Hesychasm

Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-368 C.E.), defender of Hesychasm.

Hesychasm (from Greek: ἡσυχασμός hesychasmos, meaning "stillness, rest, quiet, silence") is an eremitic tradition of prayer that developed in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Rooted in the tradition of asceticism and contemplation going back to Plato, the Hesychast interprets Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", to mean that one should ignore the senses and withdraw inward to acquire an inner stillness and to apprehend the light of God. Especially popular among the monks of Mt. Athos, Hesychasm flourished in the 14th Century C.E..

Its distinctive characteristics involve the use of the "Jesus Prayer" assisted by certain psychophysical techniques. In addition to the Bible, the primary text used by the Hesychasts is the Philokalia, a collection of texts on prayer and solitary mental ascesis written from the 4th to the 15th centuries. It includes such works as the Ladder of Divine Ascent; the collected works of St Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022); and the works of St Isaac the Syrian (7th C.?–8th C.?), as they were selected and translated into Greek at the Monastery of St Savas in Jerusalem about the 10th Century.

Etymology

The origin of the term hesychasmos is not entirely certain. The basic terms hesychia and hesychazo appear the 4th Century in the early Cappadocian Church Fathers such as St. John Chrysostom. The terms also appear in writings of Evagrius Pontikos (c.345–399), and in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. However, the terms more often used were anchoretism (Gr. ἀναχώρησις, "withdrawal, retreat"), and anchorite (Gr. ἀναχωρητής, "one who withdraws or retreats, i.e. a hermit"). The laws (novella) of the Emperor Justinian (6th Century) treat Hesychast and anchorite as synonyms, making them interchangeable terms.

In the sixth century, the term Hesychast was used in Palestine in the Lives of Cyril of Scythopolis (add dates). The terms hesychia and Hesychast were also used quite systematically in the Ladder of Divine Ascent of St John of Sinai (523–603) and in Pros Theodoulon by St Hesychios (c.750?), who is ordinarily also considered to be of the School of Sinai.

Development and Controversy

Zograf Monastery, one of the 20 monasteries of Mount Athos.

The root of Hesychasm can be traced back to the early Desert Fathers, who retrated from society to go off into the desert to pray. Such prayer involed stillness and contemplation, similar to forms of mediation practice today. Over time, Mount Athos became a centre for the practice of Hesychasm. By the fourteenth century, Mount Athos was at the height of its fame and influence. At this time, Hesychasm attracted the attention of Barlaam, a Calabrian monk and abbot from the Monastery of St Saviour's in Constantinople. When Barlaam visited Mount Athos, he was scandalized by Hesychasm practice and began to combat it in his writings. He took exception to the Hesychasts' doctrine of the nature of light, which was claimed to be of divine origin and identical to that light which had been manifested to Jesus' disciples on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. This Barlaam held to be polytheistic, inasmuch as it postulated two eternal substances, a visible and an invisible God.

The Hesychast position was defended by St Gregory Palamas (1296-368 C.E.). He vigorously defended Hesychasm at three different synods in the 1340s in Constantinople. He also wrote a number of works in its defense in which he used a distinction between the operations (Gr. energeies) of God and the essence of God. He taught that the energies or operations of God were uncreated. He taught that the essence of God can never be known by his creature even in the next life, but that his uncreated energies or operations can be known both in this life and in the next, and convey to the Hesychast in this life and to the righteous in the next life a true spiritual knowledge of God. In Palamite theology, it is the uncreated energies of God that illumine the Hesychast who has been vouchsafed an experience of the Uncreated Light.

In 1341, the dispute came before a synod held at Constantinople and presided over by the Emperor Andronicus; the synod, taking into account the regard in which the writings of the pseudo-Dionysius were held, condemned Barlaam, who recanted and returned to Calabria, afterwards becoming a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.

One of Barlaam's friends, Gregory Akindynos, who originally was also a friend of St Gregory Palamas, took up the controversy, and three other synods on the subject were held, at the second of which the followers of Barlaam gained a brief victory. But in 1351 at a synod under the presidency of the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine was established as the doctrine of the Orthodox Church.

Up to this day, the Roman Catholic Church has never fully accepted Hesychasm. In Roman Catholic theology as it has developed since the Scholastic period, the essence of God can be known, but only in the next life; the grace of God is always created; and the essence of God is pure act, so that there can be no distinction between the energies or operations and the essence of God (see, e.g., the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas). Some of these positions depend on Aristotelian metaphysics.

Hesychastic practice

Hesychastic practice bears some resemblance to mystical prayer or meditation in the Eastern religions, although this similarity is often over-emphasized in popular accounts and generally rejected by actual Orthodox practitioners of Hesychasm. The practice may involve specific body postures and be accompanied by very deliberate breathing patterns. However, these bodily postures and breathing patterns are treated as secondary both by modern Athonite practitioners of Hesychasm (e.g. Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, p. 114 (Greek edition)) and by the more ancient texts in the Philokalia (e.g. On the Two Methods of Prayer by St Gregory of Sinai), the emphasis being on the primary role of Grace.

Hesychasts are fully inserted into the Liturgical and sacramental life of the Orthodox Church, including the daily cycle of liturgical prayer of the Divine Office and the Divine Liturgy. However, Hesychasts who are living as hermits might have a very rare attendance at the Divine Liturgy (see the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov) and might not recite the Divine Office except by means of the Jesus Prayer. In general, the Hesychast restricts his (or her) external activities for the sake of his (or her) Hesychastic practice.

Hesychastic practice involves acquiring an inner stillness and ignoring the physical senses. In this, Hesychasm shows its roots in Evagrius Pontikos and even in the Greek tradition of asceticism going back to Plato. The Hesychast interprets Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", to mean that he should ignore the senses and withdraw inward. St John of Sinai writes: "Hesychasm is the enclosing of the bodiless mind (nous) in the bodily house of the body." (Ladder, Step 27, 5, (Step 27, 6 in the Holy Transfiguration edition).)

In Step 27, 21 of the Ladder (Step 27, 22–3 of the Holy Transfiguration edition), St John of Sinai describes Hesychast practice as follows:

Take up your seat on a high place and watch, if only you know how, and then you will see in what manner, when, whence, how many and what kind of thieves come to enter and steal your clusters of grapes. When the watchman grows weary, he stands up and prays; and then he sits down again and courageously takes up his former task.

In this passage, St John of Sinai says that the primary task of the Hesychast is to engage in mental ascesis. This mental ascesis is the rejection of tempting thoughts (the “thieves”) that come to the Hesychast as he watches in sober attention in his hermitage. Much of the literature of Hesychasm is occupied with the psychological analysis of such tempting thoughts (e.g. St Mark the Ascetic). This psychological analysis owes much to the ascetical works of Evagrius Pontikos, with its doctrine of the eight passions.

St. John Cassian is not represented in the Philokalia except by two brief extracts, but this is most likely due to his having written in Latin. His works (Coenobitical Institutions and the Conferences) represent a transmittal of Evagrius Pontikos’ ascetical doctrines to the West. These works formed the basis of much of the spirituality of the Order of St Benedict and its offshoots. Hence, the tradition of St John Cassian in the West concerning the spiritual practice of the hermit can be considered to be a tradition parallel to that of Hesychasm in the Orthodox Church.

The highest goal of the Hesychast is the experiential knowledge of God. In the 14th Century, the possibility of this experiential knowledge of God was challenged by a Calabrian monk, Barlaam, who although he was formally a member of the Orthodox Church had been trained in Western Scholastic theology. Barlaam asserted that our knowledge of God can only be propositional. The practice of the Hesychasts was defended by St. Gregory Palamas (see below).

In solitude and retirement the Hesychast repeats the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The Hesychast prays the Jesus Prayer 'with the heart'—with meaning, with intent, 'for real'. He never treats the Jesus Prayer as a string of syllables whose 'surface' or overt verbal meaning is secondary or unimportant. He considers bare repetition of the Jesus Prayer as a mere string of syllables, perhaps with a 'mystical' inner meaning beyond the overt verbal meaning, to be worthless or even dangerous. This emphasis on the actual, real invocation of Jesus Christ marks a divergence from Eastern forms of meditation.

There is a very great emphasis on humility in the practice of the Jesus Prayer, great cautions being given in the texts about the disaster that will befall the would-be Hesychast if he proceeds in pride, arrogance or conceit. It is also assumed in the Hesychast texts that the Hesychast is a member of the Orthodox Church in good standing.

While he maintains his practice of the Jesus Prayer, which becomes automatic and continues twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the Hesychast cultivates sobriety (Gr. nepsis). Sobriety is the mental ascesis described above that rejects the tempting thoughts; it puts a great emphasis on focus and attention. The Hesychast is to pay extreme attention to the consciousness of his inner world and to the words of the Jesus Prayer, not letting his mind wander in any way at all.

The Hesychast is to attach Eros (Gr. eros), that is, "yearning", to his practice of sobriety so as to overcome the temptation to accidie (sloth). He is also to use an extremely directed and controlled anger against the tempting thoughts, although to obliterate them entirely he is to invoke Jesus Christ via the Jesus Prayer.

The Great Schema or Megaloschema, worn by seasoned hesychasts

The Hesychast is to bring his mind (Gr. nous) into his heart so as to practise both the Jesus Prayer and sobriety with his mind in his heart. The descent of the mind into the heart is taken quite literally by the practitioners of Hesychasm and is not at all considered to be a metaphorical expression. Some of the psychophysical techniques described in the texts are to assist the descent of the mind into the heart at those times that only with difficulty it descends on its own.

The goal at this stage is a practice of the Jesus Prayer with the mind in the heart, which practice is free of images (see Pros Theodoulon). What this means is that by the exercise of sobriety (the mental ascesis against tempting thoughts), the Hesychast arrives at a continual practice of the Jesus Prayer with his mind in his heart and where his consciousness is no longer encumbered by the spontaneous inception of images: his mind has a certain stillness and emptiness that is punctuated only by the eternal repetition of the Jesus Prayer.

This stage is called the guard of the mind. This is a very advanced stage of ascetical and spiritual practice, and attempting to accomplish this prematurely, especially with psychophysical techniques, can cause very serious spiritual and emotional harm to the would-be Hesychast. St Theophan the Recluse once remarked that bodily postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in his youth, since, instead of gaining the Spirit of God, people succeeded only "in ruining their lungs."

The guard of the mind is the practical goal of the Hesychast. It is the condition in which he remains as a matter of course throughout his day, every day until he dies. It is from the guard of the mind that he is raised to contemplation by the Grace of God.

The Hesychast usually experiences the contemplation of God as light, the Uncreated Light of the theology of St Gregory Palamas. The Hesychast, when he has by the mercy of God been granted such an experience, does not remain in that experience for a very long time (there are exceptions—see for example the Life of St Savas the Fool for Christ (14th Century), written by St Philotheos Kokkinos (14th Century)), but he returns 'to earth' and continues to practise the guard of the mind.

The Uncreated Light that the Hesychast experiences is identified with the Holy Spirit. Notable accounts of encounters with the Holy Spirit in this fashion are found in St Symeon the New Theologian's account of the illumination of 'George' (considered a pseudonym of St Symeon himself); in the 'conversation with Motovilov' in the Life of St Seraphim of Sarov (1759 – 1833); and, more recently, in the reminiscences of Elder Porphyrios (Wounded by Love pp. 27 – 31).

Orthodox Tradition warns against seeking ecstasy as an end in itself. Hesychasm is a traditional complex of ascetical practices intended to purify the member of the Orthodox Church and to make him ready for an encounter with God that comes to him when and if God wants, through God's Grace. The goal is to acquire, through purification and Grace, the Holy Spirit and salvation. Any ecstatic states or other unusual phenomena which may occur in the course of Hesychast practice are considered secondary and unimportant, even quite dangerous. Moreover, seeking after unusual 'spiritual' experiences can itself cause great harm, ruining the soul and the mind of the seeker. Such a seeking after 'spiritual' experiences can lead to spiritual delusion (Ru. prelest, Gr. plani)—the antonym of sobriety—in which a person believes himself or herself to be a saint, has hallucinations in which he or she 'sees' angels, Christ, etc.. This state of spiritual delusion is in a superficial, egotistical way pleasurable, but can lead to madness and suicide, and, according to the Hesychast fathers, makes salvation impossible.

References

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• Cantacuzenus
• Nicephorus Gregoras
• Jesus Prayer
• The Philokalia. (Four volumes published, one awaited.)
• The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St John of Sinai.
• The Ascetical Homilies of St Isaac the Syrian.
• Works of St Symeon the New Theologian.
• Coenobitical Institutions and Conferences of St John Cassian.
• The Way of the Pilgrim.
• St Silouan the Athonite. (Contains an introduction by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), immediate disciple of St Silouan, together with the meditations of St Silouan (1866 – 1938).)
• Works of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) (1896 – 1993).
• Elder Joseph the Hesychast. (Life of a very influential Hesychast on Mt Athos who died in 1959.)
• Monastic Wisdom. The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
• Wounded by Love. The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios. (Reminiscences and reflections of Elder Porphyrios (1906 – 1991) of Mt Athos.)
• Works by Elder Paisios (1924 – 1994) of Mount Athos. (A very well-known Athonite Elder and Hesychast.)
• Elder Ephraim of Katounakia. Translated by Tessy Vassiliadou-Christodoulou. (Life and teachings of Elder Ephraim (1912–1998) of Katounakia, Mt Athos, a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.)
• Hieromonachos Charalampos Dionusiates, O didaskalos tes noeras proseuches (Hieromonk Charalambos of the Monastery of Dionysiou, The Teacher of Mental Prayer). (Life and teachings of Elder Charalambos (1910–2001), sometime Abbot of the Monastery of Dionysiou, Mt Athos, and a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. In Greek, available in English.)
• Works of Archimandrite Aimilianos (1934 – ) of the Monastery of Simonos Petra, Mt Athos, especially Volumes I and II.
• Counsels from the Holy Mountain. Selected from the Lessons and Homilies of Elder Ephraim. (Archimandrite Ephraim of the Monastery of St Anthony, Florence, Arizona. Formerly Abbot of the Monastery of Philotheou on Mt Athos, and a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Not to be confused with Elder Ephraim of Katounakia.)

External links

• The Jesus Prayer Retrieved April 17, 2007.
• St Gregory Palamas works in English and Greek, Unceasing Prayer, Select Resources Retrieved April 17, 2007.
• Pope John Paul II's Angelus Message, August 11, 1996. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
• Three foundational aspects of the Theology of St Gregory Palamas Retrieved April 17, 2007.

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