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Longer Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
33. Rule 33: The Manner of Intercourse with the Sisters
He who has once forsworn marriage will, needless to say, forswear much more those cares which the apostle says distract the married man, namely, how he may please his wife, and will purge himself by every means from every care to please women, fearing the condemnation of Scripture: “God hath scattered the bones of the men-pleasers.”2 Accordingly he will not even consent to meet a man3 in order to please him; but if need demands, he will arrange a meeting for the sake of the service which according to God’s command every man has a right to expect from his neighbour. Such meetings are not to be allowed to anyone who wishes, nor is every time and place fitting for them. But if we mean according to the precept of the apostle4 to be without offence both to Jews and Greeks and to the Church of God, and to do all things decently and in order and with ac view to edifying, then it is necessary that person, time, occasion, and place be carefully and fittingly chosen. By such precautions every shadow of evil suspicion will be banished. But gravity and restraint will be required to be manifest in every respect in those who are chosen to see one another and take counsel about what is pleasing to God both as regards bodily needs and the care of souls. Let there be not less than two on each side; for one person is readily exposed to suspicion, to put it no stronger, and is powerless to confirm a conversation, as indeed the Scripture says that at the mouth of two or three every word is established.5 There should not be more than three lest the zeal for industry undertaken because of the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ be impaired.6
If there should be a need for some others of the brotherhood to give or receive a private message, they must not go to the interview in person. But let selected senior brethren deliver their message to selected senior sisters,7 and so let the need for speech be met, through their mediation. And let the same good order be preserved not only in the relations of women with men and men with women, but also in those of persons of the same sex. In such cases besides practising the general piety and gravity, let them be discreet both in questions and answers, and trustworthy and prudent in managing conversation, fulfilling the words: “He shall dispose his words with judgment,”8 so that both those who have entrusted their business to them have their requirements fulfilled, and a clear understanding is reached on the matters discussed.
As for the sisters’ bodily needs,9 let certain other brethren be responsible for these, chosen after due examination, of some age and grave in demeanour and character, so as not to rouse evil suspicions in the conscience of any. “For why is my liberty judged by another’s conscience?”10
Notes
- See Intr. p. 37 for B.’s system of double monasteries.
- Ps. liii. 5.
- Much more will he avoid a woman!
- See 1 Cor. x. 32.
- See Mt. xviii. 16.
- This must not be taken as an excuse for getting off work.
- πρεσβύτεροι... πρεσβυτέραις. See F. 35 and Intr. p. 40.
- Ps. cxii. 5.
- Priests visited the sisterhood for celebrating the Eucharist and hearing confessions; other monks would do heavy field work, repairs to buildings etc.; cf. B. 154 and see Intr. p. 38.
- 1 Cor. x. 29.