Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 14:00, 19 June 2010

This article needs attention from an expert in Eastern Orthodoxy. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. WikiProject Eastern Orthodoxy may be able to help recruit an expert. (November 2008)

The Jesus Prayer (Η Προσευχή του Ιησού) or "The Prayer" (Evkhee, Greek: Η Ευχή - the Wish) is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:

Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use being an integral part of the eremitic tradition of prayer known as Hesychasm (Template:Lang-el, hesychazo, "to keep stillness"). The prayer is particularly esteemed by the spiritual fathers of this tradition (see Philokalia) as a method of opening up the heart (kardia) and bringing about the Prayer of the Heart (Καρδιακή Προσευχή). The Prayer of The Heart is considered to be the Unceasing Prayer that the apostle Paul advocates in the New Testament.

While its tradition, on historical grounds, also belongs to the Eastern Catholics, and there have been a number of Roman Catholic texts on the Jesus Prayer, its practice has never achieved the same popularity in the Western Church as in the Eastern Orthodox Church, although it is said on the Anglican Rosary. Moreover, the Eastern Orthodox theology of the Jesus Prayer enunciated in the fourteenth century by St. Gregory Palamas has never been fully accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. Nonetheless, in the Jesus Prayer there can be seen the Eastern counterpart of the Roman Catholic Rosary, which has developed to hold a similar place in the Christian West.

Origins

The prayer's origin is most likely the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic Desert Fathers in the fifth century.

The practice of repeating the prayer continually dates back to at least the fifth century. The earliest known mention is in On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination of St. Diadochos of Photiki (400-ca.486), a work found in the first volume of the Philokalia. The Jesus Prayer is described in Diadochos's work in terms very similar to St. John Cassian's (ca.360-435) description in the Conferences 9 and 10 of the repetitive use of a passage of the Psalms. St. Diadochos ties the practice of the Jesus Prayer to the purification of the soul and teaches that repetition of the prayer produces inner peace.

The use of the Jesus Prayer is recommended in the Ladder of Divine Ascent of St. John Climacus (ca.523–606) and in the work of St. Hesychios the Priest (ca. eighth century), Pros Theodoulon, found in the first volume of the Philokalia. Ties to a similar prayer practice and theology appear in the fourteenth century work of an unknown English monk The Cloud of Unknowing. The use of the Jesus Prayer according to the tradition of the Philokalia is the subject of the nineteenth century anonymous Russian spiritual classic The Way of a Pilgrim.

Though the Jesus Prayer has been practiced through the centuries as part of the Eastern tradition, in the twentieth century it also began to be used in some Western churches, including some Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

Theology

The Jesus Prayer is composed of two statements. The first one is a statement of faith, acknowledging the divine nature of Christ. The second one is the acknowledgment of ones own sinfulness. Out of them the petition itself emerges: "have mercy."

The hesychastic practice of the Jesus Prayer is founded on the biblical view by which God's name is conceived as the place of his presence. The Eastern Orthodox mysticism has no images or representations. The mystical practice (the prayer and the meditation) doesn't lead to perceiving representations of God (see below Palamism). Thus, the most important means of a life consecrated to praying is the invoked name of God, as it is emphasized since the fifth century by the Thebaid anchorites, or by the later Athonite hesychasts. For the Eastern Orthodox the power of the Jesus Prayer comes not only from its content, but from the very invocation of the Jesus' name.

Scriptural roots

Theologically, the Jesus Prayer is considered to be the response of the Holy Tradition to 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", whereas the Publican prays correctly in humility, saying "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:10–14).

Palamism, the underlying theology

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)

The Essence-Energies distinction, a central principle in the Eastern Orthodox theology, was formulated by St. Gregory Palamas in the fourteenth century in support of the mystical practices of Hesychasm and against Barlaam of Seminara. It stands that God's essence (Template:Lang-el, ousia) is distinct from God's energies, or manifestations in the world, by which men can experience the Divine. The energies are "unbegotten" or "uncreated". They were revealed in various episodes of the Bible: the burning bush seen by Moses, the Light on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration.

Apophatism (negative theology) is the main characteristic of the Eastern theological tradition. Incognoscibility isn't conceived as agnosticism or refusal to know God, because the Eastern theology isn't concerned with abstract concepts; it is contemplative, with a discourse on things above rational understanding. Therefore dogmas are often expressed antinomically. This form of contemplation, is experience of God, illumination called the Vision of God or in Greek theoria.

For the Eastern Orthodox the knowledge or noesis of the uncreated energies is usually linked to apophatism.

Repentance in Eastern Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church holds a non-juridical view of sin, by contrast to the satisfaction view of atonement for sin as articulated in the West, firstly by Anselm of Canterbury (as debt of honor) and Thomas Aquinas (as a moral debt). The terms used in the East are less legalistic (grace, punishment), and more medical (sickness, healing) with less exacting precision. Sin, therefore, does not carry with it the guilt for breaking a rule, but rather the impetus to become something more than what men usually are. One repents not because one is or isn't virtuous, but because human nature can change. Repentance (Template:Lang-el, metanoia, "changing one's mind") isn't remorse, justification, or punishment, but a continual enactment of one's freedom, deriving from renewed choice and leading to restoration (the return to man's original state). This is reflected in the Mystery of Confession for which, not being limited to a mere confession of sins and presupposing recommendations or penalties, it is primarily that the priest acts in his capacity of spiritual father. The Mystery of Confession is linked to the spiritual development of the individual, and relates to the practice of choosing an elder to trust as his or her spiritual guide, turning to him for advice on the personal spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice.

As stated at the local Council of Constantinople in 1157, Christ brought his redemptive sacrifice not to the Father alone, but to the Trinity as a whole. In the Eastern Orthodox theology redemption isn't seen as ransom. It is the reconciliation of God with man, the manifestation of God’s love for humanity. Thus, it is not the anger of God the Father but His love that lies behind the sacrificial death of his son on the cross.

The redemption of man is not considered to have taken place only in the past, but continues to this day through theosis. The initiative belongs to God, but presupposes man's active acceptance (not an action only, but an attitude), which is a way of perpetually receiving God.

Distinctiveness from analogues in other religions

The practice of contemplative or meditative chanting is known from several religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam (e.g. japa, zikr). The form of internal contemplation involving profound inner transformations affecting all the levels of the self is common to the traditions that posit the ontological value of personhood. The history of these practices, including their possible spread from one religion to another, is not well understood. Such parallels (like between unusual psycho-spiritual experiences, breathing practices, postures, spiritual guidances of elders, peril warnings) might easily have arisen independently of one another, and in any case must be considered within their particular religious frameworks.

Although some aspects of the Jesus Prayer may resemble some aspects of other traditions, its Christian character is central rather than mere "local color." The aim of the Christian practicing it is not limited to attaining humility, love, or purification of sinful thoughts, but rather it is becoming holy and seeking union with God (theosis), which subsumes all the aforementioned virtues. Thus, for the Eastern Orthodox:

• The Jesus Prayer is, first of all, a prayer addressed to God. It's not a means of self-deifying or self-deliverance, but a counterexample to Adam's pride, repairing the breach it produced between man and God.
• The aim is not to be dissolved or absorbed into nothingness or into God, or reach another state of mind, but to (re)unite with God (which by itself is a process) while remaining a distinct person.
• It is an invocation of Jesus' name, because Christian anthropology and soteriology are strongly linked to Christology in Orthodox monasticism.
• In a modern context the continuing repetition is regarded by some as a form of meditation, the prayer functioning as a kind of mantra. However, Orthodox users of the Jesus Prayer emphasize the invocation of the name of Jesus Christ that St Hesychios describes in Pros Theodoulon which would be contemplation on the Triune God rather than simply emptying the mind.
• Acknowledging "a sinner" is to lead firstly to a state of humbleness and repentance, recognizing one's own sinfulness.
• Practicing the Jesus Prayer is strongly linked to mastering passions of both soul and body, e.g. by fasting. For the Eastern Orthodox not the body is wicked, but "the bodily way of thinking" is; therefore salvation also regards the body.
• Unlike mantras, the Jesus Prayer may be translated into whatever language the pray-er customarily uses. The emphasis is on the meaning, not on the mere utterance of certain sounds.
• There is no emphasis on the psychosomatic techniques, which are merely seen as helpers for uniting the mind with the heart, not as prerequisites.

A magistral way of meeting God for the Eastern Orthodox, the Jesus Prayer does not harbor any secrets in itself, nor does its practice reveal any esoteric truths. Instead, as a hesychastic practice, it demands setting the mind apart from rational activities and ignoring the physical senses for the experiential knowledge of God. It stands along with the regular expected actions of the believer (prayer, almsgiving, repentance, fasting etc.) as the response of the Orthodox Tradition to St. Paul's challenge to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17). It is also linked to the Song of Solomon's passage from the Old Testament: "I sleep, but my heart is awake" (Song of Solomon 5:2) . The analogy being that as a lover is always conscious to his or her beloved, people can also achieve a state of "constant prayer" where they are always conscious of God's presence in their lives.

Practice

"There isn't Christian Mysticism without Theology, especially there isn't Theology without Mysticism", writes Vladimir Lossky, for outside the Church the personal experience would have no certainty and objectivity, and "Church teachings would have no influence on souls without expressing a somehow inner experience of the truth it offers". For the Eastern Orthodox the aim isn't knowledge itself; theology is, finally, always a means serving a goal above any knowledge: theosis.

The individual experience of the Eastern Orthodox mystic most often remains unknown. With very few exceptions, there aren't autobiographical writings on the inner life in the East. The mystical union pathway remains hidden, being unveiled only to the confessor or to the apprentices. "The mystical individualism has remained unknown to the spiritual life of the Eastern Church", remarks Lossky.

The practice of the Jesus Prayer is integrated into the mental ascesis undertaken by the Orthodox monastic in the practice of hesychasm. Yet the Jesus Prayer is not limited only to monastic life or to clergy. All members of the Christian Church are advised to practice this prayer, laypeople and clergy, men, women and children.

In the Eastern tradition the prayer is said or prayed repeatedly, often with the aid of a prayer rope (Russian: chotki; Greek: komvoskini), which is a cord, usually woolen, tied with many knots. The person saying the prayer says one repetition for each knot. It may be accompanied by prostrations and the sign of the cross, signaled by beads strung along the prayer rope at intervals. The prayer rope is "a tool of prayer". The use of the prayer rope, however, is not compulsory and it is considered as an aid to the beginners or the "weak" practitioners, those who face difficulties practicing the Prayer. It should be noted here that the Jesus Prayer is ideally practiced under the guidance and supervision of a spiritual guide (pneumatikos, πνευματικός) especially when Psychosomatic techniques (like rhythmical breath) are incorporated. A person that acts as a spiritual "father" and advisor. Usually an officially certified by the Church Confessor (Pneumatikos Exolmologitis) or sometimes a spiritually experienced monk (called in Greek Gerontas (Elder) or in Russian Starets). It is not impossible for that person to be a layperson, usually a "Practical Theologician" (i.e. a person well versed in Orthodox Theology but without official credentials, certificates, diplomas etc.) but this is not a common practice either or at least it is not commonly advertised as ideal.

Psychosomatic techniques

There are not fixed, invariable rules for those who pray, "the way there is no mechanical, physical or mental technique which can force God to show his presence" (Metropolitan Kallistos Ware).

People who say the prayer as part of meditation often synchronize it with their breathing; breathing in while calling out to God (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God) and breathing out while praying for mercy (have mercy on me, a sinner). Another option is to say (orally or mentally) the whole prayer while breathing in and again the whole prayer while breathing out and yet another, to breathe in recite the whole prayer, breathe out while reciting the whole prayer again. One can also hold the breath for a few seconds between breathing in and out. It is advised, in any of these three last cases, that this be done under some kind of spiritual guidance and supervision.

Monks often pray this prayer many hundreds of times each night as part of their private cell vigil ("cell rule"). Under the guidance of an Elder (Russian Starets; Greek Gerondas), the monk aims to internalize the prayer, so that he is praying unceasingly. St. Diadochos of Photiki refers in On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination to the automatic repetition of the Jesus Prayer, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, even in sleep. This state is regarded as the accomplishment of Saint Paul's exhortation to the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

The Jesus Prayer can also be used for a kind of "psychological" self-analysis. According to the "Way of the Pilgrim" account and Mount Athos practitioners of the Jesus Prayer , "one can have some insight on his or her current psychological situation by observing the intonation of the words of the prayer, as they are recited. Which word is stressed most. This self-analysis could reveal to the praying person things about their inner state and feelings, maybe not yet realised, of their unconsciousness."

"While praying the Jesus Prayer, one might notice that sometimes the word “Lord” is pronounced louder, more stressed, than the others, like: LORD Jesus Christ, (Son of God), have mercy on me, (a/the sinner). In this case, they say, it means that our inner self is currently more aware of the fact that Jesus is the Lord, maybe because we need reassurance that he is in control of everything (and our lives too). Other times, the stressed word is “Jesus”: Lord JESUS Christ, (Son of God), have mercy on me, (a/the sinner). In that case, they say, we feel the need to personally appeal more to his human nature, the one that is more likely to understands our human problems and shortcomings, maybe because we are going through tough personal situations. Likewise if the word “Christ” is stressed it could be that we need to appeal to Jesus as Messiah and Mediator, between humans and God the Father, and so on. When the word “Son” is stressed maybe we recognise more Jesus’ relationship with the Father. If “of God” is stressed then we could realise more Jesus’ unity with the Father. A stressed “have mercy on me” shows a specific, or urgent, need for mercy. A stressed “a sinner” (or “the sinner”) could mean that there is a particular current realisation of the sinful human nature or a particular need for forgiveness." "In order to do this kind of self-analysis one should better start reciting the prayer relaxed and naturally for a few minutes – so the observation won’t be consciously “forced”, and then to start paying attention to the intonation as described above. Also, a person might want to consciously stress one of the words of the prayer in particular when one wants to express a conscious feeling of situation. So in times of need stressing the “have mercy” part can be more comforting or more appropriate. In times of failures, the “a sinner” part, etc.…)."

Levels of the prayer

Paul Evdokimov, a twentieth century Russian philosopher and theologian, writes about beginner's way of praying: initially, the prayer is excited because the man is emotive and a flow of psychic contents is expressed. In his view this condition comes, for the modern men, from the separation of the mind from the heart: "The prattle spreads the soul, while the silence is drawing it together." Old fathers condemned elaborate phraseologies, for one word was enough for the publican, and one word saved the thief on the cross. They only uttered Jesus' name by which they were contemplating God. For Evdokimov the acting faith denies any formalism which quickly installs in the external prayer or in the life duties; he quotes St. Seraphim: "The prayer is not thorough if the man is self-conscious and he is aware he's praying."

"Because the prayer is a living reality, a deeply personal encounter with the living God, it is not to be confined to any given classification or rigid analysis" an on-line catechism reads. As general guidelines for the practitioner, different number of levels (3, 7 or 9) in the practice of the prayer are distinguished by Orthodox fathers. They are to be seen as being purely informative, because the practice of the Prayer of the Heart is learned under personal spiritual guidance in Eastern Orthodoxy which emphasizes the perils of temptations when it's done by one's own. Thus, Theophan the Recluse, a nineteenth century Russian spiritual writer, talks about three stages:

• The oral prayer (the prayer of the lips) is a simple recitation, still external to the practitioner.
• The focused prayer, when "the mind is focused upon the words" of the prayer, "speaking them as if they were our own."
• The prayer of the heart itself, when the prayer is no longer something we do but who we are.

Once this is achieved the Jesus Prayer is said to become "self-active" (αυτενεργούμενη). It is repeated automatically and unconsciously by the mind, having a Tetris Effect, like a (beneficial) Earworm. Body, through the uttering of the prayer, mind, through the mental repetition of the prayer, are thus unified with "the heart" (spirit) and the prayer becomes constant, ceaselessly "playing" in the background of the mind, like a background music, without hindering the normal everyday activities of the person .

Others, like Father Archimandrite Ilie Cleopa, one of the most representative spiritual fathers of contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic spirituality, talk about nine levels (see External links). They are the same path to theosis, more slenderly differentiated:

• The prayer of the lips.
• The prayer of the mouth.
• The prayer of the tongue.
• The prayer of the voice.
• The prayer of the mind.
• The prayer of the heart.
• The active prayer.
• The all-seeing prayer.
• The contemplative prayer.

In its more advanced use, the monk aims to attain to a sober practice of the Jesus Prayer in the heart free of images. It is from this condition, called by Saints John Climacus and Hesychios the "guard of the mind," that the monk is raised by the Divine grace to contemplation.

An interesting comparison in the Roman Canon is to be found in Jan van Ruysbroeck's poem The 12 Béguines, which similarly exemplarises the shedding of distractions such as personal concerns through a common meditative focus.

Variants of repetitive formulas

A number of different repetitive prayer formulas have been attested in the history of Eastern Orthodox monasticism: the Prayer of St. Ioannikios the Great (754–846): "My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my shelter is the Holy Ghost, O Holy Trinity, Glory to You," the repetitive use of which is described in his Life; or the more recent practice of St. Nikolaj Velimirović.

Similarly to the flexibility of the practice of the Jesus Prayer, there is no imposed standardization of its form. The prayer can be from as short as "Have mercy on me" ("Have mercy on us"), or even "Jesus," to its longer most common form. It can also contain a call to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), or to the saints. The single essential and invariable element is Jesus' name.

• Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. (a very common form)

Sometimes "τον αμαρτωλόν" is translated "a sinner" but in Greek the article "τον" is used, a definite article so it reads "the sinner",

• Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. (common variant in Eastern Orthodox Christianity as on Mount Athos)
• Lord have mercy.
• Jesus God in Heaven, Christ our Lord and Savior, have mercy on this poor sinner.
• Jesus have mercy. (not an Orthodox formula)
• Christ have mercy.
• Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me! (not an Orthodox formula; based on the Gospels)

In various languages

The most common form, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner", was composed in Greek and it has been translated into numerous other languages, Eastern Orthodoxy not distinguishing between vernacular and liturgical languages. The following are languages of autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches:

• Arabic: أيها الرب يسوع المسيح ابن الله, إرحمني أنا الخاطئ Ayyuha-r-Rabbu Yasū` al-Masīħ, Ibnu-l-Lāh, irħamnī ana-l-khāti' (ana-l-khāti'a if prayed by a female).
• Armenian: Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոս Որդի Աստուծոյ ողորմեա ինձ մեղաւորիս
• Belarusian: Госпадзе Ісусе Хрысьце, Сыне Божы, памілуй мяне, грэшнага. Hospadzie Isusie Chryście, Synie Božy, pamiłuj mianie, hrešnaha.
• Bulgarian: Господи Иисусе Христе, Сине Божий, помилвай мен грешника.
• Church Slavonic: Господи Ісусе Христе Сыне Божїй помилѹй мѧ грѣшнаго. (грѣшнѹю if prayed by a female)
• Croatian: Gospodine Isuse Kriste, sine Božji, smiluj se meni grešniku.
• Czech: Pane Ježíši Kriste, Syne Boží, smiluj se nade mnou hříšným.
• Dutch: Heer Jezus Christus, Zoon van God, ontferm U over mij, zondaar.
• Finnish: Herra Jeesus Kristus, Jumalan Poika, armahda minua syntistä.
• Georgian: უფალო იესუ ქრისტე, ძეო ღმრთისაო, შემიწყალე მე ცოდვილი.
• German: Herr Jesus Christus, Sohn Gottes, erbarme dich meiner, eines Sünders. (einer Sünderin if prayed by a female)
• Greek Template:Polytonic (Template:Polytonic if prayed by a female)
• Latin: Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei, miserere mei, peccatoris. (peccatricis if prayed by a female)
• Lithuanian: Viešpatie Jėzau Kristau, Dievo Sūnau, pasigailėk manęs nusidėjelio.(nusidėjelės if prayed by a female)
• Macedonian: Господи Исусе Христе, Сине Божји, помилуј ме грешниот. / Gospodi Isuse Hriste, Sine Bozhji, pomiluj me greshniot.
• Maltese: Mulej Ġesù Kristu, Iben ta’ Alla l-ħaj, ikollok ħniena minni, midneb.
• Norwegian: Herre Jesus Kristus, forbarm deg over meg.
• Polish: Panie Jezu Chryste, Synu Boga, zmiłuj się nade mną, grzesznikiem.
• Romanian: Doamne Iisuse Hristoase, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, miluieşte-mă pe mine păcătosul. (păcătoasa if prayed by a female)
• Russian: Господи Иисусе Христе, Сыне Божий, помилуй мя грешнаго.(грешную if prayed by a female)
  • Variants: Господи, помилуй (The shortest form).
• Serbian: Господе Исусе Христе, Сине Божји, помилуј ме грешног. / Gospode Isuse Hriste, Sine Božiji, pomiluj me grešnog.
• Slovak: Pane Ježišu Kriste, Synu Boží, zmiluj sa nado mnou hriešnym.
• Spanish: Señor Jesucristo, Hijo de Dios, ten piedad de mi, el pecador.
• Ukrainian: Господи Ісусе Христе, Сину Божий, помилуй мене грішного. (грішну if prayed by a female)/Господи, помилуй (The shortest form).

Languages of non autocephaly Orthodox Churches. (For example: The Hungarian Orthodox Church is subject to the Patriarchate of Moscow)

• Chinese: 主耶穌基督，上帝之子，憐憫我罪人。
• French: Seigneur, Jésus Christ, Fils de Dieu, aie pitié de moi, pécheur.
• Hawaiian: Ē ka Haku ‘o Iesu Kristo, Keiki kāne a ke Akua: e aloha mai ia‘u, ka mea hewa.
• Hungarian: Uram Jézus Krisztus, Isten Fia, könyörülj rajtam, bűnösön!
• Italian: Signore Gesù Cristo, Figlio di Dio, abbi misericordia di me peccatore.
• Japanese: 主イイスス・ハリストス、神の子よ、我、罪人を憐れみ給え。
• Korean: 하느님의 아들 주 예수 그리스도님, 죄 많은 저를 불쌍히 여기소서.
• Malay: Wahai Isa-al-Masih, Putra Allah, kasihanilah aku, sesungguhnya aku ini berdosa.
• Portuguese: Senhor Jesus Cristo, Filho de Deus, tende piedade de mim pecador!

In art

Jesus Prayer is referred in J. D. Salinger's pair of stories Franny and Zooey. It is also a central theme of the 2006 Russian film Ostrov.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Part Four of the Catechism, which is dedicated to the Christian Prayer, devoted paragraphs 2665 to 2669 to the Jesus Prayer.

This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West... It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light. By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.

The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience." This prayer is possible "at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus.

Notes

3. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2667
4. See also Rosaries in other Christian traditions.
5. Pope John Paul II's Angelus Message, 11 August 1996.
6. Rosarium Virginis Mariae
7. Antoine Guillaumont reports the finding of an inscription containing the Jesus Prayer in the ruins of a cell in the Egyptian desert dated roughly to the period being discussed - Antoine Guillaumont, Une inscription copte sur la prière de Jesus in Aux origines du monachisme chrétien, Pour une phénoménologie du monachisme, pp. 168–83. In Spiritualité orientale et vie monastique, No 30. Bégrolles en Mauges (Maine & Loire), France: Abbaye de Bellefontaine.
8. ^ Template:Ro icon Christopher Panagiotis, Rugăciunea lui Iisus. Unirea minţii cu inima şi a omului cu Dumnezeu (Jesus prayer. Uniting the mind with the heart and man with God), translation from Greek, second edition, Panaghia Ed., Rarău Monastery, Vatra Dornei, pp. 6, 12-15, 130, ISBN 978-973-88218-6-6.
9. ^ Template:Ro icon Fr. Vasile Răducă, Ghidul creştinului ortodox de azi (Guide for the contemporary Eastern Orthodox Christian), second edition, Humanitas Ed., Bucharest, 2006, p. 81, ISBN 978-973-50-1161-1.
10. Template:Ro icon Sergei Bulgakov, Ortodoxia (The Orthodoxy), translation from French, Paideia Ed., Bucharest, 1997, pp. 161, 162-163, ISBN 973-9131-26-3.
11. ^ Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis, The Jesus Prayer, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, accessed March 2, 2008.
12. Eastern Orthodox theology doesn't stand Thomas Aquinas' interpretation to the Mystycal theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (modo sublimiori and modo significandi, by which Aquinas unites positive and negative theologies, transforming the negative one into a correction of the positive one). Like pseudo-Denys, the Eastern Church remarks the antinomy between the two ways of talking about God and acknowledges the superiority of apophatism. Cf. Vladimir Lossky, op. cit., p. 55, Dumitru Stăniloae, op. cit., pp. 261-262.
13. ^ Template:Ro icon Vladimir Lossky, Teologia mistică a Bisericii de Răsărit (The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church), translation from French, Anastasia Ed., Bucharest, 1993, pp. 36-37, 47-48, 55, 71. ISBN 973-95777-3-3.
14. The Vision of God by Vladimir Lossky SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-19-2)
15. Template:Ro icon Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Ascetica şi mistica Biserici Ortodoxe (Ascetics and Mystics of the Eastern Orthodox Church), Institutul Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR (Romanian Orthodox Church Publishing House), 2002, p. 268, ISBN 973-9332-97-3.
16. The Philokalia, Vol. 4 ISBN 0-571-19382-X Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy) On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect: One Hundred Texts Nikitas Stithatos (Nikitas Stethatos)
17. ^ John Chryssavgis, Repentance and Confession - Introduction, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, accessed 21 March 2008.
18. ^ An Online Orthodox Catechism, Russian Orthodox Church, accessed 21 March 2008.
19. Olga Louchakova, Ontopoiesis and Union in the Jesus Prayer: Contributions to Psychotherapy and Learning, in Logos pf Phenomenology and Phenomenology of Logos. Book Four - The Logos of Scientific Interrogation. Participating in Nature-Life-Sharing in Life, Springer Ed., 2006, p. 292, ISBN 1-4020-3736-8. Google Scholar: .
20. Unite if referring to one person; reunite if talking at an anthropological level.
21. ^ Template:Ro icon Puterea Numelui sau despre Rugăciunea lui Iisus (The Power of the Name. The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality) in Kallistos Ware, Rugăciune şi tăcere în spiritualitatea ortodoxă (Prayer and silence in the Orthodox spirituality), translation from English, Christiana Ed., Bucharest, 2003, p. 23, 26, ISBN 973-8125-42-1.
22. Template:Ro icon Fr. Ioan de la Rarău, Rugăciunea lui Iisus. Întrebări şi răspunsuri (Jesus Prayer. Questions and answers), Panaghia Ed., Rarău Monastery, Vatra Dornei, p. 97. ISBN 978-973-88218-6-6.
23. Template:Ro icon Paul Evdokimov, Rugăciunea în Biserica de Răsărit (Prayer in the Church of the East), translation from French, Polirom Ed., Bucharest, 1996, pp. 29-31, ISBN 973-9248-15-2.
24. Template:Ro icon Ilie Cleopa in Dicţionarul teologilor români (Dictionary of Romanian Theologians), electronic version, Univers Enciclopedic Ed., Bucharest, 1996.
25. "Orthodox Worship has always been celebrated in the language of the people. There is no official or universal liturgical language. Often, two or more languages are used in the Services to accommodate the needs of the congregation. Throughout the world, Services are celebrated in more than twenty languages which include such divers ones as Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Albanian, Romanian, English, and Luganda.", Worship, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Ft. Myers, Florida, US, retrieved 20 March 2008.
26. But it does have a liturgical vocabulary.
27. Latin and Church Slavonic are included for historic reasons.
28. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2668

See also

• Theology:
  • Theosis (deification, the search of union with God)
  • Tabor Light (or Divine Light, or Palamism), doctrine formulated by St. Gregory Palamas arguing for God's Essence-Energies distinction
• Asceticism:
  • Hesychasm (ascetical tradition of prayer)
  • Cardiognosis (ascetical method)
  • Hermit (solitary monk); Starets (elder teacher, in Russian tradition)
• Praying:
  • Kyrie eleison (Template:Lang-el), prayer of Christian liturgy
  • Prayer in Christianity
  • Prayer beads; Prayer rope; Prayerbook; Poustinia (prayer room)
• Imiaslavie (Russian dogmatic movement)
• Rosary (similar Roman Catholic devotion)
• Fatima Prayer (Roman Catholic tradition)
• Roman Catholic prayers to Jesus

External links

• The article at the Orthodox Wiki
• The Jesus Prayer by Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
• Saying the Jesus Prayer by Albert S Rossi (St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary)
• The Jesus Prayer by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom
• On Practicing the Jesus Prayer by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
• Introduction to the Jesus Prayer by Mother Alexandra
• Prayer of Jesus or Prayer of the Heart by Archimandrite Fr. Jonah Mourtos
• The Power of the Name by Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia
• An Orthodox Christian Study on Unceasing Prayer by John K. Kotsonis, Ph.D.
• Becoming the Jesus Prayer by Fr. Michael Plekon
• The Jesus Prayer by Ken E. Norian, TSSF
• Hieromonk Ilie Cleopa preaching on the levels of the Prayer of the Heart (video)
• The Psychological Basis of Mental Prayer in the Heart (online book) by Fr. Theophanes (Constantine)
• The Jesus Prayer A site for gazing (English and Greek)
• Russian tradition in worship of God's Name and the Jesus Prayer Template:Ru icon
• On the Jesus Prayer Greek site in English with practical advice
• "Death to the World" an Orthodox Ascetic Website
• Praying the Jesus Prayer Guide for practice and numerous articles

• Christian prayer
• Meditation
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Eastern Catholicism
• Hesychasm
• Articles containing Latin language text