According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, when St. Anthony settled in his cave near Kiev, people joined him and he tonsured them as monks. We know, however, that in certain cases he did not tonsure the newcomers but sent them to be tonsured by a priest (hieromonk). Obviously St. Anthony was not a priest. Why, then, in some cases did he do it himself and yet in other cases, he did not? If he was not a priest, how could he tonsure people? The author of the present article attempts to answer these and similar questions with reference to historical, philological, and liturgical data. The article is devoted to the evolution of the monastic tradition in Rus’ of the 11th century.