О молитве Иисусовой

Section I. About the Jesus Prayer in general Conversation between an elder and a disciple 126. Student . Is it possible for all the brothers in the monastery to practice the Jesus Prayer? Elder. Not only is it possible, but it should be. When tonsured into monasticism, when the newly tonsured person is given a rosary, called the spiritual sword, he is entrusted with unceasing, day-night prayer with the Jesus Prayer 127 . Therefore, practicing the Jesus Prayer is the vow of a monk. Fulfilling a vow is an obligation that cannot be renounced. Old monks told me that at the beginning of this century in the Sarov Desert, probably in other well-maintained Russian monasteries, everyone who entered the monastery was immediately taught the Jesus Prayer. The blessed elder Seraphim, who labored in this desert and achieved great success in prayer, constantly advised all monks to lead an attentive life and practice the Jesus Prayer 128. A certain young man, who had completed his studies at a theological seminary, visited him and revealed to the elder his intention to enter monasticism. The elder gave the young man the most soul-saving instructions. Among them was a testament to learn the Jesus Prayer. Speaking about her, the elder added: “External prayer alone is not enough. God listens to the mind, and therefore those monks who do not combine external prayer with internal prayer are not monks” 129. The definition is very correct! A monk means a solitary one: whoever has not secluded himself within himself is not yet secluded, he is not yet a monk, even if he lived in the most secluded monastery. The mind of an ascetic, not secluded and not enclosed in himself, is of necessity in the midst of rumors and rebellion produced by countless thoughts that always have free access to him, and he himself wanders painfully, without any need or benefit, harmfully for himself, throughout the universe. A person’s solitude within himself cannot be accomplished otherwise than through attentive prayer, and primarily through the attentive Jesus Prayer. Student . Elder Seraphim’s judgment seems too harsh to me. Elder. It appears this way only when looking at it superficially; it seems to be such an insufficient understanding of the great spiritual treasures hidden in Christianity. Blessed Seraphim did not pronounce his own opinion: he expressed an opinion that belonged generally to the Holy Fathers, which belonged to the Orthodox Church. Saint Hesychius of Jerusalem says: “He who renounced everything worldly, his wife, property, and the like, made a monk only the outer man, and not the inner man, which is the mind. He is a true monk who has renounced partial thoughts: he can conveniently make an external person a monk whenever he wants. It is no small feat to make the inner man a monk. Is there a monk in the modern generation who has completely gotten rid of partial thoughts and has been granted pure, immaterial, unceasing prayer, which is a sign of an inner monk? 130 The Monk Agathon, a monk of the Egyptian Skete, being asked what is more important, whether a physical feat or an internal feat, answered: “Man is like a tree; a physical feat is like a leaf of a tree, and an internal one is like a fruit. But as the Scripture says that “every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire” (Luke 3:9), then from this it is clear that all our care should be about the fruit, that is, about guarding the mind. It is also necessary that the tree be covered and decorated with leaves, which depicts bodily feat” 131. “Oh miracle! - exclaims Blessed Nikephoros of Athos, citing the words of the Monk Agathon in his work on spiritual feats, - what a saying this Saint uttered against all those who do not keep their minds, but rely on physical deeds alone! “Every tree that does not produce the fruit of good”, that is, guarding the mind, but has only one leaf, that is, bodily achievement, “is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Your saying is scary, Father!” 132 Preservation of the mind, guarding the mind, sobriety, attention, mental activity, mental prayer, these are different names for the same spiritual feat, in its various modifications. The spiritual feat turns, in due time, into a spiritual one. Spiritual feat is the same spiritual feat, but already overshadowed by Divine grace. The Fathers define this mental or spiritual feat as follows: “Attention is heartfelt, unceasing silence, always and continuously calling on Christ Jesus, the Son of God and God, breathing Him, courageously taking up arms with Him against enemies, confessing to Him, the only one who has the power to forgive sins” 133. It’s easier to say - internal work, mental, spiritual work, mental prayer, sobriety, preservation and guarding of the mind, attention mean the same thing: reverent, careful exercise in the Jesus Prayer. Blessed Nicephorus of Athos likened these names to a cut piece of bread, which, depending on its appearance, can be called a piece, a slice, or a crust 134. The Divine Scripture of the Old Testament lays down the law: “guard your heart with all care; From these comes life" (Proverbs 4:23). “Take heed to yourselves: let not the word of iniquity be hidden in your heart” (Deut. 15:9) 135. Watching over the heart and cleansing it is especially commanded by the New Testament. All the commandments of the Lord are directed towards this. “First,” says the Lord, “clean the inside of the glass and the dish, so that the outside also may be clean” (Matthew 23:26). The Lord called people here vessels made of fragile glass and low-value clay. “What comes from a person defiles a person: from within from the heart of man come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, insults, deceit, flattery, deceit, the evil eye, blasphemy, pride, madness. All this evil comes from within and defiles a person” (Mark 7:20–23). Saint Barsanuphius the Great says: “if internal work with God, that is, overshadowed by Divine grace, does not help a person, then he strives in vain with external, that is, bodily labor” 136. Saint Isaac of Syria: “having no spiritual activity, he is deprived of spiritual gifts” 137. In another word, this great mentor of Christian asceticism likens bodily feats, without the feat of purifying the mind, to barren wombs and withered breasts: “They,” said the Saint, “cannot approach the mind of God” (Homily 58). Saint Hesychius of Jerusalem: “he who does not have prayer, pure from thoughts, has no weapon for war: I am talking about prayer that ever acts in the interior of the soul, about prayer in which the invocation of Christ strikes and scorches the adversary who fights in secret” 138. “It is impossible to cleanse the heart and drive away hostile spirits without frequently calling on Jesus Christ” 139. “Just as it is impossible to spend earthly life without food and drink, so it is impossible, without maintaining the mind and purity of heart, which is what sobriety consists and what is called sobriety, for the soul to achieve anything spiritual, or to free itself from mental sin, even if someone, through the fear of eternal torment, forces himself not to sin” 140. “If you really want to put shame on your thoughts, remain silent in your spiritual peace, and be free to be sober (awake) in your heart, then let the Jesus Prayer unite with your breath, and you will see this happen after a few days.” 141 “It is impossible for a ship to sail without water: and guarding the mind cannot take place without sobriety, combined with humility and the uninterrupted Jesus Prayer” 142. “If you have a desire for the Lord, not only to present yourself as a monk and good, and meek, and constantly united with God, if you have a desire to be truly such a monk: strive with all your might the virtue of attention, which consists of guarding and guarding the mind, in achieving heartfelt silence, in a blissful state of soul, alien to daydreaming, which is not found in many people” 143. “A truly and essentially monk is one who corrects sobriety: and he truly corrects sobriety who is a monk (solitary) in the heart” 144. This teaching of the Holy Fathers is based, like the cornerstone of a building, on the teaching of the Lord Himself. “The true worshipers,” the Lord declared, “will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such as those who worship Him. The Spirit is God: and whoever worships Him is worthy to worship in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). I remember: when I was young, some pious laymen, even from the nobility, who led a very simple life, were engaged in the Jesus Prayer. This precious custom, now, with the general weakening of Christianity and monasticism, has almost been lost. Praying in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ requires a sober, strictly moral life, the life of a wanderer, requires the abandonment of addictions, but we have become necessary for absent-mindedness, extensive acquaintance, satisfaction of our many whims, benefactors and benefactors. “Jesus turned aside, the people remained in the place” (John 5:13). Student . The consequence of what has been said will not be the conclusion that without practicing the Jesus Prayer, salvation cannot be achieved? Elder. Fathers don't say this. On the contrary, the Monk Nilus of Sorsky, referring to the Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus, claims that many, without achieving dispassion, were honored to receive remission of sins and salvation 145. Saint Hesychius, having said that without sobriety there is no way to avoid sin “in thoughts,” also called those who abstain from sin “in deed” blessed. He called them rapists of the Kingdom of Heaven 146. Achieving dispassion, sanctification, or, what is the same thing, Christian perfection, without acquiring mental prayer is impossible: all the Fathers agree on this. The purpose of monastic life is not only to achieve salvation, but, especially, to achieve Christian perfection. This goal is ordained by the Lord: “If you want to be perfect,” said the Lord, “go, sell what you have and give to the poor,... and come after Me, and take up the cross” (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21). The Fathers, comparing the feat of prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus with other monastic feats, say the following: “Although there are other ways and kinds of life, or, if you want to call it that, good deeds that lead to salvation and deliver it to those who engage in them; although there are feats and exercises that bring one into the state of a slave and a hired hand (as the Savior said: “My Father has many mansions” (John 14:2), but the path of mental prayer is the royal, chosen path. It is so much more sublime and graceful than all other feats, as the soul is more excellent than the body: it raises from earth and ashes into adoption by God 147. Student. The trend of modern monasticism, in which the exercise of the Jesus Prayer is very rare, can it serve as an excuse and justification for me if I do not practice it? Elder. A debt remains a debt, and an obligation remains an obligation, even if the number of those who do not fulfill it has increased even more. The vow is pronounced by everyone. Neither the multitude of vow-breakers nor the custom of breaking gives legitimacy to the breaking. Few are the flock to which the Heavenly Father was pleased to grant the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). The narrow path always has few travelers, but the wide path has many (Matthew 7:13–14). In the last times, almost everyone will abandon the narrow path, almost everyone will take the wide one. It does not follow from this that the wide will lose its ability to lead to destruction, that the narrow will become superfluous, unnecessary for salvation. Anyone who wants to be saved must certainly adhere to the narrow path positively bequeathed by the Savior. Student . Why do you call the exercise of the Jesus Prayer a narrow path? Elder. How is it not a narrow path? A narrow path, in the exact sense of the word! Anyone who wants to successfully engage in the Jesus Prayer must protect himself, both externally and internally, with the most prudent, most cautious behavior: our fallen nature is ready to betray us every hour, to betray us; fallen spirits with special fury and deceit inflict the practice of the Jesus Prayer. Often, from an apparently insignificant carelessness, from the negligence and arrogance of the unnoticed, an important consequence arises that has an impact on the life, on the eternal fate of the ascetic - “and if the Lord had not helped me, my soul would have entered hell. ...My foot is moved: Thy mercy, O Lord, helpeth me” (Ps. 93:17–18). The basis for practicing the Jesus Prayer is prudent and careful behavior. Firstly, you must eliminate from yourself effeminacy and carnal pleasures, in all forms. One must be content with food and sleep that is always moderate, commensurate with one’s strength and health, so that food and sleep provide the body with proper reinforcement, without producing indecent movements, which come from excess, and without producing exhaustion, which comes from lack. Clothing, housing and all material accessories in general should be modest, in imitation of Christ, in imitation of His Apostles, in following their spirit, in communion with their spirit. The Holy Apostles and their true disciples did not make any sacrifices to vanity and vanity, according to the customs of the world, and did not enter into any communication with the spirit of the world. The correct, grace-filled action of the Jesus Prayer can only vegetate from the Spirit of Christ; it vegetates and grows exclusively on this soil alone. Sight, hearing and other senses must be strictly guarded so that through them, like through a gate, adversaries do not break into the soul. The mouth and tongue must be curbed, as if shackled in silence; idle talk, verbosity, especially ridicule, gossip and slander are the worst enemies of prayer. One must refuse to accept the brethren into one’s cell, one must refuse to go to their cell: one must remain patiently in one’s cell, as in a tomb, with one’s dead body—with one’s soul, tormented, killed by sin—to beg the Lord Jesus for mercy. From the grave - the cell - prayer ascends to heaven: in that grave into which the body is hidden after death, and in the hellish grave into which the soul of a sinner is cast, there is no longer room for prayer. One must remain a wanderer in the monastery, not entering into the affairs of the monastery on his own, without making close acquaintances with anyone, protecting himself during the work of the monastery with silence, constantly visiting the church of God, visiting the cell of the spiritual father in cases of need, considering every way out of his cell, leaving it only when indicated by an essential need. One must resolutely abandon vain curiosity and inquisitiveness, turning all curiosity and all research to research and study of the path of prayer. This path needs the most careful research and study: it is not only a “strait path”, but also a path “leading into the belly” (Matthew 7:14); He is the science of the sciences, and the art of the arts. This is what the Fathers call him 148. The path of true prayer becomes incomparably closer when the ascetic enters upon it through the activity of the inner man. When will he enter these gorges and feel the correctness, the saving power, the necessity of such a situation; when labor in the inner cage becomes desirable for him, then the tightness of outer living will also become desirable, as serving as an abode and repository for internal activity. He who has entered into the feat of prayer with his mind must renounce and constantly renounce both all thoughts and sensations of fallen nature, and all thoughts and sensations brought by fallen spirits, no matter how plausible those and other thoughts and sensations may be: he must constantly walk the narrow path of attentive prayer, not deviating either to the left or to the right. By deviation to the left I mean abandoning prayer with the mind to converse with vain and sinful thoughts; I call deviation to the right the abandonment of prayer by the mind for conversation with thoughts, apparently good. Four kinds of thoughts and sensations act on the person praying: some vegetate from the grace of God, planted in every Orthodox Christian through holy baptism, others are offered by the Guardian Angel, others arise from fallen nature, and finally others are inflicted by fallen spirits. The first two types of thoughts, or rather, memories and sensations contribute to prayer, enliven it, increase attention and the feeling of repentance, produce tenderness, crying of the heart, tears, expose before the eyes of the praying person the vastness of his sinfulness and the depth of human fall, announce death that is inevitable by anyone, the unknown of its hour, the impartial and terrible judgment of God, eternal torment, according to its cruelty beyond human comprehension. In the thoughts and sensations of a fallen nature, good is mixed with evil, and in demonic ones, evil is often hidden behind good, although sometimes acting as open evil. Of the last two kinds, thoughts and sensations act together due to the connection and communication of fallen spirits with fallen human nature, and the first fruit of their action is arrogance, and in prayer - absent-mindedness. Demons, bringing supposedly spiritual and high understandings, distract them from prayer, produce vain joy, pleasure, self-satisfaction, as if from the discovery of the most mysterious Christian teaching. Following demonic theology and philosophy, vain and passionate thoughts and dreams invade the soul, plunder, destroy prayer, and destroy the good structure of the soul. According to the fruits, truly good thoughts and feelings are distinguished from thoughts and feelings that are supposedly good. Oh, how rightly the Fathers call the exercise of the Jesus Prayer and the narrow path, and self-denial, and renunciation of the world! 149. These virtues belong to any attentive and reverent prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, which is alien to the diversity in form and the multiplicity that belong to psalmody and other prayers 150. Student . What words does the Jesus Prayer consist of? Elder. It consists of the following words: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Some Fathers 151 divide the prayer, for beginners, into two halves, and command from the morning until about lunchtime to say: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” and after lunch: “Son of God, have mercy on me.” This is an ancient legend. But it is better to get used, if possible, to pronouncing a complete prayer. The division was allowed out of condescension for the weakness of the weak and beginners. Student . Is the Jesus Prayer mentioned in Holy Scripture? Elder. It is spoken about in the Holy Gospel. Do not think that it is a human institution: it is a Divine institution. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself established and commanded the most sacred Jesus Prayer. After the Last Supper, at which the greatest of the Christian sacraments was created - the Holy Eucharist, the Lord, in a farewell conversation with His disciples, before going to terrible suffering and death on the cross for the redemption of lost humanity, taught the most sublime teaching and the most important, final commandments. Between these commandments, He gave permission and commandment to pray in His name 152. “Amen, amen, I say to you,” He said to the Apostles, “for whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23). “Whatever you ask from the Father in My name, that I will do; may the Father be glorified in the Son. And whatever you ask in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13–14). “Until now, do not ask for anything in My name: ask and you will receive, that your joy may be filled” (John 16:24). The greatness of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was foretold by the Prophets. Pointing to the redemption of men by the God-man that is about to be accomplished, Isaiah cries out: “Behold my God, my Savior!... Draw up water with joy from the fountain of salvation! And he said on the day: Praise the Lord, sing praises to His name: ... remember how His name is exalted; Praise the name of the Lord, for you have done great things” (Is. 12:2-5). “The way of the Lord is judgment: in Thy name we trust and remembrance, and this is what our soul desires” (Is. 26:8). In accordance with Isaiah, David predicts: “We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of the Lord our God we will be magnified... We will call on the name of the Lord our God” (Ps. 19:6, 8). “Blessed are the people who cry out - those who have mastered mental prayer - Lord, in the light of Your face they will walk, and in Your name they will rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they will be exalted” (Ps. 89:16-17). Student . What is the power of the Jesus Prayer? Elder. In the Divine name of the God-man, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. The Apostles, as we see from the book of Acts and from the Gospel, performed great miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: they healed ailments that were incurable by human means, raised the dead, commanded demons, and drove them out of people possessed by them. One day, soon after the Lord’s ascension into heaven, when all twelve Apostles were still in Jerusalem, two of them, Peter and John, went to pray in the Temple of Jerusalem. Every day a man lame from birth was carried to the church gates, called red, and laid on a platform: the lame man could neither walk nor stand. Prostrate at the gate, the sufferer asked those entering the church for alms, from which, apparently, he ate. When the Apostles approached the red gates, the lame man turned his gaze towards them, expecting to receive alms. Then Saint Peter said to him: “I have no silver and gold, but as an imam, this I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk” (Acts 3:6). The crippled man was healed instantly, went into the church with the Apostles, and loudly glorified God. The people, struck by surprise, ran to the Apostles. “Men of Israel! “,” said Saint Peter to the assembled people, “why do you wonder about this?” or are you looking at us? Was it by his own strength or piety that he made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our father, glorify His servant Jesus... and in the faith of His name, which you see and know, establish His name” (Acts 3:12–13, 16). The news of the miracle soon spread to the Sanhedrin hostile to the Lord Jesus 153. The Sanhedrin was alarmed by the news, seized the Apostles, put them into custody, and the next day called them to trial before their full assembly. The healed lame man was also called. When the Apostles stood in the midst of a host of deicides who had recently branded themselves with the execution of the God-man, in whose name and name a most amazing miracle was now performed before many eyewitnesses, the Apostles were asked: “By what power, or by what name did you do this?” - Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered with the words of the Holy Spirit, which concluded as follows: “Be wise to all of you and to all the people of Israel, as in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Him you crucified, His God raised from the dead, for this reason this one stands before you in good health... For there is no other name under heaven, given among men, in which it is fitting for us to be saved” ( Acts 4:7, 10, 12). The lips of God's enemies were sealed with silence before the irresistible power of the words of heavenly truth; The numerous host of wise and strong could not find what to say or how to object to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed by two unlearned fishermen, sealed with a heavenly seal - God's miracle. The Sanhedrin resorts to its power and violence. Despite the obvious miracle, despite the testimony given to the truth by God Himself, the Sanhedrin strictly forbids the Apostles to teach about the name of Jesus, even to pronounce this name. But the Apostles answered boldly: “If it is right to obey you before God rather than God, judge: for we cannot speak without speaking what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19–20). The Sanhedrin again finds no objection, again resorts exclusively to its authority, and repeats the strict prohibition. He let the Apostles go without doing anything to them, although he wanted to pour out frantic anger on them: by a miracle of the whole people, both his mood and action were connected. Peter and John, returning to their own, conveyed to them the threats and prohibition of the Supreme Court. Then the twelve Apostles and all the members of the newborn Jerusalem Church poured out a unanimously fiery prayer to God: they opposed the prayer to the power and hatred of the rulers of the world - humans and demons. This prayer consisted of the following petition: “Lord! look upon their reproaches and grant to Thy servant to speak Thy word with all boldness, to stretch out Thy hand to Thee at all times for healing, and to become signs and wonders in the holy name of Thy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). Student . Some argue that practicing the Jesus Prayer will always, or almost always, result in delusion, and they strongly forbid practicing this prayer. Elder. In the assimilation of such a thought and in such a prohibition lies terrible blasphemy, lies a deplorable charm. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only source of our salvation, the only means of our salvation; His human name borrowed from His Divinity the unlimited, all-holy power to save us: how can this power that acts for salvation, this only power that bestows salvation, be perverted and act in destruction? This makes no sense! This is a sad, blasphemous, soul-destroying absurdity! Those who have adopted such a way of thinking are definitely in demonic delusion, deceived by a false mind that comes from Satan. Satan has insidiously rebelled against the all-holy and magnificent name of our Lord Jesus Christ, uses human blindness and ignorance as his weapon, and slandered the name, “more than any name. In the name of Jesus every knee will bow, those in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:9-10). Those who prohibit praying the Jesus Prayer can respond with the words of the apostles Peter and John to a similar prohibition made by the Jewish Sanhedrin: “Whether it is righteous before God, listen to you rather than to God, judge.” The Lord Jesus commanded to pray in His all-holy name; He has given us a priceless gift; What significance can a human teaching have that contradicts the teaching of God, a human prohibition that tends to eliminate and destroy the command of God, to take away a priceless gift? It is dangerous, very dangerous, to preach a doctrine contrary to the doctrine preached in the Gospel. Such an undertaking is an arbitrary separation of oneself from the grace of God, according to the testimony of the Apostle (Gal. 1:8). Student . But the elders, whose opinions I have given, are especially famous and are recognized by many as the most experienced mentors in spiritual life. Elder. The Apostle commanded - or rather, commanded through the mouth of the Apostle the Holy Spirit to reject any teaching that disagrees with the teaching that the Apostles “preached” - to reject even when an “Angel from heaven” proclaimed this discordant teaching. “If we, or an angel from heaven, brings you good news, let him be anathema. As I foretold, and now I say again, if anyone preaches the gospel to you before he eats it, let him be anathema.” (Gal.1:8-9) The Holy Scripture expressed itself this way, not because any of the holy Angels attempted to contradict the teaching of Christ, but because the teaching of Christ, the teaching of God preached by the Apostles, is completely reliable, completely holy, and is not subject to any changes, no matter how fundamental these changes may seem to be due to insufficient, corrupt knowledge and carnal wisdom. The Teaching of Christ, being above the court of both men and Angels, is accepted by humble faith alone, and itself serves as the stone by which all other teachings are tested. The opinion of human society about a mentor of monasticism has no meaning if the teaching of this mentor contradicts the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, if it contains blasphemy. Monasticism is a science of sciences: you need to know it in order to correctly evaluate the one who teaches it. The Monk Macarius the Great said: “Many who appear righteous in appearance are reputed to be true Christians; but it is common for some artists, and among them those who thoroughly know art, to find out whether these righteous people really have the knowledge and image of the King, or, perhaps, a sign was minted and imprinted on them counterfeitly by ill-intentioned people? will skilled artists approve or reject them? If there are no skilled artists, then there is no one to investigate the evil workers, because they too are clothed in the appearance of monastics and Christians” 154. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, explaining the words of the Archangel Gabriel about John, the Forerunner of the Lord, that he “will be great before the Lord” (Luke 1:15), says: “The angel promises that John will be great, but before the Lord: because many are called great before men, not before God, and they are hypocrites.” If a vicious life and malicious intent, covered with hypocrisy, are not recognized by the world and are accepted by it as virtue, the more incomprehensible for it is insufficient knowledge, superficial knowledge, perverse knowledge. The world highly values ​​bodily exploits and hardships, without discerning whether they are used correctly and usefully, or sinfully and causing grave mental harm; the world especially respects that which has a beneficial effect on the bodily senses, which corresponds to the world’s concepts of virtue and monasticism; the world loves what flatters and pleases it; The world loves its own, said the Savior (John 15:18–25). Rather, the hatred of the world, the slander of the world, persecution by it can be signs of a true servant of God: and this is attested to by the Savior. The Holy Fathers bequeath to choose a mentor who is not deceptive, whose undeception must be recognized by the agreement of his teaching and life with the Holy Scriptures and with the teaching of the Spirit-Bearing Fathers 155. They warn against unskilled teachers, so as not to become infected with their false teaching 156. They command that the teaching of teachers be compared with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, those who agree to accept, those who disagree to reject 157. They claim that those who do not have a purified spiritual eye and cannot recognize a tree by its fruit, recognize vain, empty and hypocrites as teachers and spiritualists, but do not pay any attention to the true saints, finding them ignorant when they are silent, proud and cruel when they speak 158 . Consider the entire Holy Scripture: you will see that in it the name of the Lord is magnified and glorified everywhere, its power of salvation for people is exalted. Consider the writings of the Fathers: you will see that all of them, without exception, advise and command the exercise of the Jesus Prayer, they call it a weapon that is stronger neither in heaven nor on earth 159, they call it God-given, an inalienable inheritance, one of the final and highest testaments of the God-man, a loving and sweetest consolation, a sure pledge 160. Finally, turn to the law of the Orthodox Eastern Church: you will see that for all her illiterate children, both monks and laity, she established the replacement of psalmody and prayer in the cell rule with the Jesus Prayer 161. What does it mean before the unanimous testimony of the Holy Scriptures and all the Holy Fathers, before the law of the Universal Church on the Jesus Prayer, the contradictory teaching of some blind men, glorified and glorified by blind men like them? The Moldavian elder, Schemamonk Vasily, who lived at the end of the last century, expounded the teaching on the Jesus Prayer with particular satisfaction in his comments on the writings of the monks Gregory of Sinai, Hesychius of Jerusalem and Philotheus of Sinai. Schemamonk called his remarks prefaces or precursors. The name is very true! Reading the notes prepares for reading the mentioned Fathers, whose writings relate most to monks who have already significantly succeeded. The remarks were published by the Optina Pustyn together with the writings of Paisius Nyametsky, whom Vasily was a mentor, associate and friend 162. In the preface to the book of St. Gregory of Sinaite, Elder Basil says: “Some, not experimentally familiar with mental work and imagining themselves that they have the gift of reasoning, justify themselves, or better yet, deviate from learning this sacred work with three pretexts or accusations: firstly, by sending this work to holy and impassive men, thinking that it belongs to them, and not to the passionate; secondly, representing the complete impoverishment of mentors and teachers for such a life and path; thirdly, the enchantment that follows this activity. Of these pretexts, or accusations, the first is indecent and unfair: because the first degree of success of novice monks consists in diminishing passions by sobriety of the mind and guarding the heart, that is, by mental prayer, befitting active ones. The second is reckless and unfounded: because, for lack of a mentor and teacher, Scripture is our teacher. The third involves self-delusion: those who bring it, reading the scriptures about delusion, stumble themselves with the same scripture, explaining it crookedly. Instead of learning from scripture the delusion and the warning against it, they turn this scripture and present it as a basis for evading smart work. If you are afraid of this doing and teaching it out of sheer reverence and simplicity of heart, then I, too, am afraid on this basis, and not on the basis of empty fables, according to which “to be afraid of the wolf, so do not go into the forest.” And one must fear God, but not run away or move away from Him because of this fear.” Further, the schemamonk explains the difference between prayer performed with the mind with the sympathy of the heart and befitting all pious monks and Christians, and grace-filled prayer performed with the mind in the heart or from the heart and which constitutes the property of successful monks. For those who have received and internalized an unfortunate prejudice against the Jesus Prayer, who are not at all familiar with it from correct and long-term practice of it, it would be much more prudent, much safer to refrain from judging about it, to recognize their decisive ignorance of this most sacred feat, than to take upon themselves the duty of preaching against the exercise of the Jesus Prayer: to proclaim that this all-holy prayer is the cause of demonic delusion and destruction of the soul. As a warning to them, I find it necessary to say that the blasphemy of prayer in the name of Jesus, the attribution of harmful effects to this name is equivalent to the blasphemy that the Pharisees uttered against the miracles performed by the Lord (Matthew 12:31, 34, 36). Ignorance can be excused at the court of God much more conveniently than stubborn prejudice and exclamations and actions based on it. Let us remember that at the judgment of God we must give an account for every idle word 163; the more terrible the account for the word and words blasphemous against the main dogma of the Christian faith. The doctrine of the Divine power of the name of Jesus has the full dignity of the main dogma, and belongs to the all-holy number and composition of these dogmas. Ignorant, blasphemous reasoning against the Jesus Prayer has all the character of heretical reasoning. Student . However, the Holy Fathers greatly warn those who practice the Jesus Prayer against delusion. Elder. Yes, they warn. They warn against delusion both those who are in obedience, and those who are silent, and those who fast - in a word, everyone who practices any kind of virtue. The source of delusion, like all evil, is the devil, and not any virtue. “We must observe with all caution,” says Saint Macarius the Great, “the intrigues, deceptions and evil actions being arranged by the enemy (the devil) from all sides. Just as the Holy Spirit, through Paul, serves all things to all men (1 Cor. 9:22), so the evil spirit evilly tries to be all things to all men, in order to bring everyone down to destruction. With those who pray, he pretends to be praying, so as to make him arrogant about prayer; He fasts with those who are fasting in order to seduce them with self-conceit and drive them into a frenzy; with those knowledgeable in the Holy Scriptures, and he rushes into the study of Scripture, apparently seeking knowledge, but in essence trying to lead them to a false understanding of Scripture; with those who have been worthy of the illumination of light, he also appears to have this gift, as Paul says: “Satan is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), so that, deceiving with the apparition of a kind of light, he can attract to himself. It’s easy to say: he takes upon himself all sorts of appearances for everyone, so that by an action similar to the action of good, he can enslave the ascetic for himself, and, covering himself with appearances, overthrow him into destruction” 164. I happened to see elders who were exclusively engaged in intense physical feats, and who came from it into the greatest conceit, the greatest self-delusion. Their spiritual passions - anger, pride, deceit, disobedience - received extraordinary development. Selfishness and selfishness completely prevailed in them. They decisively and bitterly rejected all the most soul-saving advice and warnings of confessors, abbots, even saints: they, trampling on the rules of not only humility, but also modesty, decency itself, did not stop expressing disdain for these persons in the most arrogant way. A certain Egyptian monk, at the beginning of the 4th century, became a victim of the most terrible demonic delusion. Initially, he fell into arrogance, then, due to arrogance, he came under the special influence of an evil spirit. The devil, based on the arbitrary arrogance of the monk, took care to develop this ailment in him, so that, through his matured and strengthened arrogance, he could finally subjugate the monk to himself and involve him in the destruction of his soul. Helped by the demon, the monk achieved such disastrous success that he stood with his bare feet on hot coals, and, standing on them, read the entire Lord's Prayer “Our Father.” Of course, people who did not have spiritual reasoning saw in this action a miracle of God, the extraordinary holiness of the monk, the power of the Lord’s Prayer, and glorified the monk with praise, developing pride in him and helping him to destroy himself. There was neither a miracle of God nor the holiness of the monk here; the power of the Lord’s Prayer did not work here - Satan acted here, based on man’s self-delusion, on his misdirected will; There was a demonic charm at work here. You may ask: what significance did the Lord’s Prayer have in the demonic action? After all, the deluded one read it and attributed the miracle that was happening to its action. Obviously, the Lord’s Prayer did not take any part here: the deceived one, of his own free will, by his own self-deception and by demonic deception, used against himself the spiritual sword given to people for salvation. The error and self-delusion of heretics have always been covered up by the abuse of the Word of God, covered with refined slyness; and in the narrated event, human delusion and demonic delusion, for the same purpose, were cunningly hidden behind the Lord’s Prayer. The unfortunate monk believed that he was standing on hot coals with bare feet due to the action of the Lord's Prayer, for the purity and height of his ascetic life, but he stood on them due to the action of demons. In exactly the same way, self-delusion and demonic delusion are sometimes covered up, as it were, by the action of the Jesus Prayer, and ignorance attributes to the action of this most holy prayer what should be attributed to the combined action of Satan and man - a man who has surrendered to the leadership of Satan. The mentioned Egyptian monk passed from imaginary holiness to unbridled voluptuousness, then to complete insanity, and, rushing into the kindled furnace of a public bath, burned. Probably: either he was overcome by despair, or some deceptive ghost appeared to him in the oven 165. Student . What is it in a person, what condition in himself, that makes him capable of delusion? Elder. St. Gregory of Sinaite says: “In general, one reason for delusion is pride” 166. In human pride, which is self-deception, the devil finds a convenient refuge for himself, and adds his deception to human self-deception. Every person is more or less prone to prelest: because “the purest human nature has something proud in itself” 167. The warnings of the Fathers are sound! You must be very careful, you must protect yourself very much from self-delusion and charm. In our time, with the complete impoverishment of God-inspired mentors, we need special caution, special vigilance over oneself. They are needed for all monastic feats: they are most needed during the feat of prayer, which of all feats is the most sublime, the most soul-saving, and the most maligned by enemies 168 . “Live with fear” (1 Peter 1:17), bequeaths the Apostle. The exercise of the Jesus Prayer has its own beginning, its own gradualness, its own endless end. It is necessary to start the exercise from the beginning, and not from the middle and not from the end. His Holiness Callistus, Patriarch of Constantinople, depicting the spiritual fruits of this prayer, says: “No one who has not been taught the mysteries or who requires milk, having heard the lofty teaching about the grace-filled effect of prayer, dare to touch it. Such an untimely attempt is prohibited. Those who encroach on it, and seek prematurely what comes in its time, trying to ascend to the haven of dispassion in a dispensation that does not correspond to it, are recognized by the Fathers as nothing other than those in insanity. It is impossible to read books to someone who has not learned to read and write." 169 Student . What does it mean to begin the exercise of the Jesus Prayer from the middle and the end, and what does it mean to begin this exercise from the beginning? Elder. Those beginners begin in the middle, who, having read in the Fathers' writings the instructions for practicing the Jesus Prayer, given by the Fathers to the silent ones, that is, to monks who have already been very successful in monastic feats, thoughtlessly accept this instruction as the guide for their activities. Those who, without any preliminary preparation, begin with their minds to ascend into the church of the heart and from there send up prayer begin from the middle. Those who seek to immediately reveal within themselves the gracious sweetness of prayer and its other grace-filled effects begin at the end. One must start from the beginning, that is, perform prayer with “attention” and “reverence”, with the goal of “repentance”, taking care only that these three qualities are constantly present in prayer. So Saint John Climacus, this great worker of heartfelt prayer with grace, prescribes attentive prayer to those who are in obedience, and heartfelt prayer to those who are ripe for silence. For the former, he recognizes prayer that is alien to absent-mindedness as impossible, and from the latter he demands such prayer 170. In human society one should pray with one’s mind, but in private one should pray with both mind and lips, somewhat aloud to oneself 171. Special care, the most careful care, must be taken for the improvement of morality in accordance with the teaching of the Gospel. Experience will not be slow to reveal to the mind of the person praying the closest connection between the commandments of the Gospel and the Jesus Prayer. These commandments serve for this prayer what oil serves for a burning lamp; without oil the lamp cannot be lit; when the oil becomes depleted, it cannot burn: it goes out, spreading foul-smelling smoke around it. Morality is formed according to the teachings of the Gospel very conveniently when undergoing monastic obediences, when obediences are completed in the mind in which they are commanded to be completed by the Holy Fathers. True obedience serves as the foundation, the legal door for true silence 172. True silence consists in the Jesus Prayer internalized in the heart - and some of the Holy Fathers accomplished the great feat of heart silence and seclusion, surrounded by human rumor 173 . Only on morality, brought into order by the Gospel commandments, only on this solid stone of the Gospel, can a majestic, sacred, immaterial church of God-pleasing prayer be erected. The work of one who builds on the arctic fox is in vain: on an easy, wavering morality (Matthew 7:26). Morality, brought into a harmonious, splendid order, strengthened by skill in fulfilling the Gospel commandments, can be likened to an indestructible silver or golden vessel, which alone is capable of worthily receiving and safely preserving within itself the priceless, spiritual myrrh: prayer. Saint Simeon the New Theologian, speaking about the failure of prayer asceticism and the tares of delusion that arise from it, attributes the cause of both failure and delusion to the failure to maintain correctness and gradualism in the asceticism. “Those who want to ascend,” says the Theologian, “to the heights of prayerful success, should not begin to go from top to bottom, but should ascend from bottom to top, first to the first step of the ladder, then to the second, then to the third, and finally to the fourth. In this way anyone can rise from the earth and ascend to heaven. “Firstly,” he must strive to tame and diminish passions. “Secondly,” he must practice psalmody, that is, oral prayer: when passions diminish, then prayer, naturally bringing joy and sweetness to the tongue, is considered pleasing to God. “Thirdly,” he must engage in mental prayer.” Here, of course, is prayer performed with the mind in the heart: the attentive prayer of beginners, with the sympathy of the heart. The Fathers rarely deign to call it mental prayer, classifying it more as oral. “Fourthly,” it must go back to the vision. The first is the property of the beginners; second - growing in prosperity; third – those who have achieved extreme prosperity; fourth - perfect." Further, the Theologian says that those who struggle to diminish passions must learn to guard their hearts and to attentively pray the Jesus Prayer, which corresponds to their disposition 174 . In the dormitories of Pachomius the Great, which produced the most exalted practitioners of mental prayer, each new entrant into the monastery was, firstly, occupied with bodily labor under the guidance of an elder for three years. Through bodily labors, frequent instructions from the elder, daily confession of external and internal activities, and cutting off the will, passions were powerfully and quickly curbed, and significant purity was brought to the mind and heart. During the exercise in labors, the novice was taught how to perform prayer in accordance with his dispensation. After three years, beginners were required to study by heart the entire Gospel and Psalter, and for capable students, the entire Holy Scripture, which unusually develops oral, attentive prayer. After this, the secret teaching of mental prayer began: it was abundantly explained by both the New and Old Testaments 175. In this way, the monks were introduced to the correct understanding of mental prayer and the correct exercise of it. From the strength of the foundation and from the correctness of the exercise, the success was marvelous 176. Student . Is there any sure way to protect oneself from delusion in general, during all monastic endeavors, and in particular when practicing the Jesus Prayer? Elder. Just as pride is generally the cause of delusion, so humility - a virtue directly opposite to pride - serves as a sure warning and protection from delusion. Saint John Climacus called humility “the destruction of passions” 177. Obviously, in someone in whom passions do not operate, in whom passions are curbed, delusion cannot operate, because “delusion is a passionate or biased deviation of the soul towards lies on the basis of pride.” When practicing the Jesus Prayer, and prayer in general, it completely and faithfully protects the form of humility called “crying.” Crying is a heartfelt feeling of repentance, saving sadness over the sinfulness and varied, numerous weaknesses of man. Weeping is “a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, which God will not despise” (Ps. 50:19), that is, it will not give over to the power and reproach of demons, as a proud heart, filled with conceit, arrogance, and vanity, gives over to them. Crying is the only sacrifice that God accepts from the fallen human spirit, until the renewal of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit of God. May our prayer be imbued with a feeling of repentance, may it be coupled with crying, and delusion will never affect us. Saint Gregory of Sinaite, in the last article of his work 178, in which he sets out prayers for ascetics to warn against soul-destroying delusion, says: “It is no small work to achieve the exact truth, and to become pure from everything that is opposed to grace: because it is usual for the devil to show, especially before beginners, his charm in the image of the truth, giving the evil one the appearance of the spiritual. For this reason, one who strives in silence to achieve pure prayer must walk the mental path of prayer with much trembling and weeping, asking for instruction from the skilled, always weeping over his sins, grieving and fearing lest he be subjected to torment, or fall away from God, be separated from Him in this or the next century. If the devil sees that the ascetic lives deplorably, he does not stay with him, not tolerating the humility that comes from crying... A great weapon is to have weeping when praying. Unpretentious prayer consists of warmth with the Jesus Prayer, which (the Jesus Prayer) puts fire into the earth of our hearts, in warmth, burning passion like thorns, producing joy and tranquility in the soul. This warmth does not come from the right or left side and not from above, but vegetates in the very heart, like a source of water from the Life-giving Spirit 179 . Love to find and acquire it alone in your heart, keeping your mind always dreamless, alien to understandings and thoughts, and do not be afraid. He who said: “Be of good cheer: I am, do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27), He is with us. He is the One we are looking for. He will always protect us - and we should not be afraid or sigh when calling on God. If some have gone astray by undergoing mental damage, then know that they were subjected to this out of self-indulgence and arrogance.” Nowadays, due to the complete impoverishment of spirit-bearing mentors, the ascetic of prayer is forced to be guided exclusively by the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers 180. This is much more difficult. A new reason for crying! In monasteries, a monk who guides and instructs other monks is called an elder. Preface by Schemamonk Vasily Polyanomerulsky on the chapters of Blessed Philotheus of Sinai. Life and writings of the Moldavian Elder, Paisius Velichkovsky, edition of Optina Pustyn. Moscow. 1847 Instruction 32. Edition of 1844, Moscow. Elder Seraphim was born in 1759, joined the brotherhood of the Sarov Hermitage in 1778, and died in 1833 on January 2. This information was received from the most consulted person, now Archimandrite Nikon, abbot of the first-class St. George Balaklava Monastery (1866). A word on sobriety, ch. LXXX and LXXXI. Philokalia, part 2. Nikephoros the Monk's Word on Sobriety. Philokalia, part 2. St. Hesychius of Jerusalem. A word on sobriety, ch. V. Philokalia, part 2. A word about sobriety. Philokalia, part 2. According to the explanation of St. Hesychia. A word on sobriety, ch. II. Saint Hesychius's Sermon on Temperance, chapters XXI, XXVIII, CIX, CLXXXII, CLXVIII. Saint Hesychius's Word on Temperance, chapter CXV, CLIX. Saint Hesychius's Word on Temperance, ch. СХ, coll. from ch. CIX. Venerable Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos, ch. 98. Philokalia, part 2. Venerable Cassian the Roman. Interview 2. About reasoning. Blessed Nikephoros of Athos. Philokalia, part 2, and many other Fathers. Rev. Neil of Sinai on prayer, chapters 17, 18, 142. Philokalia, part 4. Ladder. Word 28, ch. 10. Venerable Abba Dorotheos. Life of St. Dosifei. Venerable Gregory of Sinaite. Philokalia, part 1. On the silence of prayer by Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos, ch. 10. Philokalia, part 2. The Sanhedrin was the name given to the supreme spiritual court of the Jews. Callista and Ignatius Xanthopoulov on silence and prayer, ch. 14. Philokalia, part 1. Venerable Simeon the New Theologian, ch. 32, Philokalia, part 1. Venerable Simeon the New Theologian, ch. 33. Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, ch. 70, 71, 72. Philokalia, part 1. Ladder. Word 21, ch. 7. Word 15, ch. 55. – Sermon on the sobriety of Saint Hesychius, ch. 28, 39, 62, etc. - Venerable Nil of Sorsky. Word 5. About the lustful thought. Venerables Callistus and Ignatius, ch. X. Philokalia, part 2. Psalter with succession. Optina Pustyn rendered the greatest service to domestic monasticism by translating from Greek into Russian, and partly by publishing in the Slavic language, many Fatherly works on spiritual monastic feats. May the name of the deceased blessed elder of the mentioned desert, Hieroschemamonk Macarius, who stood at the head of this matter, be mentioned here, among the blessings. Chetii-Minei. Life of St. Pachomius the Great, May on the 15th day. Chapter 131. Philokalia, part 1. Venerable Macarius the Great. Conversation 7, ch. 4. Venerable Macarius the Great. Word 3, ch. 2. Chapters on prayer, ch. 8. Philokalia, part 2. Ladder. Word 4, ch. 93 and Word 27, ch. 6, 46, 60, 61, 62. His Holiness Callistus “On Prayer in Brief.” Philokalia, part 4. Saints Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos, ch. 15. Philokalia, part 2. These were: Alexy the Man of God (March 17), Saint John Kushchnik (January 15), Venerable Vitaly the monk and others. - Ladder. Word 4, ch. 36. A word about three types of attention and prayer, in the article about the third image, at the end of the article. - Ladder. Word 27, ch. 33. This is clear from the writings of St. Cassian the Roman, St. Orsisius, St. Isaiah the Hermit and other holy monks who received monastic education in Egyptian monasteries. Borrowed from the stories of St. Cassian the Roman. Ladder, title of the 25th Word. Spiritual warmth is the property of very successful monks who labor in silence, for whom the entire book of St. Gregory of Sinaite was written, and is by no means the property of novices. Beginners should be content if they pray with attention and tenderness. For warmth, see “The Word on the Jesus Prayer.” Ascetic Experiences, volume 2. Venerable Nil of Sorsky, preface to the legend. You might be interested in: