Mark the Ascetic is opposed to the Messalians. According to them,Satan inhabits the human heart from the fall and must be removed throughconstant prayer and expelled by receiving the Holy Spirit. For Mark theAscetic it is the Holy Spirit who lives in the human heart from his baptism.The believer must be vigilant because Satan wants to come from outside totake the place of the Spirit. The continuous prayer is therefore not a way ofgetting closer to God. It is a weapon in a spiritual battle trying to distanceus from God. It is even more than a weapon: it is love, because God and manare from the baptism in a love relationship which is expressed by prayer.Mark the Ascetic confronts the Messalians, who use the continuous prayeras a way of achieving salvation, a way which should result in the coming ofthe Holy Spirit. In this way, the Messalians “instrumentalise” prayer. Thestudies on Mark’s works, especially on his vocabulary to describe prayer,show his clearly defined position, which is completely different from theapproach of the Messalians. Prayer for Mark the Ascetic is neither means,nor instrument. It is a sign of love, an exchange of intimate love with God.By reaching for wedding terminology, Mark clearly shifts the accentonlove with God. Prayer becomes a place of love that is experienced in theheart of the faithful.
Mark the Hermit, a monk from the 4th century, active probably in Asia Minor, indicates in an original way that the cause of passion in man is forgetting about good thoughts (lēthē), carelessness (rhathymia) and ignorance (agnoia). This threefold evil is opposed by the following means: forgetfulness – by memory of good works, carelessness – by most sincere readiness, ignorance – by enlightened cognition. Nobody before him had ever dealt with the causes of passion in such a way and indicated such an antidote to them. In order to understand Mark the Hermit’s theory, it is necessary to look in detail at this writer’s teaching about passion and the ascetic fight against it. This article is devoted to this spiritually important issue.
In the works of St. Mark the Ascetic, the notion of virtue exists onthree levels: 1) theological-speculative, 2) anthropological-axiological and3) ascetic-practical. On the theological-speculative level, Mark shares hisreflections on virtue in the treatise De lege spirituali. In this case, he speaksabout God as the source of virtues and about the fact that the natureof virtue remains one, but it differs in its practical implementation. Theanthropological-axiological level of virtue is discussed by St. Mark in Justif.24 and Bapt. IX 78-79. In this case, we can see the author’s striving toemphasize the role of God and his grace in the work of human salvation. Salvation is seen as an action that transcends human nature, and virtueremains a natural state of man, a state that is in turn not possible withoutthe help of God’s grace. The ascetic-practical level is related to looking atvirtue in the context of prayer. Prayer is a mediator between God and man.Through it, man receives the grace that generates virtue in him, that is whyit can be called “mother of virtues”.
Writing in his works about passions, Mark the Ascetic had behind hima long-term tradition of ascetic thought. However, an inquisitiveness leadsthe Master of asceticism to original statements on this subject. In forgettinggood thoughts, in recklessness and unawareness (ῥᾳθυμία, λήθη, ἄγνοια)he sees the origin of many passions. The common root of passion is thehuman tendency to seek pleasure (ἡδυπαθεία). Mark the Ascetic finds inthe theologal life, which determined by faith, hope and love, and which isinitiated by baptism, the basis of moral innocence of man. In the absence ofthis life, he sees the cause of the development of evil. He points to concretemeasures to fight passions. The forgetting should be contrasted with thememory of good works, the negligence with the sincere readiness to fight,and the unawareness with the enlightened cognition. The author emphasizesthe role of meditation, especially of God’s favours and Christ’s abasement,in the fight against faults. As a theologian of the Holy Spirit, he reflects onHis role in asceticism.
Mark the Hermit is one of the most important theoreticians of ascetic life in the ancient Church. In his ascetic writings, he takes up a number of subjects, including teaching about freedom and grace. This is not a systematic doctrine, but rather statements scattered in his works, occasional, often similar to each other. “Freedom” is defined by St. Mark the Hermit by the term ἐλευθερία, while “grace” – by the term χάρις. He also reminds us that freedom is given to man by Christ; man also receives it in the sacrament of baptism, because it frees him from the burden of sin. Grace, in turn, is presented by Mark the Hermit always as a gift from God given to man. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is a gift, and not a reward for deeds, and the salvation that we receive from Christ is also grace. St Mark the Hermit’s teaching on freedom and grace certainly differs from the views of the Messalian sect, whose followers did not want to admit that grace and freedom are given to the baptised, so that they can perfect themselves throughout their lives and become similar to God.
Mark the Ascetic (called also in English Mark the Heremit) representsthe monastic milieu of the fifth century. He wrote about the Church whilediscussing other questions. He clearly distinguished heterodox groups andthe Catholic Church. He refuted the theories of the Melchizedekians, Adoptionists, Messalians, Arians and Apollinarians, but especially Nestorians.Mark considered heretics as people in error and as those who have brokenfidelity to their baptism. He underlined that his own teaching was conformedto the Christian tradition. In his works, similar points with the teachingof earlier Christian writers, such as Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom,Evagrius Ponticus, Cyril of Alexandria and Gregory of Nazianzus, shouldbe noticed. Mark presented the Church as a place of sanctification for laypeople and monks. He proclaimed Christ as God’s Son and as the true Man,not only a creature having a human body. He highlighted the importanceof the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. In Mark’s works, we seeSaint Peter and Saint Paul as good teachers of the divine truth, who gave anexample of the Christian virtues, but there are no references to the positionof the Church of Rome in Christianity. The works of Mark the Ascetic werepopular in late antiquity, especially in the East; they were translated intoseveral languages. In the West, they were used especially in the time ofcontroversies between the Catholics and the Protestants.
By taking up baptismal issues in his writings, Mark the Ascetic respondsto the tendencies of the Messalians, who denied the value of baptism. Pointingto the consequences of this sacrament, he emphasizes its effectivenessin terms of being freed from the consequences of Adam’s sin, as well asrestoring freedom and the ability to fulfill the commandments. He highlightsthe priority and efficacy of grace given in a secret manner in the time ofbaptism. He reminds, however, that baptism does not deprive man of freewill, but baptism can support it in fulfilling the Law of God. He also emphasizesthe mysterious indwelling of the entire Holy Trinity in the heartof the baptized, as well as its effects. For Mark the Ascetic, baptism itselfis also a “placing in the paradise of the Church”, which he understands asthe ability to perform acts of love towards brethren.
Mark the Ascetic is considered as one of the most prominent theoreticiansof ascetic life in the ancient Church. In his ascetic writings, he undertooka variety of topics, including freedom and grace. Mark’s teaching is nota systematic doctrine. His tuitions are more a collection of short statementsscattered in many places in his works. The author uses the Greek wordἐλευθερία for freedom and χάρις for grace. Christ brings freedom to man.In the sacrament of baptism, man is freed from the original sin. In turn, thegrace is always depicted as a gift, which man can only receive from God.Therefore, the Kingdom of God is always a gift, and neither a prize, nora reward for work. The entire salvation is the greatest grace, which has beengiven to us by Christ. The attitude of gratitude to God should overfilledthe entire human life.
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