saints whom he himself has followed.”33
Words have powerful spiritual influence. They can lead a person away from or toward the spiritual dimension of life. They can deceive as well as reveal with integrity. The disciples of Abba Pachomius were “greatly helped and spurred on with zeal for good works” through the teaching of their abba. His words had even more power, because even in his silence, he taught his disciples “by his actions.” The power of Pachomius’s words and silence changed the consciousness of his disciples. They heard and saw “the goodness of God manifested in our father.” This transformed their theology of human nature and helped them see that God desires to be present in all people, sinner and saint alike.
- Abba Theodore of Pherme asked Abba Pambo, “Give me a word.” With much difficulty he said to him, “Theodore, go and have pity on all, for through pity, one finds freedom of speech before God.”34 He also said, “A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning to night and yet he is truly silent; that is, he says nothing that is profitable.”35
Abba Theodore reminds us of the power of the spoken word in the desert: “Give me a word.” The power of words had great social influence. The teaching of the elders and the words of the Bible helped form the monastic culture of the desert. But that culture was, itself, formed in response to a negative social power of words in the inhabited world. In response to Abba Theodore’s request for “a word,” Abba Pambo reminds him of the direct relationship between words and action. “Freedom of speech before God” is manifested in having “pity on all.” The fruit of conversation with God is love of neighbor. Abba Pambo, has learned from experience (probably his own faults) that there is also a direct relationship between one’s heart and one’s speech. He warns about the social consequences of having judgmental thoughts about brother monks during periods of silence and about the futility of speech that does not benefit its hearers.
These four aspects of speech provide insights to the motivation for and value of monastic silence. The motivation for anachoresis was avoidance of what was futile and worldly. The elders realized that without periods of silence, life becomes hidden in a constant flow of activity, noise and words, which may have little or no reference to truth. In the midst of life’s frenzy they sought places and moments of peace where they could become aware of God’s presence. Abba Poemen also said, “If you are silent, you will have peace wherever you live.”36 The abbas and ammas desired silence because it was an environment that extended the boundaries of their experience of God and knowledge of themselves. Their desire for silence, an interior form of anachoresis, enabled them to know in the most personal way that “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (Rom 10:8, NRSV).
The guarding of the tongue and avoidance of the noises of activity through silence became a pathway to prayer. The spoken word could describe God and various forms of praxis. Silence brought experience of God to a personal dimension in the present moment. It gave the soul “equal time.” Stelios Ramfos points out that a handicap of the ancient written Greek language was that it had no punctuation marks. It became much easier to read when the grammarians of Alexandria invented punctuation marks and allowed space between words. 37 Human speech, theater and music would lose their meaning without pauses and silence. The monastic periods of separation from contact and conversations with others allowed space for conversation with God. It was this conversation, especially listening to the Word, that gave meaning to the monk’s material life and opened his or her heart to the movement of the Spirit.
~David G.R. Keller, Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers
33 Ibid., Psenthaisius 1,245.
34 Ibid., Pambo 14, 198.
35 Ibid., Poemen 27, 171.
36 Ibid., Poemen 84, 178.
37 Ramfos, Pelican, 179.
