Venerable Nilus Abbot of Sora

The skete on the Sora and its rule

On the River Sora, near the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in the Vologda lands, Nilus introduced a form of monastic life new to the Rus' of his day — the skete, a small community of a few monks living in semi-solitude between the hermit's complete withdrawal and the large cenobitic monastery. The rule he established required the monks to sustain themselves by the work of their own hands, to accept charity only in extreme need, and to avoid the love of possessions and outward splendor even within the church. Women were not admitted to the skete, the monks were not to leave it, and the holding of lands or estates was forbidden.

Teacher of inner prayer and non-acquisitiveness

Nilus's spiritual teaching drew on the hesychast tradition he had encountered in the East, centering on watchfulness, the unceasing prayer of the heart, and the remembrance of death. He set down this contemplative method in his writings, chiefly a rule for the skete life and an instruction addressed to his disciples — works transmitted under titles such as "The Tradition" (Predanie) and "The Rule" (Ustav), including a tradition for a disciple wishing to live in the wilderness.

He is remembered as a foremost teacher of non-acquisitiveness among the Russian fathers. At the council of 1503 in Moscow he argued against the ownership of lands and estates by monasteries, and the monastic party that took up this position came to be called the Non-Possessors. The contrasting view, defending monastic landholding as a means of charitable and ecclesial work, was associated with Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk; the two positions defined a lasting debate within the Russian Church.