What is humility, and why do Orthodox Christians value it so much?
Humility is the virtue most often named and least often understood. In the Orthodox tradition it is not a feeling of worthlessness or a performance of modesty. It is a way of seeing: a person with humility sees himself and God as they are. He knows that he is a creature, that every good thing in him is a gift, and that he is also a sinner who needs forgiveness. Neither the pride that credits himself with everything, nor the despair that credits himself with nothing, is truth.
That is why the Fathers place humility at the base. Pride is the original sin in the Church’s reading of the fall, and humility is its direct opposite. Christ’s own invitation is “Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29 listen in the Audio Bible), and the Church’s ascetical writers treat this as the key to everything else. Peter echoes it: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” is a promise the Church takes literally (1 Peter 5:5 listen in the Audio Bible). A person may fast, pray and give alms; without humility, the Fathers warn, even good works can turn into food for self-importance.
What does Jesus teach about humility?
The clearest Gospel lesson is the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Two men went up to the temple to pray, and the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men, while the tax collector stood at a distance and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:10-14 listen in the Audio Bible). Jesus says the tax collector went home justified. The Church keeps this parable so close that a Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee opens the pre-Lenten season, and the Jesus Prayer is built from the same cry.
The Pharisee is not condemned for doing good, since he did fast and tithe. He is condemned for what he did with it: he turned his good works into a comparison. The Publican has no comparison and no excuse; he has only a request. Paul sets the standard higher still: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 listen in the Audio Bible), and then describes the Son who emptied himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to death. Orthodox humility is, at its root, imitation of that self-giving.
What do the Fathers say? John Climacus and Isaac the Syrian
John Climacus, who wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent at Mount Sinai around the year 600, devotes three steps in a row to the matter: step 23 to mad pride, step 24 to meekness, and step 25 to humility, which he calls the destroyer of the passions. The order is deliberate. Pride is named first as the illness, meekness is the first sign of recovery, and humility is the settled health. His approach is practical: humility is judged by how a person lives and bears things, not by what he says about himself.
Isaac the Syrian, a seventh-century bishop of Nineveh whose Ascetical Homilies are widely read in Orthodox monasteries, takes a gentler and more mystical tone. He is often quoted as describing humility as the robe of divinity, and he treats mercy toward others and honest awareness of one’s own failures as parts of one movement. For Isaac a person who truly knows his weakness does not become bitter or harsh; he becomes tender toward the weakness of others. You can see how this connects with the guidance of experienced confessors in our article on spiritual fathers and elders.
What did St Silouan and Elder Paisios teach?
St Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938) is remembered for a short saying he received, in the midst of a struggle with pride, according to the account of his disciple Archimandrite Sophrony: “Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.” The words are often misread as an instruction to feel bad. They are closer to the opposite. Silouan was holding two truths together: that he deserved nothing, and that God’s mercy is greater than every failing. Humility, in his experience, is that tension kept steady without letting either half collapse.
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos (1924-1994, glorified as a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2015) is remembered for homely, humorous teaching, and for urging people to cultivate good thoughts about others instead of fault-finding. The two saints are different in temperament, but they agree on this: humility is joy-bearing, not gloomy. A humble person is relieved of the burden of defending himself, and can be generous with others. For the simplest face of this holiness, see also our article on holy foolishness.
What humility is not: false humility and self-hatred
Several imitations deserve names. There is self-deprecation as a social habit, where a person belittles himself in the hope of being contradicted. There is self-hatred, which is not humility but a form of pride turned inward, since it still makes the self the centre of attention. There is false humility in speech, where someone says “I am nothing” and bristles at a small correction. And there is the quiet pride of appearing humble, which the Fathers regard as among the subtlest traps, and which is discussed more fully under spiritual deception.
Humility is also not passivity and not the absence of a backbone. A humble person can say no, can disagree, can report an injustice, and can defend a child. What changes is the motive: he does so without needing to win, and without contempt for the person on the other side. Nor does humility require pretending to have no gifts. Seeing a talent accurately, as a gift received, is part of the truth; it simply leaves no room for boasting.
How does humility look in family life and at work?
Humility becomes real in small settings. At home it appears as being first to say sorry, as listening to a spouse’s account without preparing a rebuttal, and as accepting that a child’s view of a conflict may contain something true. At work it appears as admitting an error early, crediting colleagues, taking correction from a junior, and doing the unrewarded task without comment. James writes, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 listen in the Audio Bible); the practical meaning is that grace flows more freely where we stop defending a position.
In a monastery this takes the form of obedience, which exists to train exactly this habit; see our article on monastic obedience. In a household it takes less formal shapes, but the aim is the same: to have fewer places where my own will must prevail. Confidence is not lost in this. A person who no longer needs to be right is often more steady, because his peace does not depend on the next argument.
What should I do after being humiliated?
Being slighted, corrected in public, or passed over is painful, and no Father pretends otherwise. The tradition suggests a sequence. First, say nothing in the first hour if possible; the first reaction is rarely the wisest. Second, ask candidly whether there is any truth in the criticism, even if the manner was unkind. If there is, thank God for the correction; if not, release it and pray for the person. Third, resist the temptation to rehearse the injury; the Fathers call this feeding the passion.
It is also wise to speak with a confessor, who can help separate what belongs to pride from what belongs to a real wrong that should be addressed. Humiliation is not itself holy, and the Church does not ask anyone to accept ongoing abuse in the name of humility; in such cases a priest should be consulted. Often, however, the sting is the very thing that shows how much we had been relying on our own image. Taken to God, even that can become a doorway. The sacrament of confession is the usual place to bring it.
Seven simple practices
None of the following is difficult, and none requires special circumstances. Begin each day with the prayer of the Publican, “Lord, have mercy.” Thank God for something you did not earn. Be the first to apologise when a relationship is strained. Take correction once without answering. Do one unnoticed task each day for someone else. Refrain from speaking about yourself for one whole conversation. And before bed, name one thing you did wrong without adding an excuse.
Humility cannot be manufactured by technique, and the Fathers say so: it is a gift of God that we invite by the work of daily life. Hearing the Scriptures read is one way of staying in contact with the source; the Gospel of Luke is available in the Audio Bible, and the parish services are listed on the Liturgy page. If you wish to take any of these further, speak to your priest.
