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about making things to sell?” The old man ans- tradition. The fostering an image of repentance
wered: “However much you have, do not stop means not only a transformation in our moral
making things, do as much as you can provide reasoning but in our relationship with God, our
that the soul is undisturbed” (Chadwick, p. 80). self-image and our relationship with the created
We need to understand this carefully. Contrary world of persons, events and things. Because
to the popular notion “monastic poverty in rea- this transformation is not a one-time event but
lity was more patterned after economic self-suf- ongoing and social, the formation of conscience
ficiency than destitution” (Rhee, p. 184). As the is also necessarily tradition.
story about Abba Pistamon makes clear, econo-
mic self-sufficiency can’t be acquired in isola-
tion from others; it this requires that my labor References
be profitable, that it is of value to someone else Book of Needs. (1987). South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon‘s
and not simply to me. Thus by manual labor is Monastery.
meant a willingness and ability to serve others. Chadwick, Owen (1979). Western Asceticism. West-
minster John Knox Press.
Conscience is Traditional Fowler, James W. (1984). Becoming Adult, Becoming
To acquire the image of repentance is to find Christian: Adult Development and Christian Faith. New
one’s self within the context of the living expe- York: Harper & Row.
rience of the Church as that experience unfolds Groeschel, B. J. (1995). Augustine: Major Writings
in human history (Fowler, 1984). This because (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series) (2nd ed.). New York,
NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company.
the formation of human conscience is not sim- Jensen, Gregory (2015). The Cure for Consumerism.
ply an endeavor accomplished through moral Grand Rapids, MI: The Acton Institute.
instruction. It is also spiritual, it requires a life Lightfoot, J. B. (1889). The Apostolic Fathers. New York,
of prayer, and brings with it a transformation NY: Macmillan & Co.
in how the person relates to God. But it is more Nyssa, G. (1893/1917). „On The Making of Man“. In P.
Schaff, & H. Wace (Eds.), A Select Library of Nicene and
than these. Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (Second
The re-orientation in the person’s relationship Series) (Vol. V). New York, NY: Charles Scribner‘s Sons.
with God also brings about a transformation in Rhee, Helen (2012). Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich:
the person’s self-image; the fruit of repentance Wealth, Poverty, and Early Christian Formation
is to know that I am loved by God. Contrary to Yannaras, Christos (2003). The Freedom of Morality,
Contemporary Greek Theologians, no. 3. Yonkers, NY: St
the popular notion, while the Orthodox under- Vladimir’s Press.
standing of repentance includes a sense of one’s Ware, Kallistos (2000), The Inner Kingdom. Crestwood,
own sinfulness, this is the result of knowing that NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
one is loved by God.
Because repentance is not a one-time event,
conscience formation is also ongoing. Like
repentance, the formation of conscience is a
lifelong process. In the tradition of the Ortho-
dox Church, asceticism is an essential element
of conscience formation. Through fasting, we
come to a tangible, bodily knowledge of God.
Almsgiving reminds us that we are also social
being who come to know the love of God for
us in our effective and practical love for others
in their need. Finally, through manual labor we
discover that a life re-oriented toward God will
still limited is also creative and one which is we
are called to go beyond compassion for others
in their need and to create value for them.
Taken together, the re-orientation at the heart
of the formation of conscience is foundationally

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