The Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm
As taught in the Eastern Orthodox tradition
The practice of interior stillness and the invocation of the Holy Name.
In the heart of the Orthodox East, there exists a spiritual tradition so profound and an ascetic practice so central that it is often called the "science of sciences" and the "art of arts." This is the tradition of Hesychasm, a term derived from the Greek word hesychia, meaning stillness, silence, or rest.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the historical development of Hesychasm from the Desert Fathers to the 14th-century Palamite councils.
- **Distinguish** between the Divine Essence and the Divine Energies as the theological framework for *theosis* and the Jesus Prayer.
- **Explain** the role of the *nous* (the eye of the heart) in Orthodox asceticism and how it differs from the rational intellect (*dianoia*).
- **Articulate** the meaning and structure of the Jesus Prayer, explaining why it is considered a "distillation of the Gospel."
- **Trace** the biblical foundations of unceasing prayer through the lens of Orthodox patristic interpretation.
- **Defend** the use of the body and physical techniques in prayer against charges of "quietism" or "spiritualism."
- **Apply** the principles of *nepsis* (watchfulness) and *hesychia* (stillness) to the modern context of noise and distraction.
- **Compare** the Orthodox understanding of the "inner room" with modern psychological interpretations of the self.
Scripture
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