In Response To Slander Of Elder Ephraim

[Kollyvas]

A Life Apart:
Monastery near Goldendale attracts women who choose a prayerful existence

Sunday, May 1, 2005
KELLY ADAMS Columbian staff writer

GOLDENDALE -- As the world around them sleeps, the sisters of the Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner struggle to get out of bed.

Even after nine years, 2 a.m. comes early, said Sister Ephraimia. "Most of us have to force ourselves," she said. They rise with the assistance of "alarms, alarms and sisters."

Once awake, the sisters start their individual prayers in seclusion. They stand up then drop to the floor or bend at the waist in prostrations, clad head-to-toe in black. "While everyone is sleeping, we are praying for the world," Sister Iosiphia said. Despite the tiredness, Sister Ephraimia said, "Many say it is their favorite part of the day. That's where we receive our strength."

The sisters are among 16 nuns and novices who have pledged to live their lives as part of a monastic community. Many came in their early 20s, an age when young people often struggle with their identity and purpose.

Novices spend as long as three years at St. John's before being tonsured, the final step to becoming a nun.

Tucked in the trees just north of Goldendale, St. John's is one of 18 Greek Orthodox monasteries in North America.

It's just up the highway from the area where entrepreneur Sam Hill dreamed of creating a Quaker agricultural community. Although that dream didn't come true, his legacy is evident in the Maryhill Museum and the Stonehenge replica dotting the bluffs along the sparkling water.

After more than two hours of solitary prayer, the sisters gather in the chapel. Golden icons look out from a series of panels while lights from oil lamps and thin, amber-colored beeswax tapers flicker in the pre-dawn dark. Located on the ground floor of their large house, the small but elaborately adorned room is the heart of the place where the women gather several times a day.

The sisters enter softly through a side door, long black scarves unfurling behind them. As they pray, their individual identities dissolve and merge into a choreographed, single entity. Their call and response of chanting and singing fills the sacred space.

The 4:30 a.m. common services are led by a priest who travels from Goldendale, 10 miles away, or Yakima, 60 miles away.

During services, worshippers, whether they are nuns or one of the local Orthodox Christians, cross themselves and kiss the surface of the paintings, called veneration. Iconic paintings depict the faces of Jesus, the saints and the Virgin Mary as they looked when they were alive, Sister Philothei explained.

"They help us to pray," she said. "We don't worship the wood or the paint."

'… fulfilling, sweet life'

Over and over, the women smile as they describe how they were drawn to the solitude, the structure and the spirit of a life spent dedicated to prayer and work. It is with joy that they have turned their backs on careers, marriage, children.

"It's a process of understanding nothing else works for you," Sister Prodromia said. She does not spend much time thinking about life away from St. John's.

"I think we're very much in the real world. We see it all the time. The goal is not to be a part of it," she said.

What they are a part of is trying to make the planet better, "to help the world through our example, through our prayer."

The women embrace the monastery's restrictions: chastity, hard work, and obedience to the abbess, their spiritual mother.

Known as Gerontissa Efpraxia, the abbess of St. John's has been a nun for 40 years. A kind smile spreads across her softly wrinkled face as she speaks in her native Greek, explaining her role as "mother, sister, friend" to the women in her care.

Sister Prodromia, 27, grew up in Yakima in a Greek Orthodox family. She was then known as Megan Hagler.

She made her initial visit to St. John's when she was 17.

"It was the first time I realized monasteries weren't castles in the clouds," she said. Although she was drawn to the life, she left home to study theology and philosophy at a small Orthodox college in South Carolina.

"I didn't really have a plan. I think that's why I was there," she said. Her mother, Glenna Hagler, said that when her daughter returned to Yakima with the intention of enrolling in college there, she lacked direction.

"She just seemed so sad," Glenna Hagler recalled.

She remembers turning to her daughter and asking: "When was the last time you were happy?"

"The last time I was happy was when I thought I was going to be a nun," Megan, then 20, replied.

The young woman went to Goldendale for a visit, then accompanied the sisters back to Yakima to attend services at her family's church, Holy Cross. Her mother was there and knew immediately something had changed.

"I looked back at her with the sisters and I thought, 'Oh my goodness, she's not coming home,'" Glenna Hagler said.

Sister Prodromia's story is similar to many of the women who have embraced an existence of structured spiritual practice that dates back thousands of years.

Just as Orthodox nuns centuries ago, they dress modestly in long skirts and long-sleeved shirts. Their heads are wrapped in identical black coverings with small red crosses stitched into the fabric at their foreheads.

Sister Ephraimia, 31, compared the feeling to the way people sometimes describe meeting their future spouse. The knowing goes beyond what can be rationally explained. That is the same way the sisters feel about the monasticism, she said. "Everything else seems so empty," she said. "The monastic life is really such a beautiful, fulfilling, sweet life."

Following the 4:30 a.m. service, the sisters spend time on their own resting, reading and praying before breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Work and prayer

By the time they begin their work day at 9:30 a.m., they have spent many hours praying for both their salvation and peace for the planet.

When it is time to work, they scatter to the shop where their wares are sold, the kitchen where the authentic Greek food is prepared, the studio where the icons are painted, the mobile home where the candles and soap are made.

As the sisters go about their day, the swish of dark skirts is accompanied by the whistling whisper of the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ Have Mercy on Us" uttered over and over again in Greek.

The softly uttered words form the background to Sister Iosiphia's work as she dips a large ladle into a huge vat of syrup on the stove, fishing out lemon and orange slices. She pauses in her prayer to explain her choice.

Sister Iosiphia, 29, grew up the oldest of four in a Greek Orthodox family near Phoenix. She loved school, sports and fashion. Sister Iosiphia was studying to be a teacher when she was drawn to the life she experienced during monastery visits. It felt like home.

"It's a calling," said Sister Iosiphia. "It's like a flame inside you."

She has the soul of a scholar, effortlessly quoting Scripture and the teachings of the church leaders.

One of Sister Iosiphia's main duties is to maintain the chapel: filling the oil lamps, straightening the books, looking after the visiting priests who conduct services.

She pitches in wherever she is asked by the Gerontissa. Some days that means stuffing vine leaves with meat, vegetables and spices, called dolmadakia. Other days that means preparing syrup to use with the homemade baklava, a popular item in the store.

At first sight, the shop just off the highway could be any roadside stop frequented by the campers and hunters who pass through. "ESPRESSO" spelled out in bright neon lures drivers off the rural highway.

Once inside, the difference from a typical convenience store becomes apparent: there's no gleaming silver cases of beer lining the coolers, no bait or tackle for sale. Not a pack of cigarettes or can of chewing tobacco is in sight.

A sweet smell from the handmade lotions and soaps mingles with the spices from freshly baked pastries with long, vowel-laden names. The espresso machine in the corner occasionally sputters to life, filling the room with the strong aroma of fresh coffee.

The low, melodic rumble of Byzantine chants draws attention to a display filled with pastel-colored bits of incense and black prayer ropes.

Purity of work, purity of life

On most days, Sister Philothei's work takes her to a tiny, sun-dappled room above the kitchen and bakery. Leaning on large easels are shiny golden-toned icons in progress.

Iconography is the art form of the saints, Jesus and the Virgin Mary painted in a style that dates back to the Byzantine era, about 300 years after the death of Christ.

Sister Philothei has a warm smile for everyone she encounters. Her eyes light up as she talks about the life she has chosen.

She pages through a large book filled with photographs of murals painted on the walls of a monastery in Greece. The icons depict Jesus' life from his birth in a manger to his rising from the dead.

"We can live the liturgy. We don't need to see a movie," Sister Philothei said. "This is the story of the Gospel."

She'll talk passionately about iconography and discuss the meaning behind the paintings. But Sister Philothei, 25, is less comfortable talking about the young woman she was before she became a nun.

Her father, Luke Dingman, is an Orthodox priest and artist who lives southwest of San Jose, Calif. His portraits of St. John's adorn the bottles of lotions and soap as well as the notecards sold by the sisters.

His daughter grew up as Sarah Dingman and worked in his art studio before becoming a nun. From a very young age, she showed artistic promise.

"She just drew everything," Luke Dingman said.

Now her art is limited to iconography; she leaves the sketching of the wilderness around her to her father when he visits.

She also sees herself not as an individual with unique talents but a member of a community to which she offers her contributions.

"This is our life now," she said. "You don't want anything else."

Although he misses her, Luke Dingman is proud of his daughter.

"I think she's gone beyond me in the purity of her work and the purity of her life," Luke Dingman said.

The sisters stop their work for lunch at 1 p.m. After lunch, they have quiet free time that they spend in personal prayer, reading, resting or walking.

They return to their work at 4 p.m. until they are called to evening services.

The freedom to make individual decisions has been replaced by a life led in obedience to the Gerontissa.

Rather than feeling controlled, Sister Philothei said the structure is a comfort.

"Obedience is quite an amazing mystery," she said. "It's true freedom; it's freedom from cares."

The Gerontissa said she doesn't see obedience as a bad word but a way of expressing how their lives are structured.

"It kind of keeps a nice order," she said in Greek, interpreted by Sister Iosiphia. "It's an understanding, not like servants or a slave. I'm not going to get them to do something that's against the will of God."

All of the sisters came to the monastery with the belief that God's will for them is to live out their days there.

"You come here with the goal to die here," Sister Iosiphia said.

'Surrounded by angels'

At 6 p.m., as the sun starts to set, Sister Iosiphia summons the sisters to vespers by whacking a long plank of wood with a stick, meant to symbolize Noah calling all the animals into the ark.

The service offers thanks for the day coming to an end and a welcome for the next day to dawn. It is filled with low soothing tones of the sisters reciting prayers.

Local Orthodox families join the sisters. The sisters greet the children by name, often wrapping an affectionate arm around them.

One mother, Theophano Reese, loves having her four children spend time at the monastery. "It's like they are surrounded by angels," she said.

Following vespers, the sisters have dinner, then return to the chapel for small compline, their evening prayers. Sister Iosiphia explained that they are closing their day by asking for forgiveness.

"You kind of make everything good with everyone," she said.

"That's the end of our day," Sister Ephraimia whispers before quietly disappearing into the residence. "Have a good rest."

Code: Select all

Kelly Adams covers social issues and religion for The Columbian. Contact her at 360-759-8016 or kelly.adams@columbian.com.

[Kollyvas]

http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/artic ... le7103.asp

Monasticism in the Orthodox Church
Rt. Rev. Maximos E. Aghiorgoussis, Th.D., Bishop of Pittsburgh

The Orthodox Monastic Tradition - The Beginnings.
Since the early years of the Christian era, Christians have been called by Christ Himself to life in the world without being of the world (John 17:13-16). They are distinct from the world, because of their special conduct and their exemplary ethical life. When, toward the middle of the second century of the Christian era, Christian life reached a low ebb, some Christians, both men and women, reacted to this by raising their own personal standards of austere Christian life. They practiced chastity, celibacy, poverty, prayer and fasting (Justin, I Apology 15:6; Athenagoras, Apology 33; and Galenus, De Sententiis Politiae Platonicae).

These people considered themselves Christians selected to live the life of angels (Matt. 22:30). They lived by themselves or in special houses as a community. At about the middle of the third century, they began fleeing the world and going to the desert, where they established permanent habitations, whether by themselves or in small groups. They are known as the "anchorites" (from anachoresis: departure, flight); the hermits (from eremos: desert); and the monastics (from monos: alone, for a monastic "lives in the presence of God alone").

A good example of an anchorite monk is Saint Anthony the Great, who fled the world [c. 285] and established himself in the desert of Middle Egypt. Many people imitated his example; they went and lived close to him, thus "populating the desert" (Troparion of St. Anthony). These monks lived by themselves in huts and small houses to form a village called "lavra" (later the concept of "lavra" develops, as we will see). St. Anthony is considered the Father of Orthodox monasticism, for his kind of monasticism, that of "living alone with God as his only companion" remained the most cherished monastic ideal for the monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church throughout the ages.

The establishment of Christianity as a legal religion of the roman Empire by Constantine the Great, with the edict of Milan (313), led to a new decline in the ethical life of Christians. In reaction to this decline, many refused to accept any compromises and fled the world to become monastics. Monasticism thrived, especially in Egypt, with two important monastic centers, one in the desert of Nitria, by the Western Bank of the Nile, with Abba Ammoun (d. 356) as its founder, and one in the desert of Skete, south of Nitria, with Saint Makarios of Egypt (d. ca. Egypt 330) as its founder. These monks were anchorites, following the monastic ideal of St. Anthony. They lived by themselves, gathering together for common worship on Saturdays and Sundays only.

Whereas Saint Anthony the Great is the founder of anchorite monasticism, Saint Pachomios of Egypt (d. 346) is the founder of the so-called "cenobitic" (from Koinos bios: communal life) monasticism. Pachomios started as an anchorite himself in the Thebaid, Upper Egypt. Later in that same place, he founded the first "monastery" in the modern sense of the term. St. Anthony's lavra was a village of anchorites who lived by themselves in their own huts and had a life in common, practiced common daily prayer evening and morning, worked in common, had common revenues and expenditures, and common meals, and wore the same identical monastic garb. This garb consisted of a linen tunic or robe and belt, a white goat skin or sheep skin coat and belt, a cone-shaped head-cover or hood (koukoulion) and a linen scarf (maforion or pallium). At this stage, monks were identified with lay people seeking Christian perfection. No religious ceremony was required, and no monastic vows. Monks were prohibited from becoming clergy.

Anchorite monasticism existed in other places besides Egypt. However, "organized monasticism," that is, of the "cenobitic" type, spread to Sinai, Palestine and Syria from Egypt. Two monks from Egypt, St. Ilarion (d. 371) and St. Epiphanios, later bishop of Salamis in Cyprus (d. 403), brought organized monasticism to Palestine.

Monasticism at this time was identified with the "charismatics" of the ancient church. This identification of monasticism with the "enthusiastic element" in the church led to some abuses, of which those around Eustathios of Sebastia (d. 380) are good example. Eustathios introduced monasticism into Asia Minor from Egypt. His followers became overzealous; they taught that marriage and meat-eating made salvation impossible; they were, in fact, advocating monasticism for all Christians. The Council of Gangra (343) condemned these over-enthusiastic practices. Another heresy that affected monasticism during this same time was "Messalianism," which appeared in Mesopotamia (c. 350 A.D.). Messalians were ascetics who practiced poverty, celibacy and fasting. They rejected the sacramental life of the church and pretended to see God with their physical eyes. They spread in Syria and Asia Minor; they finally were anathematized by the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus [431]. Under the influence of the Messalians, the non-sleepers or Vigilant (Akoimetoi) type of monasticism was developed in the area of Constantinople (mid-fifth century). The most famous instance was the Studion monastery, renowned for its polemic against the Iconoclasts. St. Symeon of Antioch [ca. 460] also developed the Stylite type of monasticism, living himself on a pole (stylos) for over 36 years.

Monasticism became a strong movement in the life of the church. The church not only condemned anti-church groups and tendencies within monasticism, but also guided and directed the monastic movement to meet its own needs. One of the ways through which this occurred was through a convergence of monasticism and clergy: monks were now ordained in a special religious service at which they subscribed to special monastic vows, thus becoming a special class of Christians standing between the clergy and the laity. This development was mostly due to the efforts of Saint Basil, Archbishop of Caesaria in Cappadocia.

Basil the Great and the Constitution of Orthodox Monasticism .
Eustathios of Sebastia introduced monasticism to Asia Minor; he influenced St. Basil, who borrowed whatever was good in his innovations, including the monastic garments, monastic vows, and the special religious service (tonsure) that indicated the special status of a monk, superior to that of lay people, and subordinate to the clergy.

Among the many ascetical works of St. Basil, two are the most significant in terms of regulating the life of monasticism: the "Great Rules" (Oroi Kata Platos), and the "Brief Rules" (Oroi Kat' Epitomen). These rules regulate the life in the cenobitic monasteries: they extol the monastic life in common as the ideal Christian life, the "life of perfection," while at the same time indicating the dangers of the solitary anchoretic life. St. Basil's Rules became the Magna Carta of Monasticism, both in the East and in the West, throughout the monastic tradition. The difference is that while in the Christian East the anchorite spirit of St. Anthony continues to persist as the original monastic ideal, thus at times reacting against the organized monasticism of a Pachomian, cenobitic type promulgated by Saint Basil in the Rules, the Christian West, after the modifications to the Basilian Rules by St. Benedict, remains faithful to the cenobitic spirit of organized monasticism.

St. Basil set Christian perfectionism as the goal of monastic life. The monks were to practice Christian virtues together, especially love; to practice obedience to a spiritual father; to practice chastity and poverty, and share the common goods of the monastery. After they achieved Christian perfection, they were allowed to come back to the world and help others to achieve Christian perfection. Thus, the monks had the mission of "social workers" as well. St. Basil's institutions, especially his Basileias, which was at the same time an orphanage, a "kitchen for the poor," and a school for the illiterate was in practice run by monks. This was St. Basil's way of utilizing the monastic movement to benefit the mission of the Church in the world.

Following St. Basil's example, the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451), in its canonical legislation, placed the monastics in a given Diocese under the direct jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop. Only this bishop can allow the foundation of new monasteries in his diocese (Canons 4 and . Thus in the Orthodox Church the possibility of the creation of monastic "Orders," as we see them developing in the West during the Middle Ages, was once and for all eliminated.

Monasticism also spread in the West. Its origins go back to St. Athanasios of Alexandria, who was exiled to the West (399). His Life of St. Anthony was translated into Latin by Evagrios of Antioch (380). Two Latin monks, Rufinus and St. Jerome, who lived in Palestine, brought monasticism to the West when they returned, during the second half of the 4th century. St. Ambrose of Milan (d. 395) introduced monasticism in Northern Italy, and St. Augustine (d. 430) in Northern Africa, whence monasticism was transplanted to Spain. St. Martin of Tours (370) introduced monasticism into Northern France (Gaul), and St. Honoratus of Arles into the South. St. John Cassian founded two monasteries near Marseilles (415); he had become acquainted with monasticism in Egypt and Palestine, and was ordained a deacon by St. John Chrysostom in Constantinople. At. St. John's deposition, John Cassian returned to Gaul to establish monasticism there.

The Role of Monasticism in the Byzantine and the Ottoman States.
With the development of Monasticism during the fourth century and thereafter, many monastics became involved with the various heresies, especially those concerning the Christological dogma. Most of the monastics were the defenders of the Orthodox faith. Still, Eutyches, an archimandrite from Constantinople, headed the heresy of monophysitism. On the Orthodox side, St. Maximos the Confessor (c. 580-662) played an important role in defeating the heresies of monothelitism and monoenergism. The Sixth Ecumenical Council (680) condemned monothelitism and reestablished the doctrine of Chalcedon. During the time of the iconoclastic controversy, the Studite monks, led by St. Theodore the Studite (759-826), played a very important role. In addition to organizing his monastery, the Studion, on the basis of the cenobitic principles of St. Pachomios and St. Basil, St. Theodore also wrote his three Antirrhetics against iconoclasm.

After the condemnation of the iconoclasts, monasticism thrived even more. Many representatives of the Byzantine aristocracy became monks. Monks were men of letters; clergy received their education in the monasteries. Bishops, metropolitans, and patriarchs were taken from their ranks; monks were involved with the church affairs, at times for the good of the church, at times creating trouble. Monasteries existed in almost every diocese, with the Bishop as their head, planting a cross in their foundations. Since 879, the right was given to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of planting a cross in monasteries that were under the jurisdiction of other dioceses throughout the empire. They were called "Patriarchal Stavropighiac Monasteries." This right exists to our days.

With the Arab conquest of Syria, Palestine and Egypt (during the 7th century), new centers for monasteries were sought and founded, among which were Mount Olympus in Bithynia and the Holy Mount Athos.

During the entire Byzantine period, the monks took an active part in the life of the Church in general. Still, spirituality was their strength. Concerning this tension in Christian anthropology, two schools of thought were represented; that of Evagrios ponticus (d. 399), who followed a Platonic and Origenistic doctrine pertaining to the "mind," thus de-emphasizing the importance of the human body and becoming dualistic, and St. Makarios of Egypt (or, better, the writings attributed to him), present a more Christian, holistic anthropology; for in this theology man is a psycho-physical entity, and, as such, being a destined to deification. "Prayer of the mind," in the Evagrian spirituality, becomes "prayer of the heart" in the Macarian spirituality. The two schools of thought with the two different anthropologies continue to find representatives throughout the history of the Church.

Saint Symeon, the New Theologian (949-1022), marks an important development in monastic spirituality. A disciple of a Studite monk, he left the Studion to join the small monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople, were he was ordained a priest and became the abbot. He wrote several works, among which are the fifty-eight hymns of "Divine Love," in which he stresses that the Christian faith is a conscious experience of God. St. Symeon is the exponent of an intensive sacramental life, which leads to this personal conscious experience, as we can see in his Hymns. In this he is a predecessor of Hesychasm, which also shares this personal experience of God in conjunction with intensive sacramental life.

Finally, the spirituality of Hesychasm, as enunciated in the theology of St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), is of paramount importance not only in the life of monasticism, but also in the life of the entire Church. An Anthonite monk, St. Gregory took it upon himself to defend the holy Hesychasts of the Holy Mountain in their ways of praying and experiencing the presence of God the "uncreated light" that they contemplated. Barlaam the Calabrian had led the attack against the pious monks and their psycho physical method of prayer, and accused them of "gross materialism," Messalianism, calling them "navel-souls" (omphalopsychoi) and "navel-watchers" (omphaloskopoi).

The hesychastic method of prayer consists of regulating one's breathing with the recitation of the "Jesus prayer": "O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The prayer is repeated constantly until it descends from the lips and minds into one's heart. At the end of the process, the peace of Christ is poured into the heart of the worshipper, and the light itself of Christ shines upon him and around him. This light, as that of the Holy Transfiguration of Christ, may also be seen by our physical eyes.

Saint Gregory established that the experience of the Holy Hesychasts was an authentic one, for it is similar to that of the disciples on Mount Tabor. Theologically it is justified by the distinction between essence and energies in God, this light being the "uncreated light," or the "uncreated energy" of God, that "can descend toward us," whereas the essence of God "remains unapproachable" (St. Basil).

After the fall of Constantinople, the number of idiorrythmic monasteries continued to grow, a fact which brought a further decline to monastic life. The 16th century was the lowest ebb. In reaction to this problem, many of the monks themselves, especially on the Holy Mountain, left the main monasteries and turned to idiorrhythmic ones, establishing Sketai (dependencies) of the main monasteries, with a more rigorous typikon (order). Also, Patriarchs Jeremy II of Constantinople, Silvester of Alexandria, and Sophronios of Jerusalem led the attack against idiorrhythmic monasticism, thus managing to counteract its spread. Cenobitic monasticism prevailed for a while, but the tide soon went in its original direction. Many monasteries of the Holy Mountain, including the mother monastery, the Great Lavra, became idiorrhythmic. Today an idiorrhythmic monastery may become cenobitic but not the other way round. Hopefully, this will guarantee that organized monastic life will finally prevail, according to the Basilian ideal of monasticism.

Monasticism played an important role under the Ottoman Empire, as well. The monks not only kept the faith alive, but they also kept the Greek culture and literature alive. Not only did the education of clergy continue at the monasteries, but the monasteries became the "clandestine school" (Krypho Scholeio) for all the Greeks under Turkish occupation. The monks thus prevented the Christian nations under Turkish occupation from being assimilated to them, and thereby became the natural leaders of national ("ethnic") resistance against the oppressors. It is no accident that the Greek Revolution started in 1821 at a monastery in the Peloponnesos, Aghia Lavra, with Metropolitan Germanos of Old Patras raising the banner of revolution and blessing the arms of the Greek freedom fighters.

The Monastic Community of the Holy Mount Athos.
Monasticism existed on the Mountain even before the tenth century. Many anchorites were living on Mt. Athos, especially in the area of Ierissos. The anchorites lived in the cells (kellia), and were organized according to the general pattern, selecting a "leader" (protos) from among themselves to keep a semblance of order. Some of those cells were built for many anchorites to live in, and some of these joint habitations were called "monasteries." Two of these were in existence on the Mount before the tenth century: Zogrophou and Xeropotamou.

However, cenobitic monasticism, which is considered to be the beginning of the Great Republic of Monks on the Holy Mountain, only started in 963 when monk Athanasios the Athonite built the cenobitic monastery of Meghisti Lavra, with the help of the Emperor Nicephoros Phokas and the continued support of Emperor John Tsimiskis. The community soon became a "pan-Orthodox" community: Iberians (Georgians), Russians, Serbians, Bulgarians and Romanians joined the Greeks to form the pan-Orthodox community, a "Republic of Monks."

Each of the monasteries had its own abbot; one, chosen leader as Protos, was installed by the emperor himself. Following the example of Lavra, which was given an autonomous status, all the monasteries were considered royal monasteries, without any ecclesiastical dependence. This was changed by Emperor Alexios Comnenos (1081-1118), who gave the Patriarch the right to supervise the monasteries (Novella 37); all the monasteries thus became "Stavropighiac" and Patriarchal. The Patriarch appointed the Bishop of Ierissos to be his representative at the Holy Mountain.

The multiplication of idiorrythmic monasteries under the Turkish occupation affected the Holy Mountain; they dismissed their abbots and even the Protos in the course of the seventeenth century. The abbot was replaced by two or three "trustees" chosen yearly by the monks; the Protos was replaced by four supervisors (Epistatai) who changed every year. One of them chosen as chief supervisor (Protepistatis), as a "first among equals." The Republic, consisting of twenty monasteries, is still represented in the Synaxis by as many representatives that meet twice a year, or as necessary. The representative of Lavra presides over the Synaxis. This typikon, established in 1783 by Patriarch Gabriel IV of Constantinople, still regulates the life of the Anthonite republic of monks.

Orthodox Monasticism Today.
With the conversion of the Slavs in the ninth and tenth century, monasticism spread to the Slavic countries as well, where it continues to thrive up to our day, in spite of communist oppression. Important monasteries in Russia - Zagorsk, Optimo, and Valamo - continue the hesychastic tradition. Great monks and spiritual fathers were exponents of this tradition, including St. Nilus (1433 1508), St. Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), and Father John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), a married priest. Monasticism thrives today in Romania, Serbia, and even Bulgaria.

On the Holy Mountain itself, there is an impressive monastic renewal: several monasteries, inactive in the recent past, were recently populated by young, educated, enthusiastic monks, who give new life and a new spirituality, more in conformity with that of St. Basil, to the Holy Mountain. The monastery of Stavronikita is an example. Under the guidance of important spiritual fathers on the Holy Mountain today - among them ore Father Ephraim, abbot of Philotheou; Father Aimilianos, abbot of Simonos Petra; and abbot Vassilios of Stavronikita - monasticism is thriving on the Holy Mountain, both spiritually and intellectually. The pattern of cenobitic life prevails at present, and continues to gain ground.

Spiritual fathers from the Holy Mountain visit the States, including Holy Cross Theological School. Interest has been generated among young men and women who aspire to monastic life and wish to see its tradition flourish in America. The St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Hayesville, Ohio under the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Pittsburgh, has this potential.

In our day, there is a monastic renewal, as a reaction to the materialist spirit in our society, in almost every Orthodox land. Longovarda Monastery, Nea Makri, and St. John's Monastery on Patmos are some of the active monasteries in Greece outside Mount Athos. As for the States, the major Holy Places, monasteries and shrines connected with them, are under the jurisdiction of the Synodal Church outside Russia. Among these monasteries are: Saint Tikhon's, near South Canaan, Pennsylvania (OCA); Novo-Diveyevo convent, near Spring Valley, New York; Holy Transfiguration Monastery and Convent in Boston, Convent of the Vladimir Mother of God, San Francisco, California, Holy Dormition Monastery, Northville, Alberta, New Skete Monastery, near Cambridge, New York and Holy Annunciation Monastery (Carpatho Russian Diocese), Tuxedo Park, New York.

---

Suggestions for Further Reading:
H. Waddell, The Desert Fathers, London 1936.

N.F. Robinson, Monasticism in the Orthodox Churches, London, 1916.

C. Cavarnos, Anchored in God, Athens, 1959.

Web Reources:
Introduction to Mt. Athos
Mt. Athos Greek Manuscripts

---

Monasteries on the Web:
Valamo Monastery (Finland)

---

St. Gregory Palamas Monastery (Hayesville, Ohio USA)
Copyright: © 1990-1996 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

[Kollyvas]

http://orthodoxpatristicwisdom.blogspot.com/

Concerning Elder Ephraim's book, Counsels from the Holy Mountain, in Nephon Smith's web site, along with the POKROV site and the POEM site, there is no mention of the Prologue, which is written by a very prominent theologian and hierarch of the church of Greece, His Eminence Hierotheos Vlachos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St. Vlasios, who says the following about Geronda Ephraim and his book:

"Fr. Ephraim, as I remember him very well from my youth and as one encounters him in this book, is a genuine teacher of the spiritual life and a reliable guide for the Christian's journey towards rebirth, since he himself has experienced and learned the divine, which is why his words are "full of grace and truth" (Jn. 1:14)."
"I am in a position to know that the following chapters are an outcome and a fruit of obedience and noetic hesychia, a result of divine ascents, and they are certainly words coming from a paternal heart, words that help a person be healed in the atmosphere of spiritual love."
"[W]hoever denies Orthodox hesychasm is excommunicated by this Council (of St. Gregory Palamas), and whoever cannot understand the hesychastic life shows that he does not have the mind-set of the Church."
"I have met Fr. Ephraim in the past and I am able to appreciate his words."
"His words were very compunctious, sweet, penetrating, revealing, clairvoyant, renewing, healing, and extracted from patristic wisdom."

And so, it is with deep conviction that this response is written to Nephon (David) Smith's posting of "Not Athos in America" along with other comments he has posted on his website: gerondaephraim.tripod.com along with comments posted on POKROV and POEM as well. It is a conviction that comes from a desire to live according to the traditions of our Church, to not let it be watered down or altered in any way. It is a conviction that gives me a great desire to defend both Geronda Ephraim and Geronda Paisios since they are two hieromonks who are passing onto us the richness of the Orthodox Church, in its fullness and rightness, so that we can be cured of our passions and find salvation. They don't proclaim to do anything of themselves; everything is given to us as it has been given them by the Holy Fathers of our Church. David's reply to a certain Symeon who asks of him why his attitude has changed toward St. Anthony's Monastery: "Symeon asks, "David, what happened?" and claims to be "confused" that my letter a year ago is positive and, since getting away from these disgusting teachings, I now feel negatively about the teachings at St. Anthony's. What happened is obvious. I recognized the teachings for what they are: FALSE." Therefore, it is the intent of this reply to show the truth according to the Holy Canons and the teachings of the saints which prove that the teachings that come from Geronda Ephraim and Geronda Paisios are in fact not false but the teachings of the Orthodox Church.

The complaint of David Smith's, against what Geronda Paisios has told him the teaching of the church on marital relations is, is as follows: "Oh yes, and never on a Fast day which included Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays (to prepare for Communion), and Sundays (because you've had Communion), and of course 40 days before Nativity, 40 days before Pascha, don't forget the Apostle's Fast, and the 15-day Fast for the Dormition. And not on a Feast Day (because we don't celebrate heavenly feasts by indulging in the flesh)...If you add up all those Fast days, not including the Apostle's Fast and Feast days mind you, you get 46 days of allowable procreation time." Also, taken from David's web site is a partial quote from a certain Fr. Anthony M. Coniaris that states this: "We are aware of the fact that Elder Ephraim's teachings regarding marriage denigrate the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. They do not represent Orthodox Christian truth..." It is preferred to draw attention to this particular issue first also because Geronda Ephraim has been slandered for this teaching on marriage before and not just within this particular context. May it be shown that what Geronda Ephraim and Geronda Paisios are teaching on marital relations is not a "teaching of St. Anthony's Monastery" but the teaching of the Orthodox Church as it has been from the beginning.

Taken from the Rudder are the following canons:

St. Dionysius, the Archbishop of Alexandria and Confessor states in his third canon: "For we are told in writing by St. Paul that it is fitting that they should abstain from each other by agreement for a time, in order that they may indulge in prayer, and again come together." The footnote here, according to St. Nicodemos, is stated most clearly and verbatim as "Hence, this Canon of Dionysius gives every sensible person to understand that it is immediately addressed to Basilides, who has asked whether married people are to abstain from each other whenever they have to commune. For it answers that on this point the married people themselves are sufficient judges - meaning, that is to say, that they ought to remain continent during time of Communion...the Apostle [Paul] adds that aside from prayer married people ought to remain continent during the time of fasting, which is prescribed by the Church."

St. Timothy of Alexandria in his fifth canon: "If a woman has coition with her husband during the night, or, as likely as not, a man with his wife, and a church meeting ensues, ought they to partake of communion, or not?" "They ought not to do so, because the Apostle says emphatically: "Deprive yourselves not of each other, unless it be for a time of agreement, that ye may give yourselves leisure to pray; and then come ye again together, to avoid having Satan tempt you on account of your failure to mingle." The interpretation found here in the Rudder and therefore repeated here verbatim is: "To one who had asked whether a married couple ought to partake of the divine Mysteries, when a liturgy is held in the morning, and they have had sexual intercourse with each other during the night immediately preceding, the Saint replied in the present Canon that they ought not to commune; (the footnote here states that "Lawfully married couples ought, therefore, to abstain from sexual intercourse at least for three days, and then come to church for communion.") and in witness thereof he cites the words of the Apostle, who orders married couples not to deprive one party or the other of sexual intercourse, save by agreement of both parties; and only then not to have sexual intercourse when a sacred liturgy is being celebrated, on Saturday and Sunday, and in general on all feast days, so that they may partake of communion."

Again St. Timothy of Alexandria in his thirteenth canon: "What days of the week ought to be assigned to those who are conjoined in marriage for them to abstain from communion with each other? And on what days ought they to have it?" "Though I have already answered this question, I will answer now once more. The Apostles says "Deprive ye not yourselves of each other, unless it be for a time by agreement, in order that ye may have leisure to pray"..."But one must necessarily abstain on Saturday and Sunday, on account of the fact that on these days the spiritual sacrifice is being offered to the Lord." The interpretation is the same as the above interpretation on the canon of St. Timothy.

And the 69th Apostolic Canon states: "If any Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon, or Subdeacon, or Anagnost, or Psalt fails to fast throughout the forty days of Holy Lent, or on Wednesday or on Friday, let him be deposed from office. Unless he has been prevented from doing so by reason of bodily illness. If, on the other hand, a layman fail to do so, let him be excommunicated." The footnote here by St. Nicodemos states verbatim: "But if the fast of Wednesday and Friday is on a par with that of Lent, it is plain that just as marriage cannot be celebrated on either Wednesday or Friday. But if this again is true, it is equally plain that neither ought a married couple to have intercourse carnally on any Wednesday or Friday, on account of the decency and respectability which these two days command in every week of the year, but neither ought they to have any such intercourse in time of Lent. For it is absurd on the one hand for them to avoid abolishing these fasts by eating foods, when on the other hand they abolish them by indulging in carnal intercourse and the enjoyment of sensual pleasure of a carnal nature. Hence we ought to fast at these times both by abstaining from foods prohibited therein and by abstaining from the temptations of carnal intercourse."

From the Prophet Joel, in hinting that during a fast every married couple ought to behave soberly and sanely, said: "Sanctify fasting, preach continence...let the bridegroom come out of his chamber, and let the bride come out of her closet" (Joel 2:16). Divine St. Paul says plainly that married couples ought to abstain by agreement from carnal intercourse in order to be at leisure while fasting and praying" (1 Cor. 7:5); (continuing from the footnote to the Apostolic Canon 69) "this means that they should abstain both when there is, as we have said, a fast, and when they are praying and preparing to partake of communion in the divine mysteries both on Saturday and on Sunday, according to c. XIII of Timothy, and in general during all feast days in which spiritual sacrifice is being offered to God."

St. John Chrysostom (in his Discourse concerning Virginity) where he talks on the above quoted passage of Joel and goes on to say: "For if the newly married, who have a robust desire and a lusty youthfulness and an unbridled concupiscence, ought not to have intercourse in time of fast and prayer, how much more is it not a fact that other married couples who are less violently swayed by the cravings of the flesh ought to refrain from sexual intercourse."

From Exodus 19: 15: "And he said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.'" This was the time when Moses was telling the people what the Lord said, in preparation for the receiving of the ten commandments.

David Smith also says this in regard to marital relations: "We were taught that marriage was a result of the Fall and that sex was a luxury of the flesh to be used only sparingly for procreation, like eating was used only to keep the body alive." And again in David's reply to Rostislav: "[T]he theology that sexual intercourse is a direct result of the Fall and therefore something to be given up by those who want to live as Adam did before the Fall, is what is non-Orthodox and even Puritan."

To quote St. John Chrysostom: "There are two reasons marriage is introduced - on the one hand, that we might be chaste, and on the other, that we might become fathers. Of these two, the excuse of chastity takes precedence...especially now, when the whole world is filled with people."

And again St. John Chrysostom: "'And Adam knew his wife Eve'. Mind you, when did this take place? After disobedience, after the exile from Paradise; then intercourse began; before disobedience, they lived like Angels, and nowhere is there any mention of intercourse. Because previously we were not subject to physical needs, therefore from the beginning virginity was preeminent."

St. Athanasius the Great says this: "God's original intention was that we give birth not through marriage and corruption; the violation of the commandment introduced marriage as a result of Adam's transgression, i.e., as a result of falling away from the commandment given to him by God."

St. John Damascene explains: "...the commandment go forth and multiply does not necessarily mean through conjugal union. For God could increase the human race by another means, if people had preserved the commandment inviolate to the end."

St. Gregory the Dialogist writes to St. Augustine: "...when lust takes the place of desire for children, the mere act of union becomes something that the pair have cause to regret;...this carries a warning with it. For when the Apostle Paul said, 'If they cannot contain themselves, let them marry,' he at once added, 'I speak this by permission and not of commandment.' This concession makes it lawful, yet not good; so when he spoke of permission, he indicated that it was not blameless."

St. John Chrysostom writes on Genesis and the time of Noah. "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, and they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, "My spirit will not remain in these people forever because they are carnal." St. John Chrysostom says plainly that men chose women because of their beauty out of their passions for lust. They did not see women in a lawful way, but in a way to fulfill their carnal desires and that was a sin. It was not until this time that men saw women carnally and it greatly displeased God, enough to say "My spirit will not remain with these people because they are carnal." Therefore, God numbered their days to 120 years, the time needed to build the Ark.

The following three quotes are taken from St. Maximos the Confessor (from the Philokalia): "Again, vice is the wrong use of our conceptual images of things, which leads us to misuse the things themselves. In relation to women, for example, sexual intercourse, rightly used, has as its purpose the begetting of children. He, therefore, who seeks in it only sensual pleasure uses it wrongly, for he reckons as good what is not good. When such a man has intercourse with a woman, he misuses her." and also "Passions impel us when, for example, we desire something beyond what is reasonable, such as....a woman who is not our wife or for a purpose other than procreation..." and also "Scripture does not forbid anything which God has given us for our use; but it condemns immoderation and thoughtless behavior. For instance, it does not forbid us to eat, or to beget children, or to possess material things and to administer them properly. But it does forbid us to be gluttonous, to fornicate and so on. It does not forbid us to think of these things - they were made to be thought of - but it forbids us to think of them with passions."

St. Justin the Martyr: "But either we marry, in the first place, in order to raise children, or, refusing to marry, we live in continence for the rest of our lives."

St. Synglitiki: "For those who live in modesty he gave marriage for the purpose of childbearing."

St. Athanatius the Great: "Fortunate is he who having married freely at a young age has used marital relations for childbearing. But if he has used it for debauchery then the punishment that the Apostle had talked about for fornicators and adulterers awaits him."

Also, in regard to the this statement of David's: "and he was adamant that no saint ever had a sexual life." To this I would humbly like to say only a few things. I have read many lives of the saints, married, monastic, martyred, etc. and have never read any married saints stories where it was hailed that they had a sexual life. Not one. In fact, I have read the opposite: that they were hailed for their virginity. I would like to include a small list of some of the married saints who decided to live in virginity, in order to follow the admonition of St. Paul (which I have listed earlier.) St. Melania begged her husband to live as brother and sister. He did not want to and in obedience to him she did not refuse. However, after her children died, she became so ill and her husband went to the church to pray for her health. She sent a message to him there saying that she would become well if he agreed to live in virginity. He agreed, she recovered and they dedicated their lives to prayer and fasting and almsgiving. St. Julian persuaded his wife Basilissa that they should live an ascetic and virginal life. When sick and near death, St. Xenophon says this to his children: "I have never desired the beauty of any other woman than your mother, who after your birth agreed with me to embrace virginity for Christ's sake." His wife's name was Maria and they had two children. St. Symeon the Myrrhgusher and his wife separated to become monastics. Sts. Marcian and Pulcheria preserved voluntarily virginity in their marriage. St. Gorgonia is praised at her funeral by her brother St. Gregory the Theologian in this way: "Although she was married, she succeeded in surpassing all of the women of her own day in wise prudence, thereby joining marriage with virginity." St. Conan agreed to live in virginity with his wife, Anna, who was persuaded through a vision of the Archangel Michael that they should live a virginal life. St. Laurence of Megara became the abbot of a monastery after a vision of the Theotokos and tonsured his wife and one of his sons. St. Theophanes the Confessor of Sigriane lived in virginity with his wife for eight years until they agreed to leave one another and become monastics. The holy martyrs Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria lived as brother and sister rather than as man and wife. St. John Vladimir and his wife agreed to live in virginity. Sts Basil the Elder and Emmilia lived in virginity after the birth of their 9 children. St. Etheldreda was blessed to live in virginity by her husband the King of Northumbria after pleading with him to live as brother and sister. St. Olympias the Deaconess died a virgin though she had been married. St. Dalmatus and his wife agreed to pursue monasticism while married. St. Cuthberga the Queen lived in a virginal marriage with her husband King Alfred. St. Ammon the Egyptian and his wife lived in virginity for the love of Christ. Sts. Andronicus and Athaniasia lived in virginity and then departed from each other to live as monastics. St. Theosevius of Arsinoe lived in virginity with his wife. Sts. Galaction and Episteme agreed to live in virginity immediately after marriage. Sts. Valerian and Cecilia lived as brother and sister in their marriage and were later martyred. St. Kyril Phileotes agreed with his wife to live in virginity and prayer and fasting after their two children were born. St. John of Kronstadt convinced his wife to live in virginity from their wedding night. St. Joseph the betrothed, of course, lived in virginity with the Most Holy Theotokos. This is not unlike many other married saint stories. I must say that if one really wants to see how to live, married or monastic, we must look at the life of Christ and His holy mother. Every aspect of Christ's life is meant for us to imitate. Surely, no one can argue with that. Everything He did was for our benefit. He lived as a virgin as did His most holy mother.

It is evident by the way married saints chose to live in virginity that it was not just necessary for the monastics to do so. St. Basil the Great says this (taken from his Ascetical Works): "Does it not seem to you, then, that the Gospel applies to married persons also? Surely, it has been made clear that obedience to the Gospel is required of all of us, both married and celibate."

St. Basil goes on to say this: "Do not relax your efforts, therefore, you who have chosen the companionship of a wife, as if you were at liberty to embrace worldliness. Indeed, you have a need of greater labors and vigilance for the gaining of your salvation, inasmuch as you have elected to dwell in the midst of the toils and in the very stronghold of rebellious powers, and night and day all your senses are impelled toward desire of the allurements to sin which are before your eyes."

St. Theognostos writes this (also taken from the Philokalia): "Watch out for any unnecessary demands coming from the body and ignore them, lest they should lead you to relax your efforts before you have attained dispassion. Regard as loss, not the privation of sensual pleasure, but the failure to attain higher things as a result of having indulged in such pleasure."

Here is a separate Canon that David posts on his web site. It seems to be placed there in reference to a certain monk, Fr. Theologos, as well as to certain letters found on the POKROV site, along with the POEM web site, whose acronym stands for Parents of Ephraim Monastics. A lot has been said regarding Fr. Theologos and that his parents, as well as other parents of monastic children who are under Geronda Ephraim, consider him there by force or trickery and would like to have him come home, at least to visit. Again, it is said that our Geronda Ephraim is a cult leader or guru who tells his monastics not to talk to their parents and won't allow them to visit their parents and other relatives and that this is not the Orthodox way and is not conducive to love. I have included the interpretation of the canon David posts along with a number of paragraphs straight from the Ladder of Divine Ascent, a book written expressly for monastics, and other quotes from the Holy Fathers of our church. Below is the canon David has on his site:

If, under the pretence of piety, any children shall forsake their parents, particularly [if the parents are] believers, and shall withhold becoming reverence from their parents, on the plea that they honour piety more than them, let them be anathema.
CANON XVI of the Council of Gangra

The interpretation, which anyone can read in the Rudder, says this: "If parents, however, who are infidels or heretics incite their children to unbelief and heresy, or, even though they are believers they nevertheless are preventing them or prohibiting them from living according to Christ and from being virtuous, and are inciting them to acts that are harmful to the soul and improper, then and in that case children ought to prefer godliness and virtue to carnal parents, which amounts to saying that they ought to leave them without hating them, and take their departure." And the footnote according to St. Nicodemos states this: "That is why divine Chrysostom says for parents not to forbid or prevent their children if they (i.e., the children) want to become monastics (that is what he says to a believing father on page 170 of the sixth volume, and he expatiates against those who endeavour to injure those parents who happen to have incited their children to a monastic life, and especially when the latter are capable of perfect discrimination of what is logical and reasonable, and, in addition to this, are also masters of their own conduct."

Canon XLIII in the 102 Canons of the Holy and Ecumenical Sixth Council states this: "It is permissible for a Christian to choose the ascetic mode of life and abandoning the turbulent whirl of ordinary life to enter a Monastery, and to take a tonsure in accordance with monkish habit, even though he should have been found guilty of any offense whatsoever. For our Savior God said: "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). As therefore monachal life represents to us a state of repentance as though engraved upon a pillar, we join in sympathizing with anyone that genuinely adopts it, and no manner of means shall prevent him from accomplishing his aim."

The interpretation of this canon is as follows: "Hence the present Canon decrees that every Christian (who is under his own control, that is to say, and not under authority of another person) is permitted to renounce and abjure the world, and to go to a monastery and get tonsured, even though he may have committed the greatest sin, seeing that the Lord said, 'I won't chase away anyone that comes to me.' So, then, inasmuch as the life of monks is the picture of repentance, just as a pillar is a picture of what is engraved upon it, therefore and on this account we too are pleased to congratulate those persons who prefer it, and no cause shall prevent such persons from carrying out their avowed aim."

St. John Climacus, in the Ladder of Divine Ascent, on his chapter on exile or pilgrimage says much regarding a man who leaves the world in order to become a monastic. Each of these is taken from Step 3.

#12: "It is better to grieve our parents than the Lord. For He has created and saved us, but they have often ruined their loved ones and delivered them up to their doom."

#14: "It is not from hatred that we separate ourselves from our own people or places (God forbid!), but to avoid the harm which might come to us from them. In this, as in everything else, it is Christ who teaches us what is good for us. For it is clear that He often left His parents according to the flesh. And when He was told, 'Thy Mother and Thy brethren are seeking for Thee,' our good Lord and Master at once showed us an example of dispassionate hatred when He said "My mother and My brethren are they who do the will of My Father who is in Heaven."

#16: "Longing for God extinguishes longing for our parents. And so anyone who says he has both is deceiving himself. He should listen to Him who says, 'No one can serve two lords.' 'I have not come,' says the Lord, 'to bring peace on earth (that is, love of parents for sons, and love of brothers for brothers who have resolved to serve Me), but war and a sword' in order to separate lovers of God from lovers of the world, the lovers of material things from lovers of spiritual things, the lovers of fame from the humble-minded. For strife and separation delight the Lord when they spring from love for Himself.

#17: "Look, beware, lest you who cherish attachment to kinsmen be exposed to the all-engulfing deluge, and you be swept away by the cataclysm of love for the world. Do not be moved by the tears of parents or friends; otherwise you will be weeping eternally. When they surround you like bees, or rather wasps, and shed tears over you, do not for one moment hesitate, but sternly fix the eye of your soul on your past actions and your death, that you may ward off one sorrow by another. Our own, or more correctly, those who are not our own, flatteringly promise to do everything to please us. But their aim is to hinder our splendid course, and then in this way drag us to their own goal."

#20: "No one has surrendered himself to exile to such an extent as that great man (Abraham) who heard: 'Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father.' And then he was called into a barbarous land that spake another tongue.

#23: "Attachment either to some particular relative or to strangers is dangerous. Little by little it can entice us back to the world, and completely quench the fire of our compunction. It is impossible to look at the sky with one eye and at the earth with the other, and it is equally impossible for anyone not to expose his soul to danger who has not separated himself completely, both in thought and body, from his own relatives and from others."

#24: "By much labour and effort a good and stable character is developed in us. But what can be achieved with great labour can be lost in a single moment, for 'Evil conversation corrupteth good habits,' being at once worldly and disorderly. The man who associates with people of the world or approaches them after his renunciation will certainly either fall into their traps or will defile his heart by thinking about them; or if he is not defiled himself, yet by condemning those who are defiled, he himself will be defiled."

St. Basil (from his Ascetical Works): "Even in the beginning of your renunciation of the world show yourself a man, and, that you may not be dragged down by attachments to your blood relatives, strengthen yourself by exchanging mortal for immortal aspirations."

Again St. Basil: "Above all, we renounce the Devil and carnal affections, in having given up the things of our secret shame, ties of physical relationship, human friendships, and a mode of life that is inimical to the perfection of the Gospel of salvation...[s]uch a one, moreover, regards as his true parents those who have brought him forth by the Gospel and looks upon as his brethren those who have received the same spirit of adoption..."

Again St. Basil: "Thus, a man who is strongly seized with the desire of following Christ can no longer by concerned with anything pertaining to this life, not even with the love of parents or other relatives..."

St. Basil, from his Ascetical Discourses (the short rules) states: "We should not seek to converse with our relatives or to care about their personal business. Truly, our true Father is first the Father of all, and second, the Abbot of the spiritual brotherhood. For the monastic has died to the world and for all that is in the world, whether it is parents, siblings, or relatives."

St. Basil (from the same): "We should totally rid ourselves of the thoughts and the concerns of relatives...[because] he who has become a member of the spiritual brotherhood cannot after that separate from them because he's bound to that brotherhood with the spiritual cohabitation which is indissolvable and eternal."

St. Gregory Palamas also says this: "But let us also, especially the monks, flee from association and life with the swine in the wilds." And he goes on to say: "What is the use of your fleeing the world once and for all and seeking out the institutes of God as your refuge and then going out of them, back and forth into the world every day? How, tell me, when you go around in the market places will you escape the fomentings of passions through which comes the death of the soul that separates man from God?"

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic and Bishop of Edessa (Volume 2 of the Philokalia) - #52: "Since you are a friend of Christ, let me give you this further piece of advice. You must aspire to live in exile, free from the conditions and ways of your own country. Do not be caught up by anxiety for your parents or by ties of affection to your relatives. Do not stay in a town but persevere in the wilderness, saying like the prophet: 'Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness'." And #54: "If you are a friend of Christ you should have as friends persons who are of benefit to you and contribute to your way of life. Let your friends be men of peace, spiritual brethren, holy fathers. It is of such that our Lord was speaking when He said: 'My mother and brethren are those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven'."

And the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospels: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." And again: "Whoever does not hate his father and mother and wife and children, yea, and his own life, also, he cannot be my disciple."

And finally St. Paul: "We ought to obey God rather than men."

Another of David's quotes: "Fr. Paisios didn’t really push it directly, but reiterated to me constantly that the goal of this life was to become a saint."

This statement seems to be reason enough to question all the other things David says. His implication is that this is not the case, to become a saint, that is. What Orthodox Christian would believe that our life is meant for anything else? St. Isaac the Syrian says plainly: "This life has been given to you for repentance. Do not waste it in vain pursuits." What are we here for if not to repent and offer a place for Christ to dwell within us? A holy place, that is: a heart purified of the passions and made dispassionate through the remembrance of God through prayer. That is what the saints did and what God requires of each of us. This is in no way some strange teaching of Geronda Paisios but the bottom line for us as Orthodox Christians.

As for this comment by David Smith, referring to this quote by Fr. John Whiteford: "In a monastic context, a monk is obliged to be obedient" and David's reply: "So you would think, but not on Mount Athos and not traditionally. On Mt. Athos, and thus St. Anthony's, it has its monks under what is called 'voluntary obedience.' They don't have to do anything they don't want to, especially if it doesn't make sense."

This is not true. The monks at St. Anthony's have placed themselves under Geronda Ephraim, a holy elder, and are under 100 percent obedience to him. This is true for monks on Mount Athos as well. They do not possess wills of their own. They abandon their wills when they place themselves under obedience to their holy elder. And this placing of themselves under the Elder is what is voluntary. True obedience and its meaning are found in many of the writings of the Holy Fathers and this is the obedience that the monks of St. Anthony's adhere to.

This section is also here to contradict the "dangerous quotes" section from David's web page, where he lists quotes from Elder Ephraim's book on obedience. Here are two of the quotes that David says are "dangerous" : “Do not contradict the Elder; reflect that he represents the divine will.” (Counsels from the Holy Mountain, page 105) and “Never examine what your Elder does or why he does this or that. Do not judge him, for you will become an antichrist! Never in your life tolerate others who speak against your Elder, but oppose them immediately; shield him; defend him. Christ makes straight the “crookedness” of the Elder's human shortcomings and mistakes, on account of uncritical and guileless obedience.” (Counsels from the Holy Mountain, page 139). David goes on to say: "That's another reason why the disciple of the Geronda, lay or monastic, has to "voluntarily" submit. If they don't, they're contradicting God Almighty (Papacy, anyone?)" The most holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church say very plainly what true obedience is when you are a monastic. I have included many of their illumined sayings.

St. John Climacus says a lot on monastic obedience in Step number 4:

#3: "Obedience is absolute renunciation of our own life, clearly expressed in our bodily actions. Or, conversely, obedience is the mortification of the limbs while the mind remains alive. Obedience is unquestioning movement, voluntary death, a life free of curiosity, carefree danger, unprepared defence before God, fearlessness of death, a safe voyage, a sleeper's progress. Obedience is the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility. A corpse does not argue or reason as to what is good or what seems to be bad. For he who has devoutly put the soul of the novice to death will answer for everything. Obedience is an abandonment of discernment in a wealth of discernment."

#5: "You who have decided to strip for the arena of this spiritual confession, you who wish to take on your neck the yoke of Christ, you who are therefore trying to lay your own burden on another's shoulders, you who are hastening to sign a pledge that you are voluntarily surrendering yourself to slavery, and in return want freedom written to your account, you who are being supported by the hands of others as you swim across this great sea - you should know that you have decided to travel by a short but rough way from which there is only one erring path, and it is called self-rule. But he who has renounced this entirely, even in things that seem to be good and spiritual and pleasing to God, has reached the end before setting out on his journey. For obedience is distrust of oneself in everything, however good it may be, right to the end of one's life."

#9: "He who submits himself, passed sentence on himself. If his obedience for the Lord's sake is perfect, even if it does not seem perfect, he will escape judgment. But if he does his own will in some things, then although he considers himself obedient, he lays the burden on his own shoulders. It is good if the superior does not cease reproving him; but if he is silent, then I do not know what to say. Those who submit themselves in the Lord in simplicity run the good race without provoking the cunning of the demons against themselves by their exacting investigations."

St. Basil the Great, from his Ascetical Works says this about obedience: "If, then, with the grace of God, you find a teacher of good works (for if you really seek, you will find) keep a watch over yourself so as to do nothing against his will; for whatever is done without his consent is, as it were, a piece of thievery and a sacrilege leading not to your profit but to your ruin, however good it may seem to you."

And again St. Basil the Great in reference to sisters in a monastery: "She should not dispute the orders given her (for such a practice becomes habitual and leads to rebellion), but as we receive the commands of the Lord without question, knowing that all of the Scripture is divinely inspired and of benefit to us, so also the members of the sisterhood should accept without distinction the commands of the superior."

Again St. Basil: "Consequently, when a superior has been chosen, all private volition will give place and all, without exception, will follow the example of their head in obedience to the apostolic precept bidding every soul to be subject to higher powers and warning that 'they that resist purchase to themselves damnation.' True and perfect obedience of subjects to their superior is shown not only by their refraining from every untoward action in accordance with his advice, but also by their not doing even what is approved without his consent."

St. Basil, from Ascetical Discourses (the short rules) says this on obedience: "If those who govern the world have received their authority through civil law and we have to be obedient to them, how much more obedience does the ascetic have to show to him who has received his authority from God and from His laws. And how is it not possible to go against the commandments of God when one opposes the abbot. For the abbot is none other than the one who holds the place of the Savior and intercedes between God and man and he offers to God the salvation of those obedient to him (i.e. his monks)."

St. Symeon the New Theologian, taken from the Discourses, Chapter 20, paragraph 2 titled The guidance of a Spiritual Father: "So brother do as we have said and go to the man whom God chose you, either mystically in person or externally through his servant. you should look on him and speak to him as to Christ Himself and so revere him and be taught by him what is profitable."

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic and Bishop of Edessa (Volume 2 of the Philokalia) - #41: "The struggle to achieve obedience is won by means of renunciation, as we have learned." And #42: "Do not judge the actions of your spiritual father, but obey his commands. For the demons are in the habit of showing you his defects, so that your ears may be deaf to what he tells you. They aim either to drive you from the arena as a feeble and cowardly fighter, or simply to terrify you with thoughts that undermine your faith, and so to make you sluggish about every form of virtue." And #43: "A monk who disobeys the commands of his spiritual father transgresses the special vows of his profession. But he who has embraced obedience and slain his own will with the sword of humility has indeed fulfilled the promise that he made to Christ in the presence of many witnesses." And #44: "From our own observations we have clearly perceived that the enemies of our life, the demons, are exceedingly jealous of those pursuing the ascetic way under obedience to a spiritual father. Gnashing their teeth at them and devising all sorts of schemes, they do and suggest everything possible so as to separate a monk from his spiritual father's care. They propose plausible excuses, they contrive irritations, they arouse hatred against the father, they represent his admonitions and rebukes, they make his words of correction seem like sharpened arrows. Why, they ask, since you are free, have you become a slave - a slave to a merciless master? How long will you wear yourself out under the yoke of servitude and not see the light of freedom? Then they make suggestions about giving hospitatlity, visiting the sick and caring for the poor. Next they extol above measure the rewards of extreme stillness and solitude, and sow all sorts of evil weeds in the heart of the devout warrior, simply to cast him out of the fold of his spiritual father; and having unmoored him from the untroubled haven they drive him out to sea, into the fierce and soul-destroying tempest. Finally, when they have enslaved him to their own authority, they use him according to their own evil desires." And #45: "You who are under obedience to a spiritual father must be alert to the cunning of your enemies and adversaries. Do not forget your profession and promise to God...nstead, rooting in your heart the Lord's words, 'He who endures to the end will be saved'."


David says this about self-flagellation: "I was taught to flagellate myself with electrical cord when I had sinful thoughts and that this was normal behavior that Saints indulged in...I was told that to drive away sinful thoughts I should get an electrical cord, make a whip out of it, and lash myself on the legs with it...This teaching can also be found in “Elder” Ephraim’s book “Counsels from the Holy Mountain."

It seems necessary here to point out that the use of self-flagellation is certainly not just found in Elder Ephraim's book. Countless saints have used various forms of self mortification. I have included a few examples below:

St. Nephon did this very thing, and specifically used it to war against carnal temptations. "...he dreamed that he had fallen into a shameful act. He flew out of bed then...and shouted to himself: "Woe to you, Nephon, who sleep too much! What happens now?...Now you will taste bitter affliction, instead of pleasure!" And immediately grabbing a long stick, he hit his feet so terribly, that they were black and blue for a long time." (St. Nephon, an Ascetic Bishop, p. 9) As for David Smith saying "I kept this practice for a while, but it never worked..." St. Nephon struggled with carnal temptations and would strike himself in this manner for 14 years. Certainly then it is not something that happens overnight.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast did this as well and battled carnal temptations for 8 years. The Orthodox Church is on the cusp of ordaining him a saint.

St. Basil the Great says "Now, continency and all corporal suffering (self-flagellation) are of some value, but if a man following his private caprice do what is pleasing to himself and heed not the advice of his superior, his fault will be greater than the good it does; 'for he that resisteth authority, resisteth the ordinance of God."

St. Theophano the Empress, who lived during the 8th century and is commemorated on December 16th wore a hairshirt beneath her clothing.

St. Theodosius the Great wore a thick hairshirt underneath his clothing and underneath the hairshirt he wore chains wrapped tightly around his body.

St. Kyril Phileotes (who was married) would strike himself with a rope or a stick when he was troubled by passionate thoughts, desire, or anger.

St. Symeon the Stylite tied ropes so tightly around his flesh, underneath his clothing, that it cut into his flesh and the wounds festered with maggouts. He did this to fight against his flesh.

St. Martinianos, who is commemorated on February 13th lived as a desert dweller and a woman came to him with the purpose of tempting him into intercourse. She had the thought that if she came there attempting to seduce him she could get him to sin with her. So she dressed herself as a poor woman and came to the desert and when she approached him she asked him for shelter. He placed her within the hut where he lived while he went into a cave to pray. While he was praying, she took off her poor woman's clothing and put on makeup and beautiful bejeweled clothing and waited for him to return. When he returned, she attempted to seduce him. He gave himself over to thoughts and then ran outside of the hut, built a fire and walked through it. Then he did it again and it took more than 7 months for him to be healed from the wounds that were caused by the fire.

St. Leontios, Patriarch of Jerusalem, commemorated on May 14th "this saint made a belt with many nails through it because tears wouldn't come easily to him. Therefore, he would strike himself and it would cut into his flesh, deeply, so that he could have tears. At the end of his life and 4 days after his death, a fragrance came from his body. His body had been placed within two caskets, but fresh blood poured out from his body after 4 days and went through the caskets. From this we can conclude that even though he while he was alive, he was honored along with the martyrs because of his self-imposed martyrdom." (Taken from the Great Synaxarion)

An Anonymous Saint from the Gerontikon - a monk or a monastic from the Gerontikon, because he could not get himself to weep for his sins, would make a whip out of a rope and would beat himself so hard that he would weep from the pain. The brother who lived near him marveled at what this brother was doing and besought God to reveal to him whether the latter was doing right in tormenting himself. One night, he saw his brother wearing a crown and standing among the martyrs and someone came to him as he was dreaming: "Behold the good struggler who is tormenting himself for the sake of Christ, how he is crowned together with the martyrs." (Taken from Volume 3 of Evergetinos, p. 81)

There are numerous other saints who attempted to tame the flesh by means of flagellation, hair shirts, sleeping on bare floors, using bricks for pillows, allowing wounds to fester with maggots while standing on the foot infested, wearing chains beneath their clothing that both cut into their flesh and weighed down their bodies, etc. Countless numbers of saints did these things in order to gain the kingdom of heaven for "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." Therefore it is perfectly clear that this is not something invented by Elder Ephraim or Fr. Paisios, either.

That these things are debated make it obvious that the truth of our Orthodox Church needs to be emphatically stated. The monasteries are providing for us these truths in that they are living these truths themselves and telling them to us without alteration. The monasteries are like lighthouses on a stormy sea and without their help, we would surely shipwreck and drown. It seems that those who slander the monasteries and the elders therein, do not want the light.

in Christ,
+Michele Sparrow (this is my real name)

[Kollyvas]

Generally speaking, the common terminology for theosis has come to embody three general steps which are a guidepost, a skeleton if you will, but not a legal code. The first step is known as purification (katharsis in Greek), here is where through work and prayer (praxis, askesis) the heart begins to be cleansed and receptive of freely given grace and the intellect (nous) follows suit. Through conditioning of the soul like after the God-man, the scales of sin begin to be shed and we begin living in Christ as we use our free wills to elect to follow the way of grace. Through Baptism and Chrismation the grace of the Holy Spirit becomes active in our hearts and begins to sanctify us. Finally, we make the decision to empty ourselves and make our hearts temples of the Holy Spirit (kenosis), and here is where we reach (katharsis) purification and God lives in His temple (us) and guides us.

Yet there is still a divine darkness to penetrate, a further road to follow. Little by little through further askesis, especially life in the Mysteries, and contemplation of the Divine Uncreated Energies (deiania)*, we come to know and understand God as He is knowing and understanding us in His operations in our lives...which we see ever so more accutely. Our nous finally descends into our heart and we begin to see things as they truly are and contemplate them (theoria). In this we come to see the glory of God. (Photisis) illumination occurs, and there are times when the prayer ceases where reality is transfigured and we are at the heavenly banquet, accompanied by the Saints worshipping the Master as best we can perceive Him through His Divine Uncreated energies and His enhypostasized theandric nature. This is called ekstasis, ecstasy. Operative during this entire 3 fold process are the three loves eros, hunger for God, agape love in charity/selflessness, and philia love of ourselves and fellow man. Eros compels us further and further in perfection by famishing us for God and our hearts burn with purer and purer love. Our passions begin to be transformed into virtues. We are granted discretion (diakresis) for come to see things with the Patristic mind (phronema). Finally our hearts are purified. We attain unconditional love and dispassion (apatheia). It is here theosis begins to finally take shape, our bodies and souls approach more and more like after the ascended Prototypos. An enosis, union, of our natures is accomplished by the Ascended Lord in the Holy Spirit. Here we walk as friends with the Master, even bearing Him like after the Panaghia Theotokos within our hearts, and by this we have knowledge and in this knowledge of God-manhood (theanthropia) we come to true theology (theologeia) ever expanding in perfection the one perfect Pentecostal deposit of knowledge and grace by the Holy Spirit. As deified we eternally pursue perfection, making our likenesses more and more like His. Fr. Florovsky argues that theosis could even lead to an absence of physical death, for bodies by Justification effectuated by the Ascended Lord could indeed be cleansed of every sin, and without sin, there is no death...These are aspects of theosis (deification) I have meagre understanding of.

Forgive my pride, for I am not worthy of relating this.

*As a corrective "deiania" is noetic activity which does not necessarily include contemplation...

In the LOVE Of Christ,
Rostislav Mikhailovich Malleev-Pokrovsky

[Kollyvas]

http://www.pelagia.org/htm/b01.en.a_nig ... ain.05.htm

Discussion with the Gerondas on the Jesus Prayer

– Holy father, I started in a low voice, a desire has taken hold of me very strongly lately. I believe that God has planted it. I want to be purified. I can see the passions unfurling within me. I think my heart is a jungle which feeds many wild beasts the devil is its master and does whatever he wants. I want to be free from this awful state. I would like to give my soul completely to God, I would like him to illumine me. The cunning devil has devastated it long enough. So, I want to be purified but I do not know how. Can you hear me, Gerondas! I want to be purified! Show me the way! I am ready to take it and obey without question whatever you tell me.

... I had started in a low voice but ended up crying out and weeping. My last words may have been heard like thunder in the ears of the hermit. So loud were they! He kept silent for a while. He looked at me with much love; only monks have this sort of love and know how to show it. He gave me the impression that I should not be troubled about this concern, for it was blessed.

– It is obvious, he said, that the Holy Spirit exists and acts within us when we experience such a state. We begin walking the way of the theoria (vision) of God. It is the first stage of theoria. If the perfect theoria (vision) of the uncreated Light is "enraptured light" the soul, repentance and the awareness of our sinfulness is "fire consuming" the soul. Then, repentance and the desire for the purification of the soul from the passions constitutes the time of grace. Only when grace enters within us can we see our desolation how far we are from God and we fight to be united with him. We are not able to have these thoughts and these desires if the grace of God does not visit us.

He was a wise director, an experienced spiritual father indeed a man full of grace. He knows, like the best doctor, how to calm you down, to give you peace, to give you a pacifying medicine not in order to leave you contented with your selfishness but in order to deliver you from it, to cure you.

– Having clarified this point, he went on, I must also show you some methods or rather a very simple method. Do not expect me to burden you with very heavy things. The prayer of Jesus, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me" the unceasing cry to God, our Saviour purifies our soul. All our salvation rests upon the invocation of Jesus and union with him. Let us cry to him to come and He will cure us by his coming. Let us moan like a sick man and He like a doctor will come lovingly to our aid . Let us cry like the one who fell among thieves, and the good Samaritan will come to clean our wounds and guide us to the Inn, that is to the theoria (vision) of the Light which consumes all our being. When God comes into our heart, He gains victory over the devil and cleanses the impurities which the evil one has created. The victory, therefore, over the devil is the victory of Christ in us. Let us do the human part, that is to invite Christ, and He will do the divine part, He will gain victory over the devil and cut him off. So we should not want to do the divine part ourselves and expect God to do the human one. We should understand this well, we do the human part, the prayer of Jesus, and God the divine part, our salvation. The entire work of the Church is the collaboration of divine and human.

[ BACK ]

1. The significance of the Jesus Prayer

–If I have understood correctly, salvation is attained mostly through asceticism, watchfulness* and the Jesus prayer. Allow me however a question. I ask it not because I agree with it but because I hear many objections about the Jesus prayer.

They say that the "Jesus prayer" and the way it is practised is a Christian yoga and is connected with prototypes of Eastern religions. What do you have to say about this?

– It seems that those who say this are completely ignorant of the gracefilled state of our Church, since we obtain divine grace through the Jesus prayer. They have not experienced it, that is why they do not know it. Yet they should never accuse those who have experience. They blaspheme against the Holy Fathers as well. Many of the Fathers fought for the Jesus prayer, and they spoke strongly about its value. What then? Did they fall into error? Did St. Gregory Palamas fall into error? They are even ignorant of the Holy Bible. The blind men said the words: "Son of David have mercy on us", (Matt. 20. 30), which means "Jesus have mercy on us", and their sight was restored; the lepers said it and they were cured from their leprocy (Lk. 4. 27), etc. The prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me", consists of two basic points: The dogmatic one –acknowledgement of the Divinity of Christ– and the suppliant one –supplication for our salvation. In other words the confession of faith in Christ is connected with the confession of our inability to be saved of our own accord. This says everything, and the whole struggle of the Christian is based on these two points: Faith in Christ and awareness of our sinfulness. The "Jesus Prayer", therefore, expresses to the utmost the effort of the faithful in a few words and summarises all the dogmatic teaching of our Orthodox Church.

We acquire this twofold knowledge through the Jesus prayer. St. Maximos points out that the passion of pride consists of two ignorances: the ignorance of the divine power and the ignorance of human weakness. And this double ignorance creates a "confused mind". Proud, therefore, is the man of ignorance, whereas, on the contrary, humble is the man of dual knowledge. The latter knows his own weakness and the power of Christ. So, we acknowledge and confess the power of Christ (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God) as well as our own weakness (have mercy on me) through the Jesus prayer. We acquire in this way the blessed state of humility. Where there is humility there also, is the grace of Christ, and this grace is the Kingdom of Heaven. Can you see then the worth of the Jesus prayer? Can you see that we can obtain the Kingdom of God by its power?

– I know, Gerondas, that a prerequisite of the Orthodox teaching is never to separate Christ from the other persons of the most Holy Trinity. For this reason we often invoke and glorify fully the Holy Trinity in all the prayers which are said aloud by the priest as well as in the meditative endings of the prayers during the Divine Liturgy: "For unto Thee are due all glory, honour and worship, unto the Father and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Spirit now and forever. . . "; "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all", etc. I wonder whether the "Jesus prayer", which refers only to the second Person of the most Holy Trinity, deviates from this correct teaching.

–Definitely not, and I will explain it to you further. The "prayer" is called the "Jesus prayer" but is founded on a Trinitarian basis. Moreover, Christ, "being one of the Holy Trinity" , never exists without the Father and the Holy Spirit and constitute, together with the other Persons, "a Trinity of one substance and undivided". Christology is tightly connected with Triadology. Let me come back to the matter of the "Jesus prayer". The heavenly Father ordered Joseph through the angel to call Christ, Jesus: ". . .and you shall call his name Jesus..." (Matt. 1. 21) Joseph obeying the Father, called the Son of the Virgin, Jesus. Evenmore so according to the Holy Spirit which illumined the Apostle Paul, "no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12. 3). By saying, therefore, the prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me", we acknowledge the Father and are obedient to Him. Moreover we feel the energy of and the communion with the Holy Spirit. The Fathers illumined by the Holy Spirit, told us that the "Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, makes everything". The complete Holy Trinity created the world and made man; and again the entire Holy Trinity recreated man and the world. "The Father was well pleased, the Word became flesh". And He "became flesh" by the Holy Spirit. That is to say, the incarnation of Christ was made "by the good will of the Father and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit". For this reason we say that the salvation of man and the acquisition of divine gifts are common acts of the Holy Trinity. I will mention two characteristic teachings of the Holy Fathers.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian writes that the Son and Word of God is the door of salvation according to His declaration: "I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture". (John 10. 9). If Christ is the door, the Father is the house".In my Father's house are many rooms" (John 14. 2). So we enter into the Father through Christ. And in order to open the door (Christ) we need the key, which is the Holy Spirit. For we know the truth, which is Christ, through the energy of the Holy Spirit. The Father sent His Son to the world, the Son and Word of God reveals the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and is sent through the Son, forms Christ in our hearts! We know, therefore, the Father "through the Son in the Holy Spirit".

St. Maximos speaks often in his works about the mystical incarnations of the Word. He writes that, just as the words of the law and of the Prophets were the forerunners of the presence of the Word in the flesh, in the same way the Son and Word of God, being incarnate, became the forerunner of "his spiritual presence", "by instructing the souls through his own words so that they will be able to accept His divine presence". In other words Christ must be incarnate within us, because we shall not be able to see His glory in Heaven otherwise. The incarnation of Christ within us, however, is done by the good will of the Father and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. Can you see how the common action of the Holy Trinity is expressed, how we acknowledge and confess the great Mystery that the Lord revealed through His incarnation? He who then denies and does not acknowledge the Jesus prayer makes a big mistake. He denies the Holy Trinity. He does not obey the Father and does not accept the illumination of the Holy Spirit, therefore, he does not have real communion with Christ. So, he must be in doubt as to whether he is a Christian or not.

–I would also, Gerondas, like you to explain to me and expand more on what I was saying earlier, on the differences between the Jesus prayer and yoga, and for you to show me its superiority over the other eastern religions, since you offer great experience.

–The subject is very big, my son, and one could say many things about it. From what I said previously the following stand out:

Firstly: In the Jesus prayer faith in God, Who created the world and Who governs it and loves it, is expressed strongly. He is an affectionate Father who cares about saving His mortal creation. Salvation is attained "in God". For this reason when we pray we implore Him by saying: "Have mercy on me". Self-redemption and self-divinization are far from the athlete of noetic prayer,* because this is the sin of Adam, the sin of the Fall. He wanted to become God outside God's plan for him. Salvation is not attained "through ourselves and does not emanate from ourselves", as the human philosophical systems claim, but is attained "in God".

Secondly: We are not struggling to meet an impersonal God through the "Jesus prayer". We do not seek our elevation to "absolute nothingness". Our prayer focuses on the personal God, the Godman Jesus, for this reason we say "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God". Divine and human nature meet in Christ, in other words in the fullness of the divine Word and all of humanity the perfection of divinity dwells in him in the flesh". (Col. 2. 9) Therefore, anthropology and soteriology (teaching about man and his salvation) in Orthodox monasticism are closely connected with Christology. We love Christ and keep His commandments. We place great importance on this matter. We insist on the keeping of the commandments of Christ. He Himself said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". (John 14. 15) By loving Christ and by keeping his commandments we are united with the entire Holy Trinity.

Thirdly: We do not reach a state of pride through unceasing prayer. The philosophical systems you mentioned before are possessed by pride. We acquire the blessed state of humility through the Jesus prayer. We say "Have mercy on me", and we consider ourselves the worst of all. We despise none of our brothers. The athlete of the Jesus prayer is a stranger to every sort of pride. And whoever has pride is foolish.

Fourthly: Salvation, as we said before, is not an abstract notion but union with God, the Holy Trinity in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. This union, however, does not efface the human factor. We are not assimilated, since we are ourselves also persons.

Fifthly: As prayer develops we acquire the ability to discern error. We can see and distinguish the movements of the devil but at the same time the energies of Christ. We recognise the deceit of the devil who, many times, changes his form even into an angel of light. We distinguish, therefore, good from evil, the uncreated from the created.

Sixthly: The struggle for the "Jesus prayer" is connected with the cleansing of soul and body from the corrupting effect of passions. We do not aim at reaching Stoic apathy but we strive to attain the dynamic state of dispassion,* which means that we do not aim at the mortification of passions but at their transformation. Without dispassion one cannot love God and be saved, but because this love has been corrupted and distorted, we strive for its transformation. We fight to transform the distorted states that the devil created in us. We cannot be saved without this personal struggle which is achieved with the help of the grace of Christ. According to St. Maximos, "Spiritual Knowledge without practical life (purification of heart) is the theology of the demons".

Seventhly: We do not try to guide the nous noetic faculty to absolute nothingness through the "Jesus prayer", but to turn it to the heart and bring the grace of God into the soul, from where it will spread to the body also. "The kingdom of God is within us" (Lk. 17. 21). According to the teaching of our Church, it is our way of thinking, according to the flesh, which is bad and not our body. We must not try to get rid of "the garment of the soul", as the philosophical systems claim, but we must try to save it. Additionally, salvation means redemption of the whole of man (of the soul and the body). We do not aim, therefore, at the destruction of the body, but we fight the worship of it. Neither do we want the destruction of life. We do not aspire to reach a point where we do not desire life so that suffering ceases. We practise the Jesus prayer because we thirst for life and we want to live with God eternally.

Eighthly: We are not indifferent to the world around us. The various systems you mentioned before avoid facing people's problems, so that peace and impassibility can be maintained. We have in mind the opposite: we pray unceasingly for all. We are suppliants for the whole world. Moreover, salvation is union with Christ while we are in communion with other persons. We cannot be saved just by ourselves. A joy which is only ours, without being joy for other people as well, is not true joy.

Ninthly: We do not place great importance on psychosomatic techniques and on the various postures of the body. We consider some of them as assisting the concentration of the nous on the heart, i.e. which in essence do away with all of this. I repeat, we do not strive for impassibility, a negative state, but for the acquisition of divine grace...

– Thank you very much, Gerondas, for these illuminating thoughts. They have great importance because they come from you, who knows them from experience. Allow me a question. Is purification and salvation, that is divinization, attained only through the "Jesus prayer", Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me? Are other prayers not appropriate? Do they not help?

–Every prayer has enormous power. It is a cry of the soul. Divine help comes according to one's faith and fervour. There is liturgical prayer, individual prayer etc. The Jesus prayer, however, has boundless value, because, as St. Isaak the Syrian says, it is that small key with whose help we can enter into the mysteries which "no eye has seen, no ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived". That is, the Jesus prayer can keep the nous more in check and make it pray without ceasing; the nous, then, becomes "without colour", "without form", "without shape" and receives much grace in a very short period. The Jesus prayer calls forth a lot of grace, even more than psalmody does, because it is closely connected with humility and the awareness of our sin. This is what the Fathers tell us.

St. Gregory the Sinaite says, indeed, that psalmody is for practical* ones and the beginners, whereas the Jesus prayer is for those who have tasted divine grace for the hesychasts.

– Usually, my son, he went on, confusion comes with psalmody, but also selfishness and pride enters the heart for one's beautiful voice, for the impressions that the others express, whereas there are no external factors for the appearance of pride when the believer says "Lord have mercy on me", in his cell. For this reason the hesychasts practise more this sort of prayer which our Fathers taught us and do matins and vespers with the prayer rope, repeating the Jesus prayer.

– The Jesus prayer is quite limited, very short. How can the nous be fixed on it?

– The nous concentrates more on short phrases. But the Jesus prayer has an immense depth which cannot be seen externally. The nous has the property to increase love and desire for that which it concentrates on. St. Maximos says: "the nous seeks to expand on the things it is fixed on; it, then, turns, its love and desire to those things it expands on, either being divine and noetic or of the flesh and of passions". Moreover, the same thing happens with knowledge. Something that, at first glance, is simple can become a subject of length study and research. How much more the sweetest name of Jesus! You can study it all your life.

–Since the Jesus prayer possesses such power, allow me, Gerondas, to ask you how it is done. How can one enjoy it? I know that I may annoy you by being ignorant and... illiterate in these matters, but you can help me a lot if you tell me this.

– The Jesus prayer is the greatest science, my son. It cannot be described precisely nor can it be defined for fear of it being misunderstood or not being fully understood by those who have not had at least a little experience. It is indeed a great feat. I would even say that it is the highest form through which we acquire Theology* or rather the vision of God. Theology is the offspring and emanation of pure prayer, its wholesome and blessed fruit. The climate in which it develops and can be experienced is the quietude of the sweet desert in all its dynamic content as well as purification from passions.

–I have read, Gerondas, some books and articles referring to this work which is filled with grace, the work of noetic hesychia the unceasing calling on the name of Jesus. But I would like you, since you have shown me its significance, to share with me some thoughts about it out of your personal experience and the knowledge of the Fathers. I do not want to learn simply because of curiosity but because of my zeal to experience, as much as I can, this blessed state. Please do not refuse my wish.

[ BACK ]

1. The Stages of the Jesus prayer

–I referred to something before. Noetic prayer requires mainly renunciation of the world, submission to a Gerondas, a decision by the monk to remain in exile and to keep the commandments of Christ for a long period of time. In the beginning our attention concentrates on the fulfilling of the commandments of Christ and is occupied in practising abstinence and obedience. We know from the teaching of our Holy Fathers that virtues do not unite man with God perfectly, but they create the appropriate climate so that prayer comes which unites man with God–the Holy Trinity. Virtues are a prerequisite for the granting of much grace, yet they also offer grace. When, therefore, the Gerondas, who has the experience of the Jesus prayer, realises that his disciple's will has been cut off, and has been cleansed from the gross passions, only then does he decide to initiate him in the Jesus prayer. Even then, however, he does not tell him everything but only as much as he can endure and carry out. He guides him little by little in case he may be led into disappointment or error.

–What are these stages? Which are the mystical steps which bring us to perfect union with Christ and to the enjoyment of deifying grace?

–The basic purpose of the Jesus prayer is to unify the whole of man "who has become fragmented".

–Please, forgive me for the interruption. What does unification of the whole of man mean?

–Man, according to Scripture, has been created "after the image of God". (Col. 3. 10) God is Trinity, that is, one essence in three hypostases (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Thus the soul, being created in the image of God, is single as well as manifold. She has three powers: the appetitive power, the intelligent power and the irascible power. All three must be united and be directed to God. According to St. Maximos their development according to nature is for the intelligent power to have the knowledge of God, for the appetitive power to desire and love only God and for the irascible power to carry out the will of the Lord. In this way the commandment is fulfilled: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength". (Mk. 12. 30) When the nous remains in God, it raises the appetitive power to love Him and the irascible power to fight against the evil spirit and seek for purification. So, union exists because an impetus towards God exists. Well then! Sin tears up the union of the three powers of the soul. The nous comes to ignore God, the appetitive power loves the creatures and not the Creator and the irascible power is submitted to the tyranny of the passions. Thus, we have the complete enslavement of the soul. St. Gregory Palamas describes this state very well.

Firstly, the nous moves away from God and turns to other creations: "whenever we open a door to the passions, the nous is immediately scattered, wandering all the time over carnal and worldly things, over the manifold pleasures and the impassioned thoughts which go with them".

Secondly, the nous, fallen away from God, leads desire astray from God and His commandments: "when the nous rebels, desire is also scattered in fornication and foolishness".

Thirdly, the will is submitted to the passions and is tormented and becomes enraged: "man, who has been destined to be a child of God, becomes a murderer, becoming comparable not only to the wild beasts, but also to the reptiles and venomous animals, he becomes a scorpion, a snake, an offspring of vipers".

Therefore, the three powers of the soul depart from God but at the same time, they lose their unity with each other. The appetitive power wants to return to God but the irascible power does not allow it; desire wants the return but the nous, not believing in God, does not want to love God. We strive for this unity and attain it finally through the Jesus prayer. The return to God starts with the concentration of the nous. Our aim is to detach the nous from its attraction to surrounding objects and bring it back to itself so that the desire is brought back.

– I think you have presented it to me very vividly, and thus I have understood it.

–It is the Fathers that present these, not me, my son.

–After my interruption and your explanation, can you please tell me the stages of the prayer more analytically? Where does one start from and how does one progress?

–There are primarily five stages. Firstly: The reciting of the Jesus prayer vocally. We repeat the Jesus prayer with our lips while trying at the same time to focus our attention on the words of the prayer. Secondly: The nous takes the Jesus prayer and says it noetically. Our whole attention is centred again in the words, but is concentrated on the nous. When the nous gets tired then we start again to vocalize the prayer with the lips. This method, of course, or the use of the prayer rope is still the elementary level school of the Jesus prayer. A beginner should start however, from this stage, and when he reaches the more perfect, the imperfect one will then fade away. After the nous has rested, we start again to concentrate our attention there. St. Neilos advises: "Always remember God and your nous will become heaven". Thirdly: The Jesus prayer then descends into the heart.* Nous and heart are united. The attention now is centred in the heart and is immersed again into the words of the Jesus prayer, and primarily into the name of Jesus which has an imperceptible depth. Fourthly: The prayer now becomes automatic. It is done while the ascetic is working, eating, discussing or while he is in church or even while he is sleeping. "I sleep but by heart waketh" is said in the Holy Scripture. (Song of Songs 5. 2) Fifthly: Then one feels a divine soft flame burning within his soul and making it joyful. The grace of Christ lives in the heart. The Holy Trinity is established. "We become the dwelling place of God, when He lives within us, established in the memory. Thus, we become the temple of God when remembrance of Him is not disturbed by earthly cares, and the mind is not distracted by unexpected thoughts. Fleeing the latter, the friend of God withdraws into Him, chasing away the passions which invite intemperate thoughts, and occupying himself in a way which leads to virtue". (St. Basil the Great) Thus, he feels the divine presence within himself, and this grace passes through to his body which becomes dead to the world and is crucified. And this is the most extreme stage which is sometimes connected with the vision of the uncreated Light.* This is, virtually, the course of the development of the Jesus prayer. Each stage has a corresponding grace.

–Gerondas, allow me a few questions which arose while you were talking about the stages of the Jesus prayer. What do you mean by the word heart?

– According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the heart is the centre of the spiritual world. Among the many opinions of the Fathers on this subject I will mention a distinctive one of St. Epiphanios, Bishop of Konstantia of Cyprus: "For this reason, we need not in any way define or ascertain in what part of man the image of God rather is accomplished, but we need to confess that the image of God does exist in man, so that we will not despise the grace of God and disbelieve in Him. For whatever God says is true, although His word has to a certain extent, escaped our capacity to conceive it". Just as a beam when it falls upon a prism is refracted and shown from all sides, in the same way does the soul also express herself through the whole human being. When we say the Jesus prayer, however, we fix our attention on the physical organ, on the heart, so that we are distracted away from the outside world and bring it back again into ourselves, into the "deep heart". In this way the nous – the eye of the soul– returns to its home and is united there with the other powers.

– Allow me a second question. Do all who are enchanted by the enjoyment of God follow the course you have just described to me?

–Yes, most of them do. There are some however who, from the very beginning, seek to unite the nous with the heart by doing breathing exercises. They breathe in the words "Lord Jesus Christ" and exhale the words "have mercy on me". They follow the air as it comes into the nose all the way to the heart, and there they rest a little.

This, of course, is done to allow the nous to be fixed on the prayer. The Holy Fathers have also handed over to us another method. We breathe in saying all the words of the Jesus prayer and we breathe out saying them again. This method, however, requires maturity in spiritual development. But using this way of breathing can cause many difficulties, many problems; that is why it should be avoided, if there is no guidance from a spiritual father. It can be used, however, simply to fix the nous on the words of the prayer so that the nous is not distracted. I repeat, this needs a special blessing (permission) of a discerning father.

–You said before, Gerondas, that the aim of the Jesus prayer is to bring the nous back into the heart, that is the energy into the essence. We can experience this specifically at the third stage of this holy pathway. When, however, you recounted the fifth stage, you referred to a quotation of St. Basil the Great: "he who loves God having avoided all these, departs towards God". How does the nous come into the heart and depart towards God? Is this perhaps a contradiction?

– No it is not, the holy hermit answered. As the Holy and God–bearing Fathers teach, those who pray are at various stages. There are beginners as well as the advanced; as they are better called in the teachings of the Fathers, the practical and the theoretical ones. For the practical ones, prayer is born of fear of God and a firm hope in Him, whereas to the theoretical ones, prayer is begotten by a divinely intense longing for God and by total purification. The characteristic of the first state – that of the practical ones– is the concentration of the nous within the heart; when the nous prays to God without distraction. The characteristic of the second state of prayer –that of the theoretical ones– is the rapture of the nous by the divine Light, so that it is aware neither of the world nor of itself. This is the ravishment (ecstasy*) of the nous, and we say that, at this stage the nous "departs" to God. The God–bearing Fathers who experienced these blessed states describe the divine ravishment; "it is the rapture of the nous by the divine and infinite light, so that it is aware neither of itself nor of any other created thing, but only of Him Who through love, has activated such radiance in the nous". (St. Maximos)

– Allow me another question. I wasn’t able to understand the quotation you mentioned before: "I sleep, but my heart waketh". (Song of Songs 5. 2) Please do love for me.* Explain it to me. How is it possible that the heart continues to pray while man is sleeping?

–This passage is written in the book of the Old Testament which is called "Song of Songs". It is not difficult to explain. Prophet David says that man's heart is deep. All the events, all the impressions of the day and the occupations of the mind go into the depths of the heart, into what we call nowadays the subconscious. So, whatever man is occupied with during the day, the heart will be occupied with these same things at night, when the mind and the human energies rest. And this can be seen clearly in our dreams.

St. Basil says that "to a great extent, the phantasies of night (dreams) are an echo (reflection) of our daily thoughts". Evil occupations and thoughts of the day create evil dreams. The same also happens with good deeds. The ascetic or the man of God in general, thinks of God all day long through the Jesus prayer. The remembrance* of God by the repetition of the Jesus prayer, is his delight. He does everything, whether he eats or he drinks, for the glory of God according to the word of the Apostle. It is natural, therefore, that his heart thinks of God and prays even during the few hours of nightly rest. His heart is ever awake.

[ BACK ]

1. The Fruits of the Jesus Prayer

– I will mention to you some of the fruits of the Jesus prayer, since I can see you are very eager to learn. In the beginning the Jesus prayer is the bread which sustains the athlete, then it becomes oil which sweetens the heart and, in the end, it becomes wine which intoxicates man, that is, which creates ecstasy and union with God. To be more specific. The first gift which Christ gives to the man of prayer is the awareness of his sinfulness. He stops believing that he is "good" and considers himself "the desolating sacrilege... standing in the holy place" (Matt. 24. 15). Like the saw of a surgeon cutting through bone, the sharp word of the Spirit penetrates to the depths of the soul. There is so much impurity within us! Our soul reeks. Sometimes people come in my cell and they give a bad odor... from their inner filth. Well then, whatever was unknown before to the athlete, is now revealed to him through the Jesus prayer. As a result he considers himself below all people and thinks that Hell is his only eternal habitation and starts crying. He cries for his dead self. Is it possible for one to cry for the dead of his neighbour and not for the dead who is in his own house? In this way the athlete of the Jesus prayer, too, does not see the sins of others, but only his own death. His eyes become fountains of tears which flow from the affliction of his heart. He weeps like a condemned person, and at the same time he cries, "have mercy on me". "Have mercy on me". "Have mercy on me". With these tears, as we said above, the purification of soul and nous begins. As water cleanses dirty things, as the falling rain clears the sky of clouds and the earth from filth, likewise tears cleanse and whiten the soul. The tears are the water of the second baptism. Thus the Jesus prayer brings the sweetest fruit of purification.

– Is man completely purified when divine grace visits him?

– He is not purified completely, but is always seeking purity of heart for purification is a never ending effort. St. John Climacos reports this saying which he had heard from a monk, who had achieved dispassion. "The perfect but still unfinished perfection of the perfect". The more one weeps the more one is purified; the more one sees the deeper layers of sin the more he feels the need to weep again. St. Symeon the New Theologian elucidates this point well:

These by frequent prayer, by unutterable words
by the flow of their tears purifying their souls.
As they see their soul purified, they are set on fire with love, the fire of desire,
to see it perfectly pure.
But as they are powerless to find perfection of light the process is incomplete.
The more I am purified I, the sinner, am illumined,
the more He appears, the spirit who gives purity.
Each day, it seems I begin again to be made pure, to see.
In a fathomless abyss, in a measureless heaven,
who can find a middle or an end?

As you understand, my father, man is being continuously perfected and cleansed. The passive aspect of the soul is first cleansed and then the intelligent power of the soul. The faithful are initially delivered from the passions of the flesh; then –through harder prayer and more intensive struggle, from the passions of hatred, anger and rancour. When man manages to be freed from anger and rancour, it is obvious that the passive aspect of his soul has almost been purified. Then the entire warfare is carried out in the intelligent aspect, and the athlete wars against pride, vainglory and against all vain thoughts. This warfare will follow him to the end of his life. But all this course of purification takes place with the help and energy of grace, so that the faithful becomes a vessel receptive of rich divine grace. Again St. Symeon writes:

For man cannot overcome his passions
unless the light comes to our help.
Even so, it does not happen all at once.
Man by nature cannot receive all of a sudden, the spirit of God.
But much must be achieved, all of which is in his power.
Detachment of soul, despoiling of goods, separation from his own,
giving up his will, renouncing the world,
patience in temptations, prayer, sorrow,
poverty, humility, dispassion.

–And how does one understand that his soul is beginning to be purified?

–This is easy, the wise hermit answered. It becomes perceptible very soon. Hesychios the Elder uses a nice image. As the poisonous food which enters the stomach and causes disturbance and pain, comes out when we take medicine, and the stomach is relieved afterwards and feels the relief, the same happens with spiritual life. When man accepts evil thoughts and subsequently, experiences their bitterness and their heaviness, he "vomits easily and casts the evil thoughts out completely" through the Jesus prayer, attaining the sense therefore that purification is taking place. Moreover, the man of prayer becomes aware of purification, because the internal wounds that the passions cause cease bleeding. In the Gospel of the Evangelist Luke we read about the woman who had a flow of blood that: "she... came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased" (Lk. 8. 44). When one approaches Jesus Christ, he is immediately healed –"the flow of blood ceases": the blood of passions ceases to flow. I wish to say that images, circumstances, persons who used to scandalize us cease to now. In other words, when various persons or things disturb us, it is obvious that we are wounded by the attacks of the devil. It is within us that the scandal lies. Being purified through the help of the Jesus prayer, he sees all people and all things as creatures of God. He considers, especially human persons, as images of a God Who is full of love. Whoever, therefore, is dressed with the grace of Christ also sees the others dressed with such grace, even if they are naked. Whereas he who is destitude of divine grace, sees even those who are dressed as if they were naked! I would like at this point to read from the homilies of St. Symeon the New Theologian again.

–He is a Theologian, indeed. I read a few of his works and I was touched by them!

– I exhort you to read all his works because you will be able, in this way, to acquire a taste of mystical theology, of the apophatic way of ascetic experience. Well, the God–seeing father says:

The holy, pious Symeon the Studite
was not ashamed of seeing the body parts of any person
or of seeing naked people, neither was he ashamed of being seen naked;
for Christ was fully within him; the whole of him was Christ
and all of his members and everyone else's members
whether seen separately or all together he would always see as Christ;
and he would remain unmoved, unharmed and dispassioned,
for he was all Christ himself and saw all those
baptised as having put on Christ.
And if you are naked and being flesh, you touch flesh
and you become excited as a donkey or a horse,
how then do you dare calumniate the holy man
and you blaspheme against Christ who has been united with
us and has given dispassion to his holy servants?".

–As you can see, he went on, the dispassionate man, the one purified through the Jesus prayer, does not fall into temptation, whatever he might see. At the same time the devil is defeated; this is a fruit of the Jesus prayer. The athlete of the Jesus prayer recognises the enemy and his traps and easily casts him out of his soul. He also realises the devil's preparation for war and takes action just in time. He sees the arrows of the devil aimed at his soul, and before they even touch it, they are destroyed. St. Diadochos says that when the arrows reach the surface part of the heart, they are destroyed there, because the grace of Christ is within. Furthermore, as we were saying before, the integration of the complete person is achieved. Mind, desire and will are united and combined in God.

– Purification and dispassion are great gifts!!! I exclaimed.

–Yes, indeed, dispassion is a gift of grace. Dispassion presupposes purification and love and even more it covers love. St. Symeon can help us even at this point. He uses an effective image. On a cloudless night we see the moon in the sky filled with the most pure light and many times a shining circle around it. This is how St. Symeon adjusts this image to the purified and dispassioned man. The bodies of the Saints are the sky. Their God–bearing heart is like the moon. Holy love is the "almighty and all–accomplishing light", which fills the heart each day, according to its degree of purification, and then a time comes when the heart is full of this bright light and becomes like a full–moon. But this light does not diminish, as the moon’s light does, because it is preserved with good works. "It remains always bright through the zeal and the good works of the Saints". Dispassion is the circle which surrounds the all–shining heart, covers it, and maintains it invulnerable from the furious assaults of the devil. "It shields it from every side and guards it and maintains it invincible from every evil thought and establishes it unharmed and free from all enemies; not only this but also it makes it unapproachable by the adversaries".

Although dispassion is absolutely necessary, it is not the final gift of the Jesus prayer and the acquisition of everything. From then on the ascent to God starts. The Holy Fathers describe this spiritual ascent to divinization in three words: Purification, illumination, perfection. I'll mention to you two examples from the Holy Scripture to make it more comprehensible: the ascent of Moses on Mount Sinai to obtain the "Law" and the march of the people of Israel to the promised land. The first is described by St. Gregory of Nyssa and the second by St. Maximos.

–The Fathers always inspire me. They interpret the word of God correctly, that is why I like to hear the interpretations of the Fathers.

–The Hebrews washed their garments first and cleansed themselves according to the commandment of God: "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready by the third day". Then on the third day, all the people heard voices and "a very loud trumpet blast" and saw thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. "And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke". The people walked to the foot of the mountain; only Moses went into the shining cloud and reached the top of the mountain, where he received the tablets of the Law (Ex. 19. 10–18). St. Gregory of Nyssa understands that the way to divine knowledge is purity of body and soul. He who is going to ascend must be, as far as it is possible, pure and spotless, both in body and soul. He must also, according to the divine commandment, wash his garments –not so much the material ones, because they do not become an obstacle for those who want to be deified– but rather the deeds of this life which enwrap us like a garment. He must also distance himself from the "irrational beasts", e.g. he must overcome every knowledge which is obtained through the senses. He must be cleansed from every aesthetic and irrational action he must purify his mind and be separated even from his own familiar companion –his sense– and being prepared in this way, let him dare to approach the mountain with the thick cloud upon it. Yet, since the mountain is inaccessible to the people, let only Moses –that is he who has been called by God ascend– proceed. Therefore, father, as it is seen here, purification precedes and the ascent to divine vision follows. The greater gifts, then, are obtained after purification, which is a prerequisite for their acquisition.

Let me remind you, the God–seeing ascetic continued, of the second example. St. Maximos the Confessor writes that there are three stages for the mystical ascent to God: practical philosophy which is both negative (purification from passions) and positive (acquisition of virtues); the natural theoria–vision when the purified nous contemplates all creation (that is the inner essences of created beings) comprehends the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, and sees God in nature and prays to Him. Then the third and last stage follows: the mystical theology, which unites God with the militant, the faithful one. These three stages can be seen clearly in the route of the people of Israel. They were first liberated from the slavery of Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea where Egyptian power was defeated. Then they came to the wilderness, where they received the gifts of divine love manifested in various ways (the manna, the water, the bright cloud, the Law, the victory against enemies), and they entered the promised land after many years of struggle. In the same way, the athlete of the "Jesus prayer" is first delivered from the slavery of passions (practical philosophy), he enters then the desert of dispassion (natural theoria–vision), where he receives the gifts of the love of God. And finally, he becomes worthy of the promised land (mystical theology) after a heroic struggle; he becomes worthy of perfect union with God and the enjoyment of eternity, which is experienced in the vision of the uncreated Light. These three stages, however, are not clearcut, according to the God–bearing Fathers. When we reach natural theoria–vision and mystical theology, it does not mean that we give up ascesis and compunction of the heart, i.e. practical philosophy. Rather the more a person progresses spiritually, the more he struggles so that he will not lose the mercy that he received. The Fathers advise us that when we become worthy of divine and lofty visions, we should then be more diligent in our expression of love and continence, "so that by keeping undisturbed the passive aspect of the soul, you will experience the unfailing light of the soul". It is necessary that man should always proceed on his spiritual path in fear. In the beginning, he should have the fear of Hell, of punishment (preliminary fear) and then the fear, lest he loses grace and falls from it (perfect fear). "Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling", the Apostle Paul says (Phil. 2. 12).

– Tell me now, Gerondas, what are the gifts that the athlete of the "Jesus prayer" receives after purification and before he enjoys perfect union with God? Go on describing to me the other fruits of the Jesus prayer.

–The monk who does violence to himself feels divine consolation. He feels the presence of Christ, which spreads "sweet calmness", unperturbed peace, profound humility, and insatiable love for all. The consolation of divine presence cannot be compared with anything human. I met an ascetic who became seriously ill and went to the hospital for treatment. The best of doctors were by his side as they respected him and wanted to comfort him. He recovered, of course, thanked the doctors and returned to his little cell. After a brief period of time, however, he experienced a relapse which the brothers did not realise, because he was isolated. He suffered much, yet he was feeling such comfort from God, which could not be compared with the sincere and loving care of the doctors or with the efficacious action of the medications. The rest he felt was without precedent. That is why some hermits (this is incomprehensible to those of the world) avoid diligently human consolation in order to feel the intoxicating sweetness and the insatiable joy of divine consolation...

–That is a wonderful fruit of noetic prayer, I said. Go on, father.

–Man acquires grace in the sufferings that his fellow–men cause him. He flies to the azure and glorious sky of spiritual life, where the arrows of men of the world cannot reach him. Not only is he not afflicted, but neither does he not notice them. As an aeroplane cannot be brought down nor hit when stones are thrown at it the same happens with such a man. There is no grief because of slander, persecution, contempt, accusation etc., but there is only grief for the fall of a brother. But even if he grieves for something, he knows the way to cast it out. Such an example is told in the "Sayings of the Desert Fathers": "An old man who came to see Abba Achiles found him spitting blood out of his mouth. He asked him, "What is the matter, Father?" The old man answered, "The word of a brother grieved me, I struggled not to tell him so and I prayed God to rid me of this word. So it became like blood in my mouth and I have spat it out. Now I am in peace, having forgotten the matter"9.

–This means, indeed, perfect love for the brother, which forgives everything. He does not even want to recall them. We are already reaching perfection!

–Certainly. And this is achieved through the Jesus prayer. This love is the result of the experience of the unity of all mankind. And this is a wonderful fruit of the Jesus prayer. Not only man himself is integrated, but also the unity of mankind is felt.

You know, father, the hermit continued, that the unity of human nature was divided immediately after the Fall of Adam. After the creation of Adam, God created Eve from his side. Eve's creation gave joy to Adam and he felt her as his own (from his body) and so he said: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh... " (Gen. 2. 23). After his fall –when God asked him– Adam said: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate" (Gen. 3 . 12). Before the Fall, Eve was "bone" from his bones after the Fall she became "the woman" that God gave him! It is obvious here the division of human nature after sin, as it can be seen later in the children of Adam, in all the history of Israel and in all the history of humanity. This is natural. Since man was estranged from God, he was also estranged from himself and separated from other people. This constituted complete alienation and enslavement. The reunion of human nature was attained "in Christ". He "stretched out his palms and united what was before divided" and so he gave the power to each one of us, after being united with him, to experience the unity of human nature.

The ascetic, then, aquires great love for Jesus Christ through the Jesus prayer, and he is joined with Him through this love. It is natural, therefore, for him to love whatever God loves and desire whatever He desires. God "desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tit. 2. 4). This is what the athlete of prayer wants. He is shaken by the evil that exists in the world and grieves deeply for the loss and the ignorance of his brothers. Since sin always has ecclesiastical and cosmic dimensions and affects the entire world, it is natural that he who prays experiences all the tragedy of humanity and suffers deeply for her. He lives the agony of the Lord in Gethsemane. He reaches a point, therefore, where he ceases praying for himself and prays continually for others, to come to the knowledge of God. His purification from passions, his acquisition of the life–giving divine grace, and prayer for others –which is the result of his experiencing the unity of mankind in Jesus Christ– is the greatest mission. This is how the Fathers saw the missionary effort: as a striving for the renewal of the human being and a reintegration of nature. Each person who is purified becomes a valuable part of society, as we are all members of the blessed body of Christ. We can see this vividly in the person of the Most Holy Mother of God. She was "full of grace", and then bestowed grace and adorned all of human nature. Purified and "full of grace", she prays for the whole world. And thus we can say that the Most Holy Mother of God performs the greatest mission of all and benefits all of mankind effectively.

He kept silent for a while and then went on.

–Still the ascetic feels the unity of all nature.

– What do you mean?

–He is acknowledged by all nature. Before the Fall, Adam was the King of all creation, and all the animals acknowledged him as a King. After the Fall, however, this link was broken and this acknowledgement abolished. Nikolaos Kavasilas analyses this condition vividly. Man, he says, is created in the image of God. In Adam the image of God was the clear mirror through which the Light of God reflects on nature. As long as the mirror remained unbroken, all nature was lit up. However, as soon as it was broken and smashed, deep darkness fell on all creation. All nature, then, rebelled against man and now does not acknowledge him, neither does it want to give him its fruits. Thus, man is sustained with anguish and labour. The animals are also afraid of him and are quite aggressive. Yet, when man receives the grace of Christ, all the powers of the soul integrate. He is in the image and likeness of God. He becomes a mirror, a light which shines forth the divine grace even to irrational nature. Now the animals acknowledge him, obey him and respect him. There are many cases recorded where the ascetic–hermit lives in the company of bears and wild animals. He feeds them, and they in turn serve him, thus acquiring divine grace through the Jesus prayer, he becomes, again, King of nature, and evenmore, he ascends to a more elevated state than Adam's. Ac cording to the Fathers, Adam was in the image of God but he had to reach to the likeness of God through obedience. He was in the stage of the illumination of the nous and he had to attain to theosis. Whereas the ascetic attains to "the likeness of God" (divinization), as far as it is possible, through divine grace, without entering, however, into the Divine Essence. He partakes of the uncreated energies of God. I shall give you an example of this acknowledgement on the part of nature from this very present interview. When my ever memorable Gerondas was saying the Jesus prayer, wild birds would come to the windows of his cell pecking the panes. One would think that this was the activity of the devil to hinder him from prayer. But, in fact, the wild birds were attracted by the prayer of the Gerondas!!!

–Gerondas, you have led me through the stages of perfection; to the end of spiritual life. Man is capable of becoming a King...

He smiled faintly.

–There are even higher stages. After a great struggle, as I mentioned before, it is possible for the athlete to submit to ecstasy, the divine rapture, and enter the new Jerusalem, the new promised land. The nous is seized in rapture, and contemplates the uncreated Light. At vespers of the divine Transfiguration we sing: "When the chosen apostles beheld upon the mountain the overwhelming flood of Thy light, "Christ who has no beginning, and Thy divinity which no man may approach, they were caught up into a divine trance". Ecstasy and theoria (vision) of God are connected. When we say ecstasy, we do not mean something static, but we refer to divine presence and spiritual movement. It is not inactivity and death but life in God. The Fathers say that when man is enraptured in the divine Light, during the Jesus prayer, he ceases praying with the lips. The mouth and tongue remain silent, the heart is silent, too. The athlete, then, delights in the theoria (vision) of Taborian Light. He receives the uncreated energy of God. It is the same Light of Mount Tabor, which the disciples saw; it is the Kingdom of God –eternity. According to St. Gregory Palamas, the Light is "the beauty of the age to come", "the substance of future good", "the most perfect vision of God", "the heavenly food". Those who become worthy of seeing the uncreated Light are the Prophets of the New Testament. For, as the Prophets of the Old Testament would surpass time and could see the incarnation of Christ, the first advent, in the same way those who contemplate the Light surpass time and see the glory of Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven.

He was silent for a while, took a deep breath and went on.

–The divine Light possesses all of his being. Even his hut shines from the presence of Christ and he enjoys this "sober drunkenness". He beholds the invisible God. "God is Light and his vision is Light", says St. Symeon the New Theologian. The monk sees divine Light at that moment, and this is "a pleasing and sacred vision", according to "the defendor of theologians", St. Gregory Palamas. Makarios the Chrysokephalos also describes this vision: "What is more beautiful than being in intimate communion with Christ? What is dearer than his divine glory? Nothing is sweeter than this light, through which every illuminating order of angels as well as of men is made lucid; nothing is more loving than this life, wherein we all live and move and have our being; nothing is sweeter than ever–incarnate beauty; nothing is more delightful than the everlasting joy; nothing is dearer than eternal gladness, dignified majesty and boundless Bliss". In other words, delight and joy are boundless. These states are indeed too great for words. This is how St. Symeon the New Theologian describes it.

He took one of his books in his hands and started reading.

"I sit on my bed, free of this world
and within of my hut I can see present
before me, Him who is out of the world, I see Him
and talk to Him; and I dare say I love Him and He loves me,
I eat and I am fed well only with the vision;
and being united with Him I go beyond Heaven
and I know that this is true and certain;
and where my body is therefore I do not Know.
I know that He Who is immovable descends
I know that He Who is invisible appears to me
I know that He Who is separated from all creation
receives me within Himself, and hides me in His arms
and then I am thus out of the world
and I, mortal and small in the world,
I can see the creator of the world within myself
and I know that I will not die, because I have eternal life,
and because all of life is poured forth within me".

The Gerondas read the passage with great longing. His voice was moving. His eyes sparkled. His face was shining with an inexplicable joy. His trembling voice –his spiritual delight brought tears to my eyes.

–Thus even his face shines, he went on, from the divine presence. He enters, like Moses, into the divine darkness of unknowing, into the "radiant darkness", and acquires "enduring knowledge" and "ineffable theology".

He stopped again for a while. I was waiting almost ecstatic, literally gasping.

– Even the body feels the sweetness of this Light and during these moments it undergoes "change".

–What does this mean?

– "That the body participates in the grace which acts 113 on the nous, is orientated to it and receives awareness of the ineffable mystery of the soul" (St. Gregory Palamas). Then the body "becomes strangely buoyant and glowing", that is, it feels an unusual warmth which is the result of the vision of Light. It is like the candle which when it is lit up, its main body (the wax) is at once warm and luminous.

–Please, allow me a question. It may be blasphemous but I will ask it anyway. Is this "change" of the body a reality or imaginary? Is it an imagined warmth?

–No, my father it is not. This "change" is real. The body participates in all the states of the soul. The body itself is not bad, but rather the mind of the flesh, that is, when the body is enslaved to the devil. Besides, the vision of the Light is a vision of the physical eyes which have been altered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit and have become capable of seeing the uncreated Light. There are many examples in the Holy Scripture which indicate that the grace of God, through the soul, penetrates to the body as well, which feels the action of the life–giving divine grace.

–Could you refer to some of these?

–There are many verses in the psalms of David, which show this: "My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God" (Ps. 84). "In Him my heart trusts; so I am helped and my heart exults" (Ps. 27). Also in the 119th Psalm: "How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth"! We have the story of Moses, too. When he came down from Mt. Sinai with the ten commandments, his face shone. "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he did not know that the skin on his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him" (Ex. 34. 29–30). This is also seen in the case of archdeacon Stephen: "And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel" (Acts 6. 15). St. Gregory Palamas believes that the sweat of our Lord Jesus Christ, while praying in the garden of Gethsemane, shows "the fervour felt in His body because of the intensive prayer to God".

–Forgive me, father, because I've tired you with my blasphemous and worldly question. We, people of the world, cannot understand... Allow me, however, one more question. Are there monks nowadays, who see the uncreated Light and undergo "change" when they pray?

He smiled and said:

–If the Holy Spirit should cease acting in the Church, then "the beholders of the uncreated Light", will cease to exist. The Holy Mountain hides great treasures and those who fight against it in any way, are accusers and enemies of God. In the time of St. Athanasios the Great some disputed the Deity of Christ. In the time of St. Gregory Palamas they disputed the deity of the uncreated energies. Nowadays, we fall into almost the same sin. We dispute the existence of deified people, who see the divine Light. Today, there are sanctified monks –Gods by grace. The continuation of life on earth is due to these deified ascetics. They brighten our world, which is darkened by sin.

–Allow me another, perhaps indiscreet question. Have you seen the Light, Gerondas?

................

Let the reader of this book allow me not to describe that moving scene and what was said. I want to guard it in a mantle of silence. I hope I will be excused.

After a long pause, enveloped in silence, I was impetuous enough to disturb once more the silence of the ascetic. Yet, I had to. The hours were few and I had to learn more. I wanted to profit as much as possible from my visit with the God–seeing Father.

–Father, I apologize again. You've said that, even nowadays, there are monks on Mt. Athos, who behold the uncreated Light. I believe that one monk may see it many times. Does it always have the same brightness?

– We can say that there is spiritual light and the light that man sees with his physical eyes, after they have been transformed and strengthened to see it. Spiritual light is the commandments, and he who keeps them receives it. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path". The commandments of Christ are "words of eternal life" and not moralistic external precepts. Virtues, as well, which are conceived in our effort to carry out the commandments of Christ, are torches. Faith is light as well as hope and love. God is the true light and "the light of the world" (John. 8. 12). But the name of God is love. "God is love" (1 John. 4. 7). That is why we say that love is the brightest light of all other virtues. Repentance, too, is light, which shines in the soul of man and guides him to the pool of the second baptism, where the eyes are cleansed from spiritual cataracts. All Christians who fight the good fight enjoy this light, especially those who pursue purification from the passions and they enjoy it, of course, according to the degree of their struggle. St. Gregory the Theologian says that "where there is purification, there exists illumination; because without the first the second is not accorded". In other words, we interpret what St. Symeon the New Theologian is saying that if man does not see the Light in this life, he will not see it in the next life either.

Sometimes, however, he went on, because of their great purity and struggle, and even because of the special good–will of God, some people become worthy of seeing the Light with their physical eyes which have been transformed by divine grace like the three disciples on Mount Tabor. Even here a gradation can be observed. When they see it for the first time, they behold it as a "great Light", which makes everything inside them joyful. Yet, in fact, it is a dim light. They behold it, as I said, as a "great Light" in comparison to the darkness they had been used to. They now experience something which they had not experienced before. In the second appearance however, the light is stronger, but man has already adjusted to the vision... Yet, the more he approaches the Divine Essence, the more he realises the impossibility of beholding the divine nature, and this is what the Fathers call "radiant darknes

[Kollyvas]

http://sgpm.goarch.org/Monastery/index.php?p=8

“If the practice of prayer is to proceed successfully, it is always essential at the outset to lay everything else aside, so that the heart is completely free of distraction. Nothing should obtrude on the mind:neither face, nor activity, nor object. At such a time all is to be driven out.”

• Bishop Theophan the Recluse

Interpretation of the Prayer: Lord, have Mercy!
An extract from The Philokalia, Vol. 5 (not yet published in English) On the importance of awareness and understanding in prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And more concisely: Lord, have mercy! These prayers have been bequeathed to Christians from the time of the Apostles and it was decreed that they should constantly use these invocations, as also they do. However, while doing so very few now know the meaning of: Lord, have mercy! Therefore they invoke fruitlessly. They cry: Lord, have mercy! but do not receive mercy from the Lord because they themselves do not know what they are seeking.

And so we must know: What kind of mercy from the Lord Jesus is this? What Kind? Every kind: all that is needed by us in our present fallen state is in His right hand. For He, from the time when He was incarnated and became man, and endured such sufferings, and by the shedding of His most holy blood redeemed man from the hands of the devil - from that time HE has become in some special way the Lord and Sovereign of human nature. Thus everything of ours is now in his hands.

The Lord was even before his incarnation, from the beginning, Lord of all, seen and unseen, as their Creator and Maker. According to their being so it is and will be, but not according to the free activity of reasonable creatures. Devils and, after them, men, did not want of their own accord, to have Him as their Lord and Sovereign, and they detached themselves from Him who was the Ruler of all. For the All-gracious God, having created men and Angels independent and endowed them win reason, does not want to destroy this independence of their and rule over them by force, against their will. Therefore those of them who wish to be under the power and rule of God, over them He rules and those he defends, but those who do not wish it, those He leaves to do their own will as independent. That is why Adam too when, seduced by the apostate devil, himself became an apostate from God and did not wish to obey His commandments, He left him to his free-will, not wishing to rule over him domineeringly. But the envious devil, having seduced him in the beginning, did not cease to seduce him further, until he had made him by his irrationality like senseless cattle and until he began to live like unreasoning animals.

Then the most merciful God took pity on him and bowed the heavens and came down to earth and became man for man’s sake, and having redeemed him by His most pure blood, He provided a saving way of life for him, showed him in the holy Gospel how to please God, regenerated and recreated him by divine baptism, instituted heavenly nourishment for him in the most pure mysteries and, to speak briefly, with the sublimest wisdom found means how He could be inseparably with man and man with Him so that the devil should have no more place in man. But even after this He nevertheless forces no one but leaves all free to accept the salvation that is offered to them or to perish. And so it goes: Some are saved; but others are negligent about salvation, some of whom do not believe the Gospel at all, while others believe but do not live according to the Gospel.

Those who are now Christians, after so many gifts of grace, after so many divine benefits, have again been seduced by the devil and by the action of the world and the flesh have been separated from God and have fallen under the yoke of slavery to sin and the devil, doing his will, but have not yet become quite insensible so as not to feel the evil that they have suffered, and understand their mistake and acknowledge the slavery into which they have fallen, but they do not see in themselves the power to be delivered from it - those have recourse to God and cry: Lord, have mercy, that the most merciful Lord may pity them and have mercy on them and accept them as the prodigal son and again grant them His divine grace and deliver them from slavery to sin, banish the devils from them and restore their freedom that in this way they may be able to live the rest of their life in a manner pleasing to God and keep the Divine commandments.

And so those Christians who with such an aim cry, Lord, have mercy! are certainly granted the Divine mercy and receive grace to be delivered from slavery to sin and be saved. But those who have not at all the above thoughts and do not recognise the misery of their position and their slavery to the will of the flesh and worldly habits, and have not even time to think about their slavery, but without any such aim, simply from habit cry, Lord have mercy! - how can these receive the Divine mercy: and especially such amazing and infinite mercy? It is better for such people not to receive it than to receive it and lose it again, for then there would be a double sin.

I shall now explain to you by examples also. Imagine to yourself a man poor and destitute who wishes to receive alms from some rich person. What does he say when he comes to the rich person? Something like: “Have mercy on me! Pity my poverty and set my life in order.” Or someone has a debt and has nothing to pay it with. Wishing to be delivered from this burden he comes to the decision to ask his creditor to forgive him his debt. He approaches him and what does he say? Also simply: “Have mercy on me! Pity my poverty and forgive me the debt that I owe you.” Similarly, when anyone is at fault in some matter before another and wishes to receive his forgiveness, what does he do? He comes to the person against whom he has sinned and says: “Have mercy of me! Forgive me for what I did against you.”

All such people know what they are asking for and why they are asking, and they receive their petitions according to circumstances, and what they receive they turn to good account for themselves.

Now take on the other hand a sinner who is spiritually poor and in debt before God and has frequently offended Him. If he cries as if to God: Have mercy on Me! but meanwhile does not understand what he is saying and why he is speaking, and does not even know what that mercy consists of which he wishes to receive from God and the use of it to him, but simply from habit cries: Lord, have mercy! then how can God give him mercy when he cannot even recognise what he has received and therefore will not turn his attention to it and will make ill use of it or will augment still more that by which he became a sinner?

The mercy of God is nothing else but the grace of the Holy Spirit which we sinners must ask from God, unceasingly crying to Him: Have mercy on me! Show Thy mercy, my Lord, to me a sinner, in the pitiful state in which I am, and accept me again into Thy grace. Give me the Spirit of power that He may strengthen me in resisting the temptations of the devil and my sinful bad habits. Give me the Spirit of Counsel that I may become prudent and come to feeling and amend my life. Give me the Spirit of fear, that I may fear to offend Thee, and may fulfil Thy commandments. Give me the Spirit of peace, that I may guard the peace of my soul, and gather all my reasonings and be quiet and untroubled by thoughts. Give me the Spirit of purity, that He may keep me pure from all defilement. Give me the Spirit of meekness, that I may be gentle-minded in my relations with my Christian brethren and restrained from anger. Give me the Spirit of humility, that I may not think highly of myself and that I may not be proud.

Whoever knows and feels how necessary is all that has been said and, asking it of the most merciful God, cries: Lord, have mercy! will surely receive what he asks and be granted the mercy of God and His grace. But whoever knows nothing of what we have said and merely from habit cries: Lord, have mercy! for him it is not possible to receive any mercy from God. For he had already previously received many mercies from God but he was unaware of it and did not thank God who gave him them. He received the Divine mercy when he was created and became a man. He received mercy when he was recreated in baptism and became an Orthodox Christian. He receive mercy when he was delivered from so many perils of soul and body which he experience in life. He received the Divine mercy every time he was granted to partake of the most pure Mysteries. He receive the mercy of God every time he sinned before God and grieved Him by His sins, and was not destroyed and not punished as was due. He received the Divine mercy when so many different benefits were bestowed on him by God, but either he was not aware of it or he forgot. How can such a Christian receive further mercy from God when he does not know and does not feel that he has received so many mercies from Him? And now even if he cries: Lord, have mercy, he does not know what he is saying and pronounces these words without any thought or aim, but simply from habit.

[Kollyvas]

http://sgpm.goarch.org/Monastery/index.php?p=7

“When your mind, inflamed by longing for God, little by little divests itself of flesh, as it were, and turns away from all thoughts engendered by sensory impressions, or from memory, being at the same time full of adoration and rejoicing, then you may conclude that it has approached the boundaries of prayer. "”

• St Nilus of Mt Sinai

That all Christians: clergy, monastics and laity,
should pray in the name of Jesus Christ
by our Venerable Father Symeon Archbishop of Thessaloniki
This Name of Jesus as a prayer should be said always by all the faithful with the mind and with the tongue. When standing or walking or sitting or reclining, always say it; forcing yourself to it. He will find great calm and joy in it, as has been the experience of all who occupy themselves with the prayer. Since this work is above all others in our life, the monks who find themselves in the midst of noise must concern themselves at least some time with this highest work.

And generally, we all should have as a pattern of prayer this prayer which is active and works with power in all - whether they be clergy or monastics or laity.

And particularly monastics, who have undertaken this work of prayer, have especially need of this prayer even if they happen to find themselves in noisy ministries. Therefore let us always hurry to this active prayer and pray to the Lord without ceasing. Never mind that there be wandering thoughts and confusion in the mind; and let us not be careless because the enemy attacks and for a moment overcomes us. Let us return immediately to the prayer, and indeed return with joy!

Let the ordained be diligent in this apostolic work and consider it equal to divine preaching or other divine assistance and perform it with love and fear in the sight of God.

Those found in the world should have the Prayer of Christ as a seal and as a sign of faith, as a protection and sanctification. And by the power which they receive from this prayer let them overcome every temptation.

Let all of us, ordained and monastics and laity, unite ourselves with Christ in our hearts as soon as we wake from sleep, let us remember Christ! And that will be the start of every good idea and suitable sacrifice through our Christ. For certainly we must always think of Christ Who saved us and loved us. Through this we are Christians and are named as such. We have put Him on in divine Baptism and been sealed with the Holy Myron and received His Holy Flesh and Blood. And further we are members of Him. His Temple! We have put Him on and He has dwelt in us!

For this it behooves us to continually love Him, and remember Him.

Let each of us have a time according to his ability and let him dedicate to the Prayer as is due.

We have spoken enough on this theme and whoever desires more will certainly find it.