“Virtue (in the Latin virtus) means manliness, strength, and goodness” Fr. Dumitru Staniloae.¹

Bogatyr is an interesting word. It has a varied etymology in Russian. Some sources claim that it comes from the Old Turkic word for “hero” – baytur. Other sources doubt the foreign influence and root the origin in two Russian words: “God” and “rich” or “wealthy.”2 I by no means claim any ability to reconcile the etymological dispute, yet the possibility of the latter definition reflects in itself a deeply Christian understanding.

One author elaborates, “The word bogatyr immediately calls to mind superhuman strength and boldness, but etymologically, it may have something in common with the Russian word Bog (God) and bogaty  (rich). That is, it could etymologically mean ‘a man who is rich in God.’ The Russian folk, historically speaking, pick up words carefully, and often the deeper meaning of words becomes slowly obvious over the course of centuries. The word bogatyr appeared in the Chronicles in the 13th century and came to mean ‘a person gifted with great riches and a divine abundance of physical strength.’ It is said that the bogatyr’s strength is not merely physical. He only defeats his enemies because he stands on the side of the truth. And, as the Russian saying goes, ‘God is not in strength, but in truth.’”³

At the center of the hero is not only physical strength but more importantly spiritual strength.4 True strength comes from standing with the truth. Many times, in epic folklore it is precisely this inner strength of virtue that carries heroes through to the end. They may not be in all ways perfect, but their strength of character– the striving for the virtues– covers their possible shortcomings. This understanding even undergirded much of the ancient epic tales in Western Europe. From King Arthur to Beowulf, the warrior must not only be exercised in physical strength and battle but also in the virtues. A true knight was tempered in Honor, Honesty, Valor, and Loyalty. Thus, the upward longing and mythos of the ancient world were founded in the virtues. The true hero is a man laboring for the virtues. Through them, he is given the strength to face all the adventures of life, many of them full of demons and dragons in dark and deep abysses.

This brings a deeper understanding to the English word, “virtue.” As the above quote from St. Dumitru already indicates, the word comes from the Latin root for “man” – “vir.” Virtus is defined as, “Moral strength, high character, goodness; manliness; valor, bravery, courage (in war); excellence, worth.” The Anglo-French development of the word (nearly 1,000 years ago), Vertu, retained a similar gravity in its definition, “force, strength, vigor; moral strength; qualities, abilities.”

To be a true man is to be striving to cultivate the virtues. Ancient wisdom comprehended that man and the virtues are intertwined. In the virtues are the substantial life of man. Implied is this reality: not seeking the virtues is a very unmanly action. This sheds light on the reason why, in the modern world, there is great confusion about being a man.⁵ The loss of virtue correlates to a loss of true manhood, and the comprehension of what it is. The modern age seems to swing to the right or to the left – on one side is the objectification of women, wanton sexual activity (with women), infidelity, glory, merciless acquisition, and aggression; on the left men become feminized (even in their sexual use), ashamed of being a man, weak, soft, and generally spinless (neither is an exhaustive or exclusive list).

Virtues are the bedrock of manhood, without them, it wanders and becomes lost in confusion. This confusion has a deep impact on the world. The only path to manhood is the recapturing and recommitment to the manly life of the virtues.

Thus, for the Christian man the acquisition of the virtues is an imperative. Through the virtues, a man begins to rightly order his inner person and then, from that foundation, he rightly relates to everything around him.

In the ancient world, four virtues were recognized as “cardinal,” that is the “hinge virtues”– central, essential, indispensable– for humans. These virtues are, Prudence (wisdom, good sense), Justice (righteousness), Temperance (chastity, self-control), and Fortitude (courage). In Latin they are, Prudentia, Iustitia, Fortitudo, and Temperantia; in Greek, they are Sophia, Dikaiosyne, Sophronia, and Andreia. In Christianity, these virtues are lifted to a higher dimension. Nonetheless, they continued to be valued as the essential or original virtues. The Saints speak of natural and divine virtues, they also speak of those from action. To acquire the divine virtues a man must first be exercised in the natural virtues. Or it may be said, first a person must learn to be a true human before he can enter into the deeper spiritual life. If we can’t even be authentically human, then we will never be truly spiritual. Keep in mind that evil, anti-virtue, is not a natural condition for humanity. When a person gives himself to evil, he gives himself to something that is “anti-human” and unnatural.

Although the four cardinal virtues may be considered natural virtues, and effort for them has been witnessed even in “pagan” societies, they are authentically acquired only with the help of divine grace. St. Gregory of Sinai in his Texts on Commandments and Dogma, writes, “Thus, there are four original virtues: courage, good sense, chastity, righteousness.”⁶ It is very interesting that in this instance St. Gregory changes the classical order of the four virtues. He moves fortitude– courage– to the beginning of the list. Again we are reminded, “The practice of the virtues, even though performed with care and effort, does not afford complete security to the soul unless grace transforms them into an essential disposition of the heart.”⁷

In every language mentioned in this article, Russian, English, Latin, and Greek, the word for “fortitude/courage” has a direct link to manliness and strength. In Russian, Muzhestvo (courage) shares the same root as muzhchina– man; muzh itself means husband. A very literal translation is “manliness.” In English, fortitude is traced back to the Latin root word, Fortis, which holds the meaning of“strong, mighty; firm, steadfast; brave, spirited.” As a synonym, courage originates from the Latin word for “heart,” Cor. The meaning encompasses “spirit, temperament, state or frame of mind.” The Greek, like the Russian, is directly rooted in the word for man, Andros. Thus, the literal translation of the Greek Andreia is “manliness, manly, strong.”

According to St. Gregory’s order, the first of the four cardinal virtues is the regaining of fortitude, courage, true manliness. From this foundation of being authentically manly once again, or it could be said, human, the other three virtues are pursued and acquired. In reacquiring the genuine strength of our humanity, our manhood, (originally created “very good” by God, and after being corrupted by the fall, revitalized in Christ Jesus), we may then begin to properly move in wisdom, or good sense, and so forth. Yet, wisdom will never be found outside of the foundation of fortitude and proper humanity. Since the word “virtue” itself is rooted in “man,” it follows that the first step of the cardinal virtues is the gaining of, the being founded in, fortitude. If St. Gregory’s order and the classical order of the virtues are viewed in tandem, then Fortitude becomes the “bookends” virtue, it is then seen as both the beginning and (as it were) the ending virtue of the four virtues, or the all-encompassing virtue. The four virtues are distinct but at the same time exist together as a whole, that is each of the virtues supports and feeds the nurturing of the other and ultimately cannot be without the others.

In the pursuit of the four virtues, St. Gregory warns of “Eight other moral qualities, originating either from an excess or a defect of these and following them closely on either side; these we consider vices, but the world calls them virtues.” He continues, “On either side of courage, go audacity and timidity.”⁸ As I noted earlier, these excesses are evident in our days. The one is audacity and the other is timidity. Depending on the source, much of the time they are indeed held up as “virtue,” although they are false and death bearing. St. Gregory teaches that for the four virtues to energize properly, to move in the center or the middle way– the royal way– they must move, of course, always under the grace of our Lord Jesus, but also in cooperation “By the will for good within and a righteous heart; the others (those on the sides) by depravity and conceit.”⁹

The fallen systems of this world work hard to keep men in either of the two excess or defect of the virtues. As Christians we are called to orientate ourselves according to the divine middle, or royal, way of the true virtues. In cultivating fortitude, then we may find the wisdom to understand and interact courageously with the world around us; wisdom then gives us the knowledge to rightly use the material order around us, which leads to the spiritual; this is the essence of chastity, temperance, self-control. The natural created energies and desires of our being learn to relate and interact with all things in a chaste, a pure, manner. We understand their true created value and meaning. Then we are equipped to live righteously, moving justly in the path our our earthly life. St. Gregory elucidates the pitfalls of the remaining three virtues thus, “On either side of good sense– artfulness and senselessness (tactlessness); on either side of chastity go intemperance and lack of sensibility; on either side of righteousness, being over-exacting and unrighteousness.”¹⁰ Each of these virtues is worthy of a deeper examination. But, this article is coming to an end.

To be striving to be a man of virtue is to be training to be a bogatyr, one who is at heart exercising the inner man to be “rich in God.” The virtues are the way of Truth, and only thereby a way of strength. All of the vast might of the fallen world is not able to overcome the strength of Truth.

In closing, it is of great value to contemplate this true account from the life of a genuine bogatyr. It comes from the epic events of ancient Rus’, the Battle Kulikovo Field, 1380 AD. Grand Prince Dimitry was inspired to throw off the Mongol yoke. Before the battle, he traveled to receive the blessing of the great saint, Sergius of Radonezh. The saint gave his blessing and sent a monk by the name of Alexander Peresvet to the battle with Prince Dimitry. As was a common custom of the time, a feat of single combat was agreed upon. The Mongols chose their best warrior for this duel, Chelubey. Chelubey was not simply an expertly trained warrior, he was empowered by dark arts of magic. “Chelubei was not just an experienced warrior and hero — he was a Tibetan monk who was trained not only in the martial arts system of Tibet, but also mastered the ancient practice of combat magic — Bon-po. As a result, he reached the heights of this initiation and gained the status of an “immortal”. The phrase “Bon-po” can be translated as “the school of combat magic speech”, that is, the art of fighting, in which the effectiveness of combat techniques increases infinitely by attracting the power of powerful entities of the other world — demons (demons) through magic spells. As a result, a person lets in the “power of the beast”, or, more simply, turns into a single being with a demon, a kind of symbiosis of a man and a demon, becoming possessed. The price for such a service is the immortal soul of a person, who even after death will not be able to free himself from these terrible posthumous embrace of the forces of darkness. It was believed that such a warrior monk was practically invincible. The number of such Tibetan warriors chosen by the spirits has always been extremely small, they were considered a special phenomenon in the spiritual practice of Tibet.”¹¹

On the side of Orthodox Rus’, the monk Alexander Peresvet came forward. He advanced onto the battlefield wearing only his monastic garb, he did not wear any battle armor. His physical weapon was a spear. “Therefore, he himself received a severe wound from Chelubei. But he killed the ‘immortal.’ This caused the complete confusion of the Tatar army: something happened in front of their eyes that, in principle, could not be. The usual course of things was disrupted and the unshakable laws of the pagan world were shaken.”¹² The Mongols had chosen Chelubei because they thought he was invincible. Yet a simple monk overcame him, like David of old overcame Goliath. Peresvet was a true bogatyr. His might came not primarily from a physical source but the true and eternal spiritual source, God. He was a man exercised in the virtues, and through the virtues he overcame the demonic powers of sorcery. Only the power of the virtues could work this. He struck down the supposed “immortal” because the life of virtue in Christ Jesus is the greatest strength of all, it is the truly immortal way. He defeats his enemy because he stands in truth.

We do not face a Mongol horde, but we as Christians face the same powers of darkness that seek to give a seeming authority to those who have sold their souls to them. They seek to destroy faith, family, and homeland. The answer to this darkness is the diligent pursuit of the virtues. Let each of us rise, according to our ability, to the call to be men of virtue, to stand as bogatyrs of Christ against the enemy who is seeking to destroy all that is of good and beauty, all that is of God Most High. This world needs men of virtue in Christ Jesus the Lord.

1Staniloae, Orthodox Spirituality, pg. 174.

2https://dzen.ru/a/ZGkAWkeBQDVYFPNt

3https://nicholaskotar.com/2016/03/24/things-may-not-know-ilya-muromets/

4Although spiritual strength is the superior strength, it is beneficial, in my opinion, for men to be building physical strength also. A man should be striving to be strong both in spirit and in body, according to his abilities.

5The pursuit of the virtues is for both men and women. In this post I am focusing more on men. The application, in my opinion does vary between the two. That is, there exists a feminine and masculine expression within the pursuit of the virtues, although the goal of the virtues is the same.

6Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the heart. Faber and Faber, 1979. pg. 54.

7Ibid. pg. 53.

8Ibid, pg. 54.

9Ibid.

10Ibid.

11https://pravoslavie.ru/82422.html

12Ibid.