Hesychasm is a form of religious practice in Eastern Christianity in which followers pursue spiritual silence through continuous prayer and worshipping of God (Loba-Mkole, 2014). The main goal of Hesychasm is to achieve connection with God through the recitation of the Jesus Prayer (Loba-Mkole, 2014). This implies the Hesychasts are muting their feelings, emotions and eliminating their thoughts. This practice has no substantial equivalents in Roman Catholicism or Protestant confession. Though Hesychasm shares several similarities with Buddhist meditation principles, it nonetheless adheres to a Judeo-Christian perspective instead of a pantheistic kind (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Therefore, Hesychasm emphasizes connection with divine force by separating oneself from all sensory or intellectual aspects and concentrating on praying, which makes it important to the foundation of Orthodox asceticism and the history of Christianity thereof.
Origin of Hesychasm
Hesychasm is derived from the Greek word hēsychia, which means peace or serenity. The Hesychasts accomplished their utmost notable work in the early 14th century on Mount Athos, the Hesychast heartland (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Members were most known for their structured Jesus Prayer, which typically began with ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me,’ as well as various physical positions and breathing practices that they saw as beneficial additions or support to the prayer (Loba-Mkole, 2014). While the practices and the mission have been changing throughout the centuries, the idea behind the tradition remained the same.
Hesychasm arose in the religious context between the fourth and fifth centuries and underwent formal organization in the 13th and 14th centuries (Miu, 2018). The practice manifested itself as a deeply religious and particularly spiritual revolution (Miu, 2018). The practice began in the fourth century when the spiritual endeavor of the Egyptian monks living in the deserts, known as hermits, was separated into private prayer and asceticism (Miu, 2018). This was done in order to create a specific balance between them.
Nonetheless, even since the first phase of the advancement of Hesychasm, there has been a deviation from the holistic approach to combining praying with an ascetic lifestyle (Miu, 2018). This was introduced by monks, known as Euchites and Messalians, or praying individuals, who wished to devote themselves entirely to prayer and, as a result, chose not to work and lived as beggars (Miu, 2018). Due to this heresy, several early Christian theologians were skeptical towards Hesychasm. Even in the renowned argument in the 14th century involving Barlaam of Calabria, the followers of Hesychasm were accused of Messalianism (Miu, 2018). Therefore, the Church Fathers later started to strongly advocate physical labor paired with prayer, which is also beneficial to the underprivileged.
Towards the end of the fourth century, Evagrius Ponticus started to speculate on the religious awakening of the Desert Fathers, outlining the fundamental steps of the Hesychast philosophy in a comprehensive way. According to Ponticus, the first step to Hesychasm is physical asceticism, in which the practitioner fasts and remains vigilant (Miu, 2018). Another phase in spiritual asceticism, or the control of one’s emotions, is a phase in which the battle against ego, rage, jealousy, and others is fought. The last stage is focused on pure praying, implying the subconscious communication with God, a level in which the mind may go “beyond the self, to the Master, and speak with Him, without anyone’ mediation” (Miu, 2018, p.45). As a result, this century can be remembered as the cornerstone of Hesychast philosophy.
The Messalian heresy gained traction in the fifth century, reaching the Empire’s eastern regions (Miu, 2018). Their theory eliminated the Holy Mysteries and the ecclesial existence because they claimed that Holy Baptism, like other Mysteries, was ineffective since it just washed away the sins, not the source of them (Reid, 1997). According to them, following Adam’s fall, all humans have been afflicted by a devil who compels them to commit evil.
At this point, they believed that only continuous prayer, combined with asceticism, had the strength to eliminate the forces of the evil spirit and bring the Holy Spirit into the inner self. This could allow a person to experience clarity and richness (Nasr, 1986). It could also help a person acquire the ability to distinguish spirits, the blessing of prophecy, revelations, the ability to see evil forces, and the quiet reflection of the Holy Trinity (Miu, 2018). As a result, such ideology made members follow their own objectives.
Simultaneously, the followers were claiming that the Holy Eucharist was ineffective, which led to the conclusion that they were also disputing the genuine presence of the Lord in the Eucharist (Miu, 2018). The Messalian movement was then condemned by the Council of Ephesus (Miu, 2018). This resulted in the decreased scope of spread of Hesychasm in the Byzantine Empire, with people who did not yet distinguish between the radicalism of the Messalian notion and the Hesychast philosophy viewing continuous prayer with skepticism.
In the tenth century, Saint Symeon, the New Theologian, who lived in Constantinople, revived the main Hesychast ideas and incorporated them within the context of the monastic lifestyle (Miu, 2018). In practice, he is the one who unified the monastic life of the community with internal praying (Miu, 2018). He claimed that there is no hindrance to exercising thoughtful and continuous prayer in the monasteries, with the reward being a conscious and bright presence of the Holy Spirit.
Following its triumphant restoration owing to Saint Symeon, the New Theologian, Hesychasm saw a new phase of decline due to the religious formalism that followed the Empire’s geopolitical peak. It witnessed a rebirth in the 13th century, only after the enormous hardships faced by the Byzantines between the years 1204 and 1261 when Byzantium was seized by the Crusaders and stayed under Roman control (Miu, 2018). Saint Nicephorus the Hesychast, a Mount Athos monk, was among the responsible for this revival since he was one of those who urged people who follow heart prayer to do so by linking it with breathing.
As mentioned before, the first skeptic of Hesychasm was the Calabrian monk Barlaam. He criticized Hesychasts’ corporeal techniques and suspected them of undermining God’s unity by differentiating between His unfathomable essence and identifiable energies, thereby establishing, in a somewhat Arian manner, two gods, one sublime and one immanent (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Since Barlaam was not as spiritual as the Hesychasts, he was more of a Platonist (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Gregory Palamas responded to Barlaam’s allegation of separation by claiming that God is innately split and dividedly unified (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Therefore, the dispute between Palamas and Barlaam was incredibly intense.
According to Hesychasm theologian Gregory Palamas’, the actual hermitage is in our own heart. Palamas, being a crucial figure in the history of Hesychasm, therefore said: „We work with the body and pray with the mind” (Marina-Fiț, 2018, p. 206). Additionally, the theologian believed “our outer man to fulfill his fleshly obligations; the inner man must be totally devoted to the ministry of God, never to let this exercise of mental prayer […]” (Marina-Fiț, 2018, p.206). Palamas viewed the human body as the “chamber of the soul,” and five senses were considered as “doors” (Marina-Fiț, 2018, p.206). While Barlaam refused to accept the ideology of Hesychasm, the practice only gained more influence with time and dissemination of it.
Beyond the Church, the Hesychasts did not express the mysticism of the Jesus Prayer, only within the confines of an ecclesiastical tradition, which was always their foremost focus (Sekulovski, 2010). The goal of Hesychasm, according to Palamas, was unity with God and with humanity (Sekulovski, 2010). Redemption is neither an individual matter, nor a basic representation of Christian life, or a unique experience. In his opinion, there is no distinction between monastic philosophy and the Gospel teaching, which involves devotion to God and love for the neighbor (Sekulovski, 2010). Monastic community life, according to Palamas, was essential for the structuring of human society (Sekulovski, 2010). People in the community experience the feeling of existence in Communion, forming fundamental social interactions through joining together and experiencing uniqueness as a result of their shared life.
In 1341 the argument between Barlaam and Saint Gregory Palamas grew in scale, prompting the convening of a council in Constantinople, within which theologians evaluated and voted in favor of Hesychasm (Miu, 2018). Dissatisfied, Barlaam converted to Catholicism and intensified his criticism of the Hesychastic idea (Hisamatsu, 2006). In 1531, in another council convened in Constantinople, Hesychasm was declared as Eastern Church teaching (Miu, 2018). Later in this teaching, Barlaam was condemned together with other opponents of the Hesychast philosophy (Miu, 2018).
Following a significant establishment on Mount Athos between the 12th and 14th centuries, Hesychasm spread to Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, and Russian monasteries (Petcu, 2016). It had a significant impact on religious and monastic life since it was not detached from liturgical or holy spiritual practice (Miu, 2018). Even though the Hesychast writings were intended for monks and implemented greatest in their environment, Nicodemus of Mount Athos asserted otherwise. A connoisseur of such scriptures said that the prayer of the heart could be encountered by both religious practitioners and ordinary people since there are no two primary forms of religious adherence in Orthodoxy (Miu, 2018).
As a result, it can be seen that Hesychasm was not as endorsed in the beginning as it is now. Hesychasm started as an ascetic tradition for religious followers and involved an emphasis on heart, humanity, and unceasing praying. With development on the lands of Byzantium, it later became as Eastern Orthodox teaching, focusing on monks, religious followers, and the laity.
Implications of Hesychasm
Beyond the Hesychastic philosophy, Orthodoxy is impossible and unattainable. Hesychasm is the core of Orthodox history since it is linked to all that the name Orthodoxy reflects and symbolizes (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Furthermore, Hesychasm is the philosopher’s stone by which one may distinguish the authentic Christian picture. The unity with holy forces is earned in the Orthodox faith via fasting, vigils, and praying. It should also be noted that Hesychasm is considered first and foremost as the path to deification, union with God, and the perception of deification, and only secondarily as a doctrinal account of this manner of experiences.
While particular monastic groups maintained the practice alive for millennia after settling on Mount Athos and up to modern times, the monastic community as a whole has seen phases of decline and revival (Ware, 1986). The present time is unquestionably a period of rebirth since the Jesus Prayer in one of its many forms is vital to the prayer life in the majority of Orthodox monasteries worldwide (Ware, 1986). Through the history of Hesychasm, the influence of the practice can be seen and regarded as immeasurable since it stretches through the nations.
To begin with, one of the most apparent examples, the Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm, are immensely popular today among Orthodox Church-affiliated organizations and people (Loba-Mkole, 2014). Despite changes in the practice’s prevalence, the routines of Hesychasm have played a major role in the history of the Orthodox Church and carry on playing a significant role in the lives of many people who follow this tradition (Johnson, 2010). The Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm have a rich history in the Orthodox Church, as evidenced by earlier monastic literature (Johnson, 2010). The prayer and the practice themselves were not always as widespread in the laity and monastic environments as they are now.
Beginning as an ascetic ritual of purification and closeness with God, Hesychasm became an integral part of current Orthodox monastic practices. Despite its fluctuating reputation throughout its history, the overall degree of involvement in this practice and such praying today is likely most profound in the Orthodox culture (Loba-Mkole, 2014). With the help of the Hesychast tradition, Eastern Orthodox religious rituals, followed not only by religious followers but also by the laity, shifted to a set of exercises (Every, 1979). They were designed to cleanse Orthodox Church members and prepare them for an experience with Father that comes to them in circumstances and times He desires, through Divine mercy. Therefore, the mission of this practice became to get the Holy Spirit and redemption via cleansing and Mercy.
Another one of Hesychasm’s implications is a theological representation that shifted from oral to written form. The prayer grew from a predominantly oral monastic practice to a more general literary tradition, and as a result, it has become more widely recognized and used by the laity (Johnson, 2010). Orthodox thinkers depend on the Hesychastic legacy and its writings for inspiration and claim the heritage as their own (Johnson, 2010). However, many writers also stress that the Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm play a critical role in all parts of their own lives and the history and future of their church (Johnson, 2010). Generally, Orthodox writers’ connection to the Jesus Prayer is not purely literary but rather a part of their everyday lives, as seen by the prayers’ presence in numerous daily prayer books and the extensive usage of prayer ropes.
The monasteries of Bulgaria, such as those of Paroreio and Kilifarevo, are two key locations where Hesychastic literature was meticulously cultivated (Petcu, 2016). Essentially this was a consequence of the last Bulgarian Patriarch, Evtimiy of Tarnovo’s reforming Slavic literature (Petcu, 2016). This Hesychastic writing also extended to the northern Danube, particularly in Moldova’s Monasteries (Petcu, 2016). This happened either through Bulgaria monasteries to the south of the Danube or straight from Constantinople via the Studion Monastery, an influential Hesychastic location (Petcu, 2016). As a result, with the help of Hesychasm writings, Orthodox countries and their monasteries underwent the immense influence of the practice.
Aside from the powerful restoration of the monastic spiritual life, Hesychasm brought a remarkable renaissance in artwork, literature, and philosophic-theological thinking. This was reflected in the blossoming of painting and writing of the periods of Hesychasm development (Petcu, 2016). Traditional Byzantine religious thought, which had begun to establish itself after the schism, found its most enduring incarnation in this era (Petcu, 2016). The process happened via the form of power and acceptance of the Hesychastic movement.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the tenacity in a Hesychast culture characterized the standpoints against the Christian, but no longer Orthodox, West (Ignat, 2019). The standpoints were also against prehistoric Hellenism, or, more accurately, against the disturbing phenomena observed in the monastic switch towards ancient times, disguised as worship of old Greek tenets (Ignat, 2019). By contrasting eastern and western traditions, it became clear that the Western regions were not only any longer in agreement with the East but had already become dangerous to the basic historical survival of the East.
The first significant clash between East and West occurred in the 14th century, in the realm of ecclesiastical-theological heritage (Miu, 2018). For the first time, an authentic western theologian, a carrier of Augustinian religious legacy and technique, had shown himself in the East to establish the extreme separation and absence of congruence between East and West (Miu, 2018). It became clear that another type of Christianity had developed in the Western regions, viewed as a nation opposite to the Roman East. The mindset supported by Barlaam later reached its zenith with the English historian Gibbon, who conveyed the West’s perspective of the Roman East in a traditional way, and who, along with the rationalist ecclesiastic scholar Mosheim, presented Adamantios Korais appropriately as the spiritual leader of Westernizers (Miu, 2018).
According to Gibbon, the divine light of the Hesychasts was the outcome of an obstinacy that is in questionable taste; it is the fruit of an empty stomach and a void head. Hesychasm, in his opinion, was the pinnacle of Greek religious folly (Miu, 2018). These preconceptions, ingrained in the Western collective consciousness via education, have shaped the Western position toward the Orthodox East, particularly Hellenism, even to the present day. As a result, western leaders’ bewilderment at Greece and the Balkan countries, in particular, demonstrates, among other factors, their misunderstanding of the past.
Through centuries, Hesychasm proved to be a path to restoring the serenity of the Spirit, a spiritual journey that culminates in close connection with God. The practice and unceasing prayer helped a man to transform and cleanse in the spiritual or physical way, attaining the phase of a new man who has regained the serenity of Spirit. Hesychasm today provides guidance on achieving success in recapturing and amplifying God’s grace through a way of life that the laity vaguely understands these days. This happens as communities undergo the striking variations caused by secularization, and man seeks kinds of spiritual practices capable of providing him with fast harmony and emotional wellbeing,
Hence, Hesychasm is an Eastern Orthodox religious practice in which believers seek spiritual quietness via continual prayer and reverence of God. Having been established by monks on Mount Athos in the fourth century, Hesychasm has been spreading for centuries, encountering various pitfalls. Hesychasm was first developed as an ascetic lifestyle that was supposed to bring the follower closer to God. However, later Hesychasm influenced Orthodox traditions, implying that a specific Jesus Prayer in its many forms contributes to soul-cleansing, redemption and, as a result, prepares a member for an encounter with Father.
References
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