OrthodoxWiki - User contributions [en]

List of Orthodox Internet communities

2004-12-23T02:48:18Z

69.196.254.71: /* Orthodox Fora */

==Orthodox Blogs==
You might enjoy sifting through these sites which offer very personal takes on Orthodoxy. This isn't a comprehensive list, but these bloggers have formed something of an intertextual community, and you are likely to find on them links to every other Orthodox blog in the Universe, and many interesting non-Orthodox ones as well. A more comprehensive and up-to-date list can probably be found at the webring for Orthodox Bloggers.

* Chris J. Davis .org
* [http://www.chrysostom.org/andrew/ Andrew Stephen Damick] Antiochian Seminarian
* [http://www.doxos.com Doxos] by Huw Raphael
* Glen Rose Farm - “Notes from a Hillside Farm; being Musings and Observations on Life, Letters, and our Most Holy Faith, by a Lawyer, Sheep-farmer, and Communicant of the Orthodox Church

List of Orthodox Internet communities

2004-12-23T02:45:11Z

69.196.254.71: /* Orthodox Fora */

Hesychasm

2004-12-23T02:36:45Z

69.196.254.71: /* External links */

'''Hesychasm''' is a [[mystical]] tradition of experiential [[prayer]] in the [[Orthodox Church]]. It is described in great detail in the [[Philokalia]], a compilation of what various [[saints]] wrote about prayer and the spiritual life.

==The Hesychastic prayer==

In practice, the Hesychastic prayer bears some superficial resemblance to mystical prayer or meditation in Eastern religions (e.g., Buddhism and Hinduism, especially Yoga), although this similarity is often overly emphasized in popular accounts.

For example, it may involve specific body postures and be accompanied by very deliberate breathing patterns. It involves acquiring an inner stillness, ignoring the physical senses. The hesychasts interpreted [[Christ]]'s injunction in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] to "go into your closet to pray" to mean that they should ignore sensory input and withdraw inwards to pray. It often includes many repetitions of the [[Jesus Prayer]], ''"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me[, a sinner]."''. While some might compare it with a mantra, to use the Jesus Prayer in such a fashion is to violate its purpose. One is never to treat it as a string of syllables for which the "surface" meaning is secondary. Likewise, hollow repetition is considered to be worthless (or even spiritually damaging) in the hesychast tradition.

Saint [[Theophan the Recluse]] once related that body postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in his youth, since, instead of gaining the [[Holy Spirit|Spirit of God]], people succeeded only "in ruining their lungs."

===Gregory Palamas: Defender of Hesychasm===

Hesychasm was defended theologically by [[Gregory Palamas]] at about three separate Hesychast Synods in Constantinople from 1341 to 1351; he was asked to by his fellow monks on [[Mount Athos|Mt. Athos]] to defend it from the attacks of [[Barlaam of Calabria]], who advocated a more intellectual approach to prayer.

==See also==

* [[Mysticism]]
* [[Philokalia]]
* [[The Way of a Pilgrim]]
* [[Meditation]]
* [[Prayer]]
* [[Theosis]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.hesychasm.ru/en/index.htm Hesychasm]
*[http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Spirituality/The-Jesus-Prayer.html The Jesus Prayer], a very straightforward exposition.
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/ignaty_jesus.htm On Practicing the Jesus Prayer]
*[http://www.monachos.net/patristics/palamas_theology.shtml Three foundational aspects of the Theology of St Gregory Palamas]

==References==
* ''The [[Philokalia]]'' (four volumes)
* ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]''

[[Category:Asceticism]]

Jesus Prayer

2004-12-23T02:36:06Z

69.196.254.71:

The '''Jesus Prayer''', also called the '''''Prayer of the Heart''''' by some [[Church Fathers]], is a short, simple prayer that has been widely used, taught and discussed throughout the history of [[Eastern Christianity]]. The exact words of the prayer have varied, from a simple form such as [[Kyrie eleison|"Lord, have mercy"]] to the more common extended form: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner." The form most in use on [[Mount Athos]] is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." It is particularly used in the practice of the spiritual life known as [[hesychasm]].

It is, for the Orthodox, one of the most profound and mystical prayers and is often repeated endlessly as part of a personal [[asceticism|ascetic]] practice. There have been a number of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] texts on the subject, but its usage has never achieved the same degree of devotion as in the Eastern Church. A more elaborate version known to some Roman Catholics by the same name goes: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Your mercy."

The prayer is most reflective of the lesson taught by the parable of the [[Publican and the Pharisee]]; in which the Pharisee demonstrates the improper way to pray by exclaiming, "Thank you Lord that I am not like the Publican." While the Publican in humility prays correctly “"Lord have mercy on me, the sinner" ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 18:10-14). And likewise in the [[Gospel]]s, [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] crying out as he sank into the sea, "Lord, save me."

In the Orthodox [[tradition]] the prayer is said or prayed repeatedly, often with the aid of a [[prayer rope]]. It may be accompanied by [[prostration]]s and the [[sign of the cross]]. As such, it is used as a means of finding contrition and as a means of bringing about humility in the individual; hence the words "the sinner" are sometimes added as if no other sinner existed but the person praying (though there is no indefinite article in Greek, thus leading to some controversy about whether the translation in English should be "the sinner" or "a sinner"). [[Monasticism|Monastics]] often have long sessions praying this prayer many hundreds of times each night as part of their discipline, and through the guidance of an elder, its practitioner’s ultimate goal is to "internalize" the prayer, so that one is praying unceasingly there-by accomplishing Saint [[Apostle Paul|Paul]]'s exhortation to the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing" ([[I Thessalonians]] 5:17). The use of the Jesus Prayer in this way is the subject of the Russian classic ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]''.

== See also ==

*[[Hesychasm]]
*[[Monasticism]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.hesychasm.ru/en/index.htm Hesychasm]
*[http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Spirituality/The-Jesus-Prayer.html The Jesus Prayer], a very straightforward exposition
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/ignaty_jesus.htm On Practicing the Jesus Prayer] by St. [[Ignatius Brianchaninov]]
*[http://www.svots.edu/Faculty/Albert-Rossi/Articles/Saying-the-Jesus-Prayer.html Saying the Jesus Prayer] by Albert Rossi

[[Category:Asceticism]]