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The ‘prayer of the hear t ’ : cont inui ty of t radi t ionMark the Monk – Symeon the New Theologian – Nicephorus the Monk

Outline

Te x t s a n d s l i d e s o n l i n e : h t t p : / / j . m p / o p 1 5 t e x t s

The ‘Prayer of the Heart’: continuity of tradition

Introduction

Selectivity criteria

Mark the Monk

Ad Nicolaum praecepta animae salutaria 12

Symeon the New Theologian

De tribus modis orationis, third method

Nicephorus the Monk

‘On watchfulness and the guarding of the heart’

Comparative study

Conclusion


3Selectivity Criteria

The selected texts need to collectively produce:

1. An early understanding of the prayer2. A mature exposition3. Traces (at least) of an underlying tradition


4Ad Nicolaum praecepta animae salutaria

“If then, my son, you wish to acquire within yourself your own lamp of spiritual light and knowledge, so as to walk without stumbling in the dark night of this age; and if you wish your steps to be ordered by the Lord, delighting in the way of the Gospel … then I will show you a wonderful spiritual method to help you achieve this. It does not call for bodily exertion, but requires effort of the soul, control of the intellect, and an attentive understanding, assisted by fear and love of God. Through this method you can easily put to flight the hordes of the enemy, like the blessed David, who through his faith and trust in God destroyed Goliath, the giant of the Philistines (cf. 1 Sam. 17:11), and with the help of his own people easily put to flight the great host of the enemy.”



“If then you wish to conquer these three passions and easily to put to flight the hordes of the demonic Philistines, enter within yourself through prayer and with the help of God. Descend into the depths of the heart, and search out these three powerful giants of the devil – forgetfulness, laziness and ignorance, the support of the demonic Philistines – which enable the rest of the evil passions to infiltrate and be active, to live and prevail in the hearts of the self-indulgent and in the souls of the uninstructed. Then through strict attention and control of the intellect, together with help from above, you will track down these evil passions, about which most men are ignorant, not even suspecting their existence, but which are more destructive than all the rest.”



“Take up the weapons of righteousness that are directly opposed to them: mindfulness of God, for this is the cause of all blessings; the light of spiritual knowledge, through which the soul awakens from its slumber and drives out of itself the darkness of ignorance; and true ardour, which makes the soul eager for salvation.”


7De tribus modis orationis

True and unerring attentiveness and prayer mean that the intellect keeps watch over the heart while it prays; it should always be on patrol within the heart, and from within - from the depths of the heart - it should offer up its prayers to God. Once it has tasted within the heart that the Lord is bountiful, then the intellect will have no desire to leave the heart, and it will repeat the words of the Apostle Peter, ‘It is good for us to be here’. […]

Above all else you should strive to acquire three things, and so begin to attain what you seek. The first is freedom from anxiety with respect to everything, whether reasonable or senseless - in other words, you should be dead to everything. Secondly, you should strive to preserve a pure conscience, so that it has nothing to reproach you with. Thirdly, you should be completely detached, so that your thoughts incline towards nothing worldly, not even your own body.Matthew 17:4



“Then sit down in a quiet cell, in a corner by yourself, and do what I tell you. Close the door, and withdraw your intellect from everything worthless and transient. Rest your beard on your chest, and focus your physical gaze, together with the whole of your intellect, upon the centre of your belly or your navel. Restrain the drawing-in of breath through your nostrils, so as not to breathe easily, and search inside yourself with your intellect so as to find the place of the heart, where all the powers of the soul reside. To start with you will find there darkness and an impenetrable density. Later, when you persist and practise this task day and night, you will find, as though miraculously, an unceasing joy. For as soon as the intellect attains the place of the heart, at once it sees things of which it previously knew nothing. It sees the open space within the heart and it beholds itself entirely luminous and full of discrimination.”



“From then on, from whatever side a distractive thought may appear, before it has come to completion and assumed a form, the intellect immediately drives it away and destroys it with the invocation of Jesus Christ. From this point onwards the intellect begins to be full of rancour against the demons and, rousing its natural anger against its noetic enemies, it pursues them and strikes them down. The rest you will learn for yourself, with God's help, by keeping guard over your intellect and by retaining Jesus in your heart. As the saying goes, ‘Sit in your cell and it will teach you everything.’”


10‘On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart’

“Attentiveness is the sign of true repentance. It is the soul's restoration … rejection of sin and recovery of virtue … the beginning of contemplation … serenity of intellect … the subjection of our thoughts … the stronghold that enables us patiently to accept all that befalls … the ground of faith, hope and love. …”

“Most if not all of those who attain this greatest of gifts do so chiefly through being taught. … That is why we should search for an unerring guide … . … If, however, no guide is to be found, you must renounce worldly attachments, call on God with a contrite spirit and with tears, and do what I tell you.”



“Seat yourself, then, concentrate your intellect, and lead it into the respiratory passage through which your breath passes into your heart. Put pressure on your intellect and compel it to descend with your inhaled breath into your heart. Once it has entered there, what follows will be neither dismal nor glum. Just as a man, after being far away from home, on his return is overjoyed at being with his wife and children again, so the intellect, once it is united with the soul, is filled with indescribable delight.”

“Therefore, brother, train your intellect not to leave your heart quickly, for at first it is strongly disinclined to remain constrained and circumscribed in this way. But once it becomes accustomed to remaining there, it can no longer bear to be outside the heart. … If, then, after your first attempts you enter through your intellect into the abode of the heart in the way that I have explained, give thanks and glory to God, and exult in Him. Continually persevere in this practice and it will teach you what you do not know.“Moreover, when your intellect is firmly established in your heart, it must not remain there silent and idle; it should constantly repeat and meditate on the prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me’, and should never stop doing this. For this prayer protects the intellect from distraction, renders it impregnable to diabolic attacks, and every day increases its love and desire for God.”



“If, however, in spite of all your efforts you are not able to enter the realms of the heart in the way I have enjoined, do what I now tell you and with God's help you will find what you seek. … Banish … all thoughts from [the discoursive] faculty … and in their place put the prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me’, and compel it to repeat this prayer ceaselessly. If you continue to do this for some time, it will assuredly open for you the entrance to your heart in the way we have explained, and as we ourselves know from experience.”

alexandros andreou [email protected] the ‘prayer of the heart’: continuity of...

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