Свиток. Сочинения Старца Архимандрита Отца нашего Паисия

Divided into chapters on mental prayer Against the blasphemer of a certain vain-minded Philosopher monk who resides in the Moshen Mountains; written in the Drogomirn Monastery Preface by Elder Paisios As soon as it came to the ears of the last one, that some from the monastic rank dare to blaspheme the divine, ever-memorable and God-created Jesus, sacred in the heart with the mind, a prayer that edifies on the fox of superstition, besides any testimony, such is their own tongue-in-cheek, to their enemy about this, I dare to say, arming, yes, like a weapon with his tongues, he will be able to discredit this most immaculate and Divine matter and, with the blindness of their mind, darken this mental sun: for this reason, having mourned their such wickedness, those who go astray from the belly and speak lies, and fearing that no one from those unsupported by reason, hearing their fables, will fall into a ditch of blasphemy similar to them and die before God will sin by blaspheming the teaching of many God-bearing Fathers, from the enlightenment of Divine grace about this Divine prayer, those who testify and teach, who, even if they no longer tolerate hearing blasphemous words about this infrequent act, and also the prayer of those who are zealous for this soul-saving work, we convince, the intentions, even if my weak mind and strength exceeds, my sweetest Jesus, without Him no one can do anything, calling for help, to the objection of the falsely named mind of the vanities and the affirmation of the God-chosen flock about the name of Christ gathered in the monastery of our brethren, write a little something about the Divine prayer more intelligently from the teachings of the Holy Fathers written off to a firm, unshakable and undoubted notice about this. I am dust and ashes, having bowed the mental knee of my heart before the unapproachable majesty of Thy Divine glory, I pray to Thee, my all-sweet Jesus, the Only Begotten Son and Word of God, Radiance of glory and Image of the Hypostasis Father, enlightening the one born blind, enlighten my darkened mind and thought, and grant from You the grace of the accursed my soul, may this work of mine be for the glory of Your most holy name, and for the benefit of those who want to do it through intelligent and sacred prayer, for you to cleave to our God, and for you, a priceless bead, to carry in my heart and soul, and to correct from my extreme ignorance this Divine work of those who dare to blaspheme. Our father Elder Paisius of blessed memory. Chapters on smarter prayer As mental prayer is the practice of the ancient Holy Fathers, and sow sacred and immaculate prayers against the blasphemers Let it be known that this Divine sacred mental prayer is the work of the unceasing work of our ancient God-bearing Fathers, and in many desert places and in communal monasteries in monasteries, like the sun, it has risen. In Mount Sinai, in the Skete of Egypt, in Mount Nitria, in Jerusalem and in the monasteries around Jerusalem, and simply say, throughout the East: in Constantinople, and in the Holy Mount Athos, and on the Islands of the Sea, in the last times, by the grace of Christ, and in Great Russia. Thus, the intelligent sacred prayers, with the attention of many from our God-bearing Fathers, the Seraphim to God and according to God to the neighbor, kindled with a flame, the most dangerous commandments of God were the keeper, and having cleansed their souls and hearts from all the vices of the old man, the vessels of choice were worthy of being the Holy Spirit: His various Divine gifts having become like luminaries and pillars of fire in the world, having shown himself through his life, he performed countless miracles in deed and word, bringing an innumerable multitude of human souls to salvation. From them many secret Divine inspirations moved about this Divine intelligent prayer, according to the power of the Divine Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, writing books of their holy teachings, filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This was by God’s special Providence, so that in the last times this Divine work will come into oblivion, from which many, that is, books of God, sin for our sakes, were allowed by the Saracens, who enslaved the Greek kingdom, and were destroyed, some of them, by the care of God, are preserved even to this day. No one from the true believers dared to blaspheme about this Divine intelligent heart’s paradise, which was prophesied; but in great honor and extreme reverence, like a thing filled with all spiritual benefits, I have it. The chief of evil and adversary to every good deed, the devil, seeing that especially through this mental prayer, choosing the good part of the monastic order, sits down with unwavering love at the feet of Jesus, having perfect prosperity in His Divine commandments, and for this reason having brought light and enlightenment to the world, began to harbor envy and use all his own intrigues, in order to discredit and blaspheme this soul-saving work, and completely, if possible, destroy it from the face of the earth; in the same way as previously spoken, through the destruction of books similar to the Saracens in everything; Now, into the pure and heavenly work of this wheat, adding its own choking tares, and the self-initiated one who touched this work, who reaped thorns instead of wheat for his own sake, and who instead of salvation found destruction, will bring blasphemy from the poor to reasoning about this saving work. Even with these, the devil, not being satisfied, found in the Italian countries the Calavrian serpent, the forerunner of the Antichrist, with pride similar to the devil in everything, the heretic Barlaam, and settled in her with all his power, moving his Orthodox faith, our blasphemy, as in the Lenten Triodion in Synaxarion, the second week of the Holy Great Lent about this in subtle detail is being written. Moreover, it is manifold to blaspheme with tongue and hand and to daringly reject sacred mental prayer, as our Father Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonites, also writes about this in his sacred book in chapter 31, and I offer his very words here, saying this: “This accursed Varlaam abounds in both blasphemy and writing on the sacred prayer, and on the Divine hedgehog on Tabor 47 grace and illumination. Hedgehog: pray unceasingly 48, without understanding, below the ability to understand (how can someone who is vain with his mind and united to the proud in dreaming thoughts comprehend this?) Below the hedgehog: I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind 49; below, singing and chanting in our hearts to the Lord 50; and, as God sent the Spirit of his Son, that is, grace into your hearts, crying: Abba Father 51, and I want to speak five words with my mind rather than ten words with my tongue” 52; Likewise, mental prayer is rejected, and even more so the invocation of the Lord, for Peter also preached the confession: you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, 53 and the tradition is the Lord Himself, saying in the Gospel: if you ask anything from the Father in My Name, He will give it to you, 54 and in My Name the demons will be given birth, 55 and so on. Because His Name also has an eternal life 56: this saying was written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that you who believe may have life in His Name 57; and the giving of the Holy Spirit is the invocation of Christ: no one can speak the Lord Jesus, even by the Holy Spirit 58, speech, and so on about this.” What did the evil serpent begin with the son of perdition, the accursed heretic Varlaam, whose blasphemy against the sacred, intelligent lips, like prayers, succeeded in his undertaking? Was it possible with his slander to darken the light of this clever work, and, as if he had hope, to consume it in the end? Not at all, but his illness turned on his head. At that time, the Great champion and representative of piety, our most luminous Father Gregory, Archbishop Palamas of Thessalonites, who was in the holy mountain of Athos in perfect obedience and unceasing mental prayer, sacred exercise, like the sun, asked in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even before the bishop’s elevation to the throne of that Church, into the kingdom The most divine king Andronikos Palaeologus, in the reigning city, in the great Church of the Great Wisdom of God, at the great Council gathered against the foretold heretic Barlaam, he was filled with the Spirit of God and was clothed with invincible power from above, stopping his mouth open against God and completely disgracing him, and with fire-inspired words and he wrote off his blasphemous heresies and burned all the blasphemies, like creating ashes: in the whole Catholic Church of God, this heretic Barlaam with Akindun, in all his like-minded people, was thrice anathematized; but even to this day, every year in the week of Orthodoxy, the Church, together with other heretics, curses the heretics: Barlaam and Akindinus and their followers and successors are anathema, three times. Look here, O friends, who dare to blaspheme mental prayer and consider who is the first to blaspheme: is it not the heretic Varlaam, thrice anathematized by the Church and forever cursed? Are you not also communicating your blasphemy to this heretic and his like-minded person? Do you not tremble in your soul to fall under a Church oath similar to theirs and to be alienated from God? Aren't you horrified by rebelling against a most sacred cause and by your blasphemy tempting the souls of those who are not established in the minds of your neighbors, at the terrible rebuke for this in the Gospel of God? Are you not afraid, according to the Apostolic verb: it is terrible to fall into the hand of the Living God 59, both temporarily and eternally for this, unless you repent, you will be executed? Why should I bless the inventiveness of blaspheming this immaculate and blessed thing? I’m not at all perplexed. Do you think invoking the Name of Jesus is not useful to you? But it is also impossible to be saved in anyone else, except in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is the human mind, through which prayer works, defective? But this is impossible: God created man in His image and likeness; The image of God and the likeness of the soul is human, which, according to God’s creation, is pure and immaculate: for the mind, the most basic, spiritual feeling, like sight in the body, is also immaculate. But is the heart worthy of blasphemy, on it, like on an altar, the mind of secret prayer performs a sacred sacrifice to God? No way. God’s creation, like the whole human body that exists, is absolutely good. Even if the calling of Jesus is saving, the mind and heart of man are the work of God’s hands: what vice is it for a man to send up a prayer from the depths of his heart to the sweetest Jesus and ask for mercy from him? Or is it not for this that you blaspheme and reject mental prayer, as God, don’t you think, does not hear the secret prayer that happens in the heart, but hears it exactly as it is spoken by the lips? But this is blasphemy against God: God is the knower of the heart and the most subtle thoughts that happen in the heart, or the thoughts of having all the dangerous news, and all the news, like God and the All-Knower: and He Himself such secrets, like pure and immaculate sacrifices, sent up from the depths of the heart, seeks prayers, commanding: you, when you pray, look in into your cage, and having shut your doors, pray to your Father in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in reality 60; The hedgehog of Christ's mouth, the universal luminary, the Ecumenical Teacher, Saint John Chrysostom, in the nineteenth conversation on the Gospel of Matthew, the God-given Wisdom of the Holy Spirit 61, does not speak about this prayer spoken with the lips and in the tongue, but about the very secret, silent prayer sent up from the depths of the heart, which teaches us to create not in the image of the body, below with a crying voice, but with the most zealous will, with all quietness and mental contrition and internal tears and mental illness, closing mental doors. And he brings as testimony from the Divine Scripture about this secret prayer Moses, the Seer of God, and Saint Anna, and the righteous Abel, saying this: “Are you not sick in soul?” You cannot, therefore, not cry out: for the one who is so sick is to pray and ask, as if he were dead. While Moses was still sick and praying, and his illness was heard, for this reason I said to him God: Why are you crying to me? 62 And Anna again, I cannot hear her voice, do everything as she pleases: even though her heart cried out. Wasn’t Abel silent, but also praying when he died? And the blood of his trumpets emitted the brightest voice. For now, you and I will not forbid you, like Saint Moses. Tear apart, as the prophet commanded, your heart, and not your garments; from the depths call on God: from the depths, I say, I called to you, Lord; from the ground: from the heart bring a voice; perform the sacrament of your prayer. And lower: you pray lower than a man, but to God who exists everywhere, and who first hears the voice, and who knows the unspeakable thoughts: if you pray to God, you will receive a lot of reward. For your father, who saw in secret, will reward you in reality. And lower: Because He is invisible, and wants your prayer to be like this. You see, oh friends! According to the testimony of the invincible Pillar of Orthodoxy, there is another prayer besides the mouth, a secret, invisible, silent prayer offered up to God from the depths of the heart, which, like a pure sacrifice, the Lord accepts into the aroma of spiritual fragrance, but rejoices over it and is glad, seeing the mind, which we especially should sanctify to God, uniting it with prayer to Himself. Therefore, in response to this prayer, from the lips of Christ, to the Saints, I say, testified by John Chrysostom, arm your tongue with blasphemy, slandering, hating, swearing, taking revenge and like some kind of nasty thing and, in short, saying, below hear patiently. Horror and trembling surround me at such a wordless undertaking of yours! But I also ask you, looking for the blasphemy of your blasphemy: is it not for this that you blaspheme this most saving prayer, as if you did not happen to see or hear anyone from the practitioners of this prayer, as if you had abandoned your mind, or accepted some kind of delusion instead of the truth, or some kind of spiritual harm, and for this you have been repaid, as if mental prayer were the guilt of such harm? But this is not true, this is not true; It is not such a sacred thing, but mental prayer, according to the power of the writings of the God-bearing Father, acted by the grace of God, cleanses a person from all passions, but incites him to the most zealous keeping of God’s commandments, and keeps him unharmed from all the enemy’s arrows and charms. If anyone dares to act on this prayer arbitrarily, not according to the power of the Holy Fathers of teaching, without question and the advice of skilled ones, he is contemptuous, passionate and weak, walking without obedience and obedience, and even persecuting the only deserted life, of which he is not worthy to see even a trace for his own self-rule; such, I truly and I confess, conveniently falls into all the snares and charms of the devil. Well, is this prayer to blame for this charm? It won't happen. If you discredit mental prayer for this, then let the knife be defamed to you, even if it happened to a little boy playing with stupidity for his own sake, kill it. Likewise, for you, let a warrior not even use a military sword, since it would be acceptable for some crazy warrior to kill himself with his sword against his enemies; but as if a knife and a sword are not the essence of a single vice, they are guilty of insanity; Thus, the sword of the spirit, sacred, I say, mental prayer is not guilty of a single vice, but the arbitrariness and pride of the self-inflicted are guilty of demonic delusion and all spiritual harm. But what else, as if I had lost my mind for too long, do I ask you to blame for this sacred prayer of your blasphemy? We know, oh friends! We know the most significant fault for your linguistic pain: 1st, not according to the commandment of Christ, that is, without testing, your reading of the Holy Scriptures; 2nd, distrust of the teaching of our Holy Fathers, about this divine and intelligent prayer of the God-given Spirit of wisdom, according to the power of the Holy Scriptures, teaching; 3rd, also your extreme rudeness, which is lower than those who have seen, lower than those who have heard about this writing of our God-bearing Fathers, or, if not this, then by no means the power of the God-wise words of those who do not understand, is the very real guilt of such wickedness of yours. Zana, if only you, with the fear of God and strong attention, and undoubted faith, with hardworking testing and humility, read the books of the fathers, which are especially befitting of the reading of the monastic rite, the whole mind of the life of the Gospel in itself, and just as breath is needed to compose human life, so are those who exist as a monk needed fatherly books, I say, for the benefit of the soul and correction, and for the true sound, unpretentious and humble mind; then God would never have allowed you to fall into such a pit of blasphemy. But through this work I would also kindle you with His Divine grace to His ineffable love, so that you and the Apostle would cry out: whoever will separate us from the love of Christ 63, in the nuisance we have been made worthy of sowing prayers in our minds by doing them; and not only did they not blaspheme her, but they would also be zealous to lay down their souls for her, having by their very deed and skill felt the ineffable benefit to their souls through this intelligent attention. And yet you do not read the books of our Reverend Fathers with undoubting faith, and you do not trust, even though we know from the fruits of your blasphemy, or neglect honor at all: for this reason and in such a way that is contrary to God, you think that it is inferior to you who have heard the Christian scriptures, to blaspheme and reject all the Holy Scriptures, according to the God-Wise Holy Father interpretation, testified to this sacred prayer. And in order to get rid of you and everyone who doubts about this from such mental harm, I do not find any other healing that is more suitable, but, as soon as the Lord with His grace hastens and helps me, I strive to point out how our God-bearing Fathers on the immovable stone of the Holy Scriptures, from the enlightenment of Divine grace, about this all-sacred, mind in the heart By secretly performed prayer, the building of their soul-beneficial teaching is affirmed: and you yourself have revealed and clearly the truth of the teaching of the Holy Fathers, which secretly touched your souls with the Grace of God, having seen and been healed from this spiritual illness of yours, sincerely bring repentance to God for your attempt, and His Divine mercy and your perfect sin will be granted forgiveness. Where did this Divine mental prayer come from, and what evidence do the God-bearing Fathers give about this from Holy Scripture? Before we point out where this Divine prayer first began to come from, we must offer some kind of knowledge. For it is known, as according to the writings of our Holy and God-bearing Fathers, that there are two mental prayers, one new, appropriate for action, the other perfect, suitable for vision: this is the beginning, and this is the end: action is the ascent of vision. One must lead: as according to Saint Gregory of Sinaite, the first visions are osm, even counting the verb sitsa: The osm of the first visions are the verb to be: the first, hedgehog about God, formless and beginningless and uncreated and guilty of all, the Trinity One and supremely essential Deity; second, the rank and structure of the intelligent forces; third, existing composition; fourth, watchful Word of descent, fifth, universal resurrection; sixth, terrible and second coming of Christ, seventh, eternal torment; osmoe, the kingdom of heaven, which has no end. Having proposed this, due to the weakness of my weak mind, to what power the action and vision should be understood, I inform you. Be aware (to simple ones like me) that the whole monastic feat, by which someone, with the help of God, strives for love of neighbor and God, for meekness, humility and patience, and for all the other commandments of God and the Holy Fathers, for perfect obedience by soul and body to God, for fasting, vigil, tears, and bows and other body parts fatigue, to diligently perform church and cell rules, to sit down mentally and secretly to pray, to cry, and to think about death, then all such feats, until the mind is still nourished by human autocracy and will, is not known as an act: a vision is not at all. Even if such a mental feat of prayer in the writings of the Holy Fathers was condemned by sight, then in a simple word, because the mind, like the spiritual eye, is called sight. When, with God's help and the foretold feat, and above all, with the deepest humility, someone cleanses his soul and heart from all spiritual and physical passions of filth; then the grace of God, common to all mothers, taking the mind purified by it, like a child by the hand, elevates, like in degrees, to the predicted spiritual vision, as the mind is purified, revealing to it the ineffable and incomprehensible Divine secrets of the mind, and this is truly called a true spiritual vision: which is visual, or, according to St. Isaac, pure prayer, from other than horror and vision: it is not possible for anyone to ascend to this world with his autocratic arbitrary feat, unless God meets someone and lifts him up with His grace: besides the light of God’s grace, whoever dares to ascend to such a vision, such, according to Saint Gregory of Sinaite 64, but the message is, imagining dreams, and not visions, we dream with a dreamy spirit and dreaming. So, for anyone who has been offered a discussion about active and visual prayer, time has already begun to show where Divine mental prayer began to have its origins. Be aware that, according to the not false testimony of our God-wise, Reverend and God-bearing Father Nile, a faster of Sinai, even in Paradise, from God Himself, intelligent, perfectly befitting, Divine prayer was given to the first-created man. Saint Nile, to those who prayed more fervently, courageously guard the fruit of prayer, so that their work will not be in vain, says sitsa 65: having prayed as you should, wait for those who are not appropriate, and become courageous, guard your fruit. This is what you were committed to do from the beginning: to do and keep, but having done nothing wrong, leave what you did unkept: if not, then you used nothing while praying. This same word, the Russian luminary, the Venerable Nile of the deserted Sorsky, like the sun, by making mental prayers, as it clearly exists in the God-Wise Book, shines forth in great Russia, interpreting, says to the mother: and behold, this holy one has brought from the Old Ones: to do and keep; For the Scripture says: For God created Adam, and placed him in paradise, to make and keep paradise. And here, then, is the work of heaven, this Saint Nile of Sinai called the prayer: preservation, through prayer, observance from evil thoughts. The Monk Dorotheos says the same; like the first-created man was placed by God in paradise, be in prayer, as he writes in his first teaching. From these testimonies it is clear that God, having created man in His image and likeness, brought him into the paradise of sweetness, creating immortal gardens, that is, the purest, highest and perfect thoughts of God, according to St. Gregory the Theologian. There is nothing else but for him to remain, as if I am pure in soul and heart, in the visual, with the mind alone, sacred grace-filled prayer, that is, in the sweetest vision of God, and courageously preserve this, as if I exist in heaven, like the apple of my eye, so that my soul and heart will never become scarce. Great is the glory of sacred and Divine mental prayers, the end and the top, that is, the beginning and completion, in paradise from God was given to man: from there he began to have his own. But having acquired an incomparably greater glory, when, more than all the Saints, the Most Holy, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, abiding in the Holy of Holies, having ascended by mental prayer to the extreme heights of the vision of God, was vouchsafed a spacious settlement, Inconceivable by all creation, Hypostasis in Her containing the Word of God to be, and from it human for the sake of salvation to be born without seed: as testified by the irresistible pillar of Orthodoxy 66, like our Holy Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonites, in the word on the entrance to the church of our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God, and the Ever-Virgin Mary; says: for the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, who dwells in the Holy of Holies, and from the Holy Scriptures, throughout all Saturdays, has understood completely about the perishing disobedience for the sake of the human race, and having received extreme mercy for it, they have received mental prayer to God, so that they will soon have mercy and save the human race. This is why St. Gregory and the most worthy verbs of the Angelic mind, small from many, I propose, saying this: Having heard and seen this Virgin of God, having received mercy of a common kind, and looking to receive healing and medicine, a lot of passion is contrary: turn to God with all your mind, even though you have received prayer for us, forcing the Uncompelled and draw us to us soon, as if He Himself would destroy the oath from among us, and set up pasture for the souls of the corrupting fire, and bind the creation to Himself, healing the weak. But the blessed Virgin, having considered mental prayer as the most appropriate and most characteristic of all nature, mental prayer, as wonderful and glorious and better than any word, believed: already looking for what is most artistic and proper to speak to God, the self-ordained, and moreover God-chosen, prayer book comes to him. And lower: Elma, having discerned nothing from those who exist, is better than sowing those who arrived by man: stretching out strongly to prayer with danger, he creates great and most perfect new things, and invents, and acts, and teaches the deed to those who exist before, to the highest ascent to vision; the vision is as much greater than what was previously recommended, as higher dreams are the truth. But having united everything within yourself, and having purified your mind, you will already hear the sacraments of majesty; for the fulfillment of Christ is beneficial to all, and especially to those who have renounced the world I want to speak a word. For the sake of renunciation, he who has already tasted the blessings of the future, those who become the Angels, and acquire residence in heaven: let this imitate in strength the first and only Virgin Bride who renounced the world of the world from infancy. And lower: the Virgin seeks this, as the most needy prayer book for conversation, in which prayer occurs, finds sacred silence: the silence of the mind, and the distance of the world, the oblivion of the earthly and the secret places of the above, the understanding for a better transformation: this act, as truly the ascent to the vision of the Being truly, or, more truly speaking, to the vision of God, is like a brief indication to the soul who has truly acquired it. Virtue, however, is different, just as healing is applied to mental ailments and from despondency, rooted evil passions: The vision of God is the fruit of the soul that is healthy, like some finite accomplishment and the image of God’s deeds. For this reason, man is idolized not from words, or from visible vigilant moderation, for this is earthly, and humble, and human; but from remaining in silence, as if for this sake we renounce and let go of those around us, and ascend to God. And just as in the upper room of silent life, enduring night and day with prayers and supplications, we somehow approach and approach that Inaccessible and Blessed Nature. And to those who endure, they dissolve inexpressibly into the Existing One who is more holy than the senses and the mind, in themselves, as in a mirror, they see God, having purified the heart with sacred silence. This is a quick and abbreviated indication, which is most successful and unites God, especially those who adhere to it in everything. And even from soft, like nails, the abiding Virgin, this is what? This, since from such a very early age you have been above-naturally silent, for the sake of the One God-Man Word, unartifically generated. And lower: for this reason, the Most Pure One, from the very words of everyday existence and denial of rumors, has abode from man and has escaped the guilt of life, a life invisible to everyone and incompatible with the will, abiding in the inaccessible: in them the material of every union has been resolved, and all communion and love for everyone has been shaken off, and that same hedgehog for his body of mercy having transcended, unite your mind to His very communication and abiding and attention and unceasing Divine prayer. And for the sake of having existed in itself, and of diverse rebellion and thoughts and simply of every kind and thing having settled above, creating a new and ineffable path to heaven, which is, yes, the river, mental silence. And being diligent and attentive to this with the mind, all creatures and creatures fly around, and better than according to Moses, he sees the glory of God, and divine grace beholds, no feelings are subject to power, but the souls and minds of the innocent have a joyful and sacred vision, which, having partaken, according to the Divine Songsinger, a bright cloud is drying truly living waters, the Dawn of the mental bottom, and the fiery Chariot of the Word. From these words of the Divine Gregory Palamas, one who has a mind more powerful than the sun can understand more clearly and powerfully, like the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, abiding in the Holy of Holies, with mental prayer ascend to the extreme height of the vision of God, to the Divine Angelic monastic order, to a life dangerous in the inner man, about the peace of the world by renunciation, sacred silence of the mind, mental silence and to unceasing Divine prayer and the attention of the mind by copulation, and the action of ascent to the vision of God itself gave an image: let the monastics who have renounced the world look at Nya; in the foretold monastic mental labors and fun, they diligently strive, to the best of their ability, through Her prayers, to be Her imitators. And who will be able to praise the Divine mental prayer, which the Mother of God herself, as she said, is instructed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as an example of the benefit and success of the monks, a doer! In order to confirm and undoubtfully inform those who doubt this, as if it were an untested and unknown thing, it is time to indicate the testimony of the God-bearing Fathers about it, who wrote from the enlightenment of Divine grace, from the Holy Scriptures. The fundamental unshakable Divine mental prayer is to be found in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ 67: But when you pray, go into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in reality. These words, as already in the first chapter, were spoken by the world luminary, Saint John Chrysostom, with God-given wisdom, speaks about silent, secret, prayer sent from the depths of the heart, bringing as testimony from the Holy Scriptures Moses the Seer of God, and Saint Anna, the mother of Samuel the Prophet, and the Righteous Abel and his blood crying from the earth, as if in their prayer there was not a single voice those who emanated were heard from God. Also, this, the mouth of Christ, the Great Teacher of the universe, Saint John Chrysostom, and especially, in three words, teaches about this Divine prayer: like a true witness of this, His Beatitude Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonites, in his lowermost part, even the whole holy Catholic Eastern Church, like a pillar and foundation of the truth in great reverence I mean, in chapter 294 he writes. The pillar of fire, and the fiery mouth of the Holy Spirit, the eye of the Church, Basil, I say, the Great One, interpreting the speeches of Divine Scripture 68 (22): I will bless the Lord at all times, I will take his praise in my mouth, about intelligent lips and intelligent actions, that is, he teaches beautifully about intelligent prayer, citing evidence from the Holy Scriptures, his own I present these verbs filled with divine wisdom: I will bring His praise into my mouth. It seems to me that it is impossible, as the Prophet says, how the praise of God can be in the mouths of men. When a person has ordinary everyday conversations, he does not have the praise of God in his mouth; when he sleeps, he is silent in every way; I eat and drink, how does his mouth act in praise? By this we say that the intelligent mouth of the inner man is, and by feeding on them, he partakes of the Word of God to the animal, which is the Bread that came down from Heaven. The Prophet spoke about these lips: “My mouth was opened, and the Spirit was drawn; She is a mouth and the Lord calls us to have a wide mouth to receive the true food: widen, say, your mouth, and I will do it. Perhaps a single thought, imaginary and designated to the ruler about God, may be called praise, taken from God into the soul: perhaps, according to the Apostolic verb, a diligent person can do everything for the glory of God. Just as every deed, and every verb, and every action, mental, praise has power. Whether he eats righteously, or drinks, or does anything else, he does everything for the glory of God: even the sleeping heart watches for such a person. Until here St. Vasily. From his words it is revealed that in addition to the physical lips, the mental essence is the mouth and the action is mental, and praise, which occurs mentally in the inner man. Blessed with the same name of Egypt, more than the saying, the universe sun, and more than the sun in the ineffable gifts of the Holy Spirit, the radiant, heavenly man, the Great, I say, Macarius, in his heavenly words about this holy prayer says this: A Christian must always have the memory of God, for it is written: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, yes not just when he enters the prayer book, he loves the Lord, but also by walking, and talking, and eating, and drinking, so that he has the memory of God, and love and desire; Bo says: Where your treasure is, there will your heart and the rest be. The venerable and God-bearing ancient Holy Father, Isaiah the faster, about the hidden teaching, that is, Jesus, performed with a thought in the heart, prayer, testifies to these verbs of the Divine Scripture: my heart is warmed in me, and in my teaching the fire will flare up. The Venerable Simeon, who was testified in the book of the Most Blessed Simeon of Thessalonites, who in the midst of the reigning city through mental prayer, like the sun, shone forth in the ineffable gifts of the Most Holy Spirit, and for these sakes was named the New Theologian by the whole Church, this one in his layer about the three types of prayer, about smarter prayer and this he writes to your attention: For our Holy Fathers heard the Lord saying 69: For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy, and that is what defiles a person, and the bottle taught the inside to be cleansed 70, so that the outside of it will be clean, abandoning all other intentions, In this keeping of the heart one strives, it is known that with this any other activity can be maintained without difficulty, but apart from this activity virtue cannot abide. From these words of the Venerable One it is clearly indicated that the Divine Fathers set the foretold words of the Lord about guarding the heart, that is, about mentally calling Jesus, as a testimony and foundation for themselves. This venerable one, as evidence of the Divine mental prayer, also cites words from the Holy Scriptures, saying: about this speech of Ecclesiastes: rejoice as a young man in your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, and leave wrath from your heart 71: and if the Spirit of the Possessing comes upon you, do not leave your place 72; the place of rivers, the heart of showing: just as the Lord said: from the heart come evil thoughts 73 . And again: and do not be exalted 74; and again: what narrow gate and deplorable path do you lead into the stomach 75? And: blessed are the poor in Spirit 76, that is, who have not a single thought of this age within themselves. The Apostle Peter 77 also says: Be sober, be vigilant, the devil is your adversary, like a roaring lion he walks around, looking for someone to devour. And the Apostle Paul writes most clearly about heartfelt guarding to Ephesus 78: We do not fight against blood and flesh, but against the rulers and powers and rulers of the world of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. The Venerable Hesychius the Presbyter, Theologian and Teacher of the Church of Jerusalem, friend and interlocutor of our Venerable and God-bearing Father Euthymius the Great, about this all-sacred mental invocation in the heart of Jesus, that is, about mental prayer, who wrote a book of two hundred chapters from the enlightenment of Divine grace to the God-Wise, gives this testimony from the Divine Scripture: bliss of purity of heart, that they will see God 79; and again: take heed to yourself, so that the word of iniquity will not be hidden in your heart 80; and again: In the morning I will appear, and you will see me 81; and again: Blessed is he who will dash your babies against a stone 82; and again: In the morning you killed all the sinners of the earth, who consumed from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity 83, and again: Prepare for Israel to call on the Name of the Lord your God 84; and the Apostle: pray without ceasing 85 ; and our Lord Himself says 86: Without Me you can do nothing. Whoever is in Me, and I in him, this one will produce much fruit 87; and again: if anyone does not abide in Me, he will be cast out like a rod 88; and again: from the heart come evil thoughts: murder, adultery, and that is what defiles a person, and again: I desire to do Thy will, O my God: and Thy law is in the midst of my womb 89, and so on, even for the sake of length I leave. Our Divine and God-bearing Father John Climacus about this sacred prayer and true silence of the mind, gives this evidence from Divine Scripture, saying: Great great and perfect prayer worker said: I want to say five words with my mind, and so on; and again: my heart is ready, God, my heart is ready; and again: I am sleeping, but my heart is watching; and again: I cried out, speaking, with all my heart, that is, body and soul, and so on. Our God-bearing father Philotheus, hegumen of the monastery of the Bush of the Most Holy Theotokos, even in Sinai, kept a small booklet of the priceless Divine Wisdom with the mental heart. Margaritas, filled with heavenly, inexpressible sweetness of the Holy Spirit, their words, I say, lay an unshakable foundation for the words of the Holy Scriptures: In the morning we beat all the sinners of the earth 90, and so on; and: the kingdom of God is within you 91; and: The kingdom of heaven is likened to pea grain, and beads, and kvass; and again: without Me you cannot do anything 92; and again: guard your heart in every way 93; and: cleanse the inside of the glass so that its outside will also be clean 94, and: our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers and the powers and against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual wickedness in high places 95; and again: Be sober, be vigilant: the devil is your adversary, like a roaring lion he walks about, looking for someone to devour: whom you resist in the firmament by faith 96; and again: I delight in the law of God in the inner man: I see another law warring against the law of my mind, and captivating me 97, among other things. Divine in the Saints, our Father Diadochus, Bishop of Photikie, in the book of the prophesied Saint of Christ Simeon of Thessalonites, testified to his words about the more intelligent prayer of Jesus in the heart, sacredly performed, filled with spiritual wisdom, even in his Divine book one hundred chapters are found, the basis of the Divine Scripture is this: No one can say the Lord Jesus, exactly by the Holy Spirit 98: and from the parable of the Gospel about the merchant looking for good beads, he quotes these words: This is a valuable bead, which, having sold all his possessions, anyone can acquire, and have unspeakable joy in finding Him, and so on. Our Reverend Father Nicephorus the faster, who was testified in the same book of the foretold Saint Simeon, in his words about keeping the heart written, filled with spiritual benefits, likens this Divine mental act of prayer in the heart to a hidden treasure in the village, and calls it a burning lamp, citing the words of the Holy Scripture: The Kingdom of God is within you 99; and: our struggle is against blood and flesh 100; and packs: do and store, and so on. Our Divine and God-bearing Father Gregory of Sinai, who by the making of Divine prayers in the Holy Mount Athos and in other places ascended into the extreme vision of God, and like the sun in the gifts of the Most Holy Spirit, arose, with the Divine wisdom of the Trinity, even throughout the entire universe throughout all weeks, according to the Trinity Canon, in the Holy Catholic Eastern Church They sing, in the same way, the canon of the Life-giving Cross, composed, the Father of all the Spirit-bearing, the volume of scripture, compiles every spiritual book, full of benefit, in which, more than other Saints, he teaches subtly about this Divine prayer, with the mind in the heart of the sacred prayer, from the Divine Scripture with his words he brought evidence: remember the Lord your God with all your might 101; and again: In this morning your seed, and in the evening let not your hand leave 102, and so on; and again: if I pray (see that the mouth and tongue and spirit and voice are one), with the tongue, that is, the lips, my spirit prays, that is, my voice; but my mind is without fruit 103: I will pray with my lips, and I will pray with my mind, and I want to say five words with my mind 104, and so on: I brought a witness and the Climacus, understanding these words about prayer; and again: the Kingdom of Heaven is in need, and women in need delight it; and again: no one can say the Lord Jesus, except by the Holy Spirit 105, and so on. A follower of the apostolic footsteps, an insurmountable pillar of the Orthodox faith, at the Florentine synod of the Spiritual Latin heresies, the fiery sword of the Spirit and the truth of Orthodox dogmas, like a spider's net, torn to pieces, Marco, I say, the most holy, wisest and most verbal Metropolitan of Ephesus, at the beginning of the interpretation of church research, writes about More divine than Jesus, secretly performing prayer with the mind in the heart, using evidence from the Divine Scripture, the same and the most God-wise, I offer verbs that are the same: It is fitting, therefore, according to the commanding commandment, to pray unceasingly, and in spirit and in truth the worship of God is exalted: but the bonds lead many to worldly thoughts of diligence and the care of the body and set aside the Kingdom God, who exists within us, as if he holds the Lord’s word, and encourages the wise to sit down on the altar, spiritual and verbal sacrifices to those who offer themselves to God, according to the Divine Apostle: for we are the church of God living in us, and His Divine Spirit lives in us. And it’s amazing that this usually happens to many who live according to the flesh, even when some monks have renounced worldly things and we see that they are mentally struggling to be the enterprises of passions and from here many have raised a rebellion, darkening the verbal part of the soul of those who are able to achieve true prayer, and those who want a lot. Sweet is the pure and unceasing memory of Jesus in the heart, and the ineffable enlightenment that comes from it. Our venerable father of Russia, Saint Nile of Sora, from the teachings of the God-bearing Father, especially from Saint Gregory of Sinaite, composed a book about the mental preservation of the heart, using these Scriptures as testimonies from the Holy: from the heart come evil thoughts, and they defile a person 106: and, cleanse the inside of the glass 107, and this; It is fitting to bow down to the Father in spirit and in truth: and when I pray with my tongue, and so on. And: I want to speak five words with my mind rather than ten thousand words with my tongue 108: and so on. The luminary of Russia again, Saint Demetrius of Christ, Metropolitan of Rostov, schismatic errors and contrary to God and corrupted by their Holy Scripture, contrary to the mind, like a spider’s honeycomb, tore apart words with the Spiritual sword and many teachings for the benefit of the Holy Church, filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, writing, and about the inner prayer of mental doing, the word, spiritual is full of benefit, having compiled, he uses these testimonies from the Holy Scriptures: but you, when you pray, go into your cage, and so on; and again: my heart says to you: I will seek the Lord: I will seek my face for you: I will seek your face, Lord; and again: in the same way the tree desires the springs of water, so my soul desires to You, God: and again: the Kingdom of God is within you 109: and again: praying with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit. And even if I pray with my tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful 110; and again: I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind: I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with the mind, and so on. This saying, with Saint John of the Climacus, and Gregory of Sinaite and Saint Nilus of Sora, refers to smarter prayer. Also, the Church Charter, printed in the reigning great city of Moscow, proposes church law about worship and prayer, and about this Divine prayer, it cites these words from the Holy Scriptures as evidence: God is the Spirit; desires those who bow in spirit and truth 111. And: even if I pray with my tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful 112. What then is I will pray in the spirit, I will pray with the mind too, I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with the mind also 113? And again: I want, in speech, in church to speak five words with my mind, rather than ten words with my tongue 114. Bring as testimony in the Holy Fathers: Saint John Climacus, and the Divine Gregory of Sinai, and Saint Antiochus in part about this mental prayer, and the Divine teaching of them, having finished saying: and behold, here we create the end of the holy, sacred and ever-memorable mental prayer: the same represents about the saints, the same prayer for all, even in the church rites lies. Behold, the grace of God has already indicated, as the God-bearing Fathers, the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, made wise, the foundation of their teaching about the spiritual rites of the mind, secret prayers performed according to the inner man on the immovable stone of the Divine New and Old Testaments of Scripture, from there, as if from an inexhaustible source, a lot of evidence is acceptable. Who of the true-believing Christians, seeing this, could even begin to doubt this Divine thing, except those who obey the spirit of insensibility, hearing and seeing, understanding and leading, and not wanting to? Those who fear God and have a sound mind, many witnesses and such testimony will clearly and unanimously confess this Divine work to be more characteristic and more fitting than all monastic feats. Angelic monastic order. That is to say, about this work, much and worth hearing, the above-mentioned and many other Divine Fathers in their writings, more than honey and the sweetest honeycomb, filled with spiritual wisdom, offer words: about the internal, mental feat against mental and invisible enemies: how should this spiritual sword and this fiery The invincible weapon of the Name of Jesus, which guards the gates of the heart, should be turned towards them: that is, how one should eat this Divine Jesus prayer with the mind in the heart. About what sacred action of this sacred prayer, especially about its very beginnings and skill, how beginners should learn to sow it, I am the last, according to the strength of my weak mind, although it is still a little something, strengthening me to God, from the teaching of the Saints, the Father must write: and first of all about this, as this Divine prayer is a spiritual art: the same about preparatory work for this, according to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, declare. For this sacred prayer is spiritual art Let it be known that our Divine Fathers call this sacred mental work of prayer art. Saint John of the Climacus in homily 25 about silence, teaching about the sacrament of sowing mental prayers, says: If you have skillfully learned this art, then do not ignore what is being said. Sitting on high, watch out for the slaughter and weight: and then you will see how, and when, and from where, and the stakes and cues to take in and steal the nail are coming. This guard, having become weary, stood up and prayed: and he returned to his gray head and bravely held on to his first task. Saint Hesychius, Presbyter of Jerusalem, speaks about this same sacred prayer 115: sobriety is a spiritual art from passionate thoughts and words and evil deeds, all of which delivers a person with God. Saint Nicephorus the Faster, teaching about the same thing, says: Come, and I will teach you the eternal, more than heavenly life, art, more than cunning, which easily shelters in dispassion and introduces its worker without sweat. The Holy Fathers, as indicated, call this holy prayer the art of art, I think for the sake of this, that just as a person cannot skillfully learn about himself without an artist, it is also impossible to learn this mental prayer without a skillful mentor; but this correction, according to Saint Nicephorus, comes from the teaching more than many, or comes to everyone; But this was rare, unlearned, through the need of action and the warmth of faith, received from God. According to the rules of the church, according to the sacred books of the church, as a tribute befitting the King of Heaven, Orthodox Christians of the world and monastics must give every day; anyone who knows how to write can perform the lips of honor and without any teaching. With the mind in the heart, offering a sacrificial prayer to God is a sacrifice, since the spiritual is an art, without learning, as it was indicated, it is impossible to eat. This spiritual art is a constant work of monks, not just the renunciation of the world and what is in the world, but the change in the posture of the name and excellent clothes; a celibate, virgin, pure life, in spontaneous poverty, and excellent food and accommodation; but also with the most mental spiritual attention and prayer in the inner man, monastics have excellent and superior work than worldly people. What kind of preparation should one have if one goes through this Divine work? How great is this Divine prayer, more than any monastic feat, and according to the Holy Father there is a superiority of corrections, and virtue is the source, the most subtle and invisible in the depths of the heart of the mind: to a degree both invisible, subtle, and barely comprehensible to the human mind, from the invisible enemy, nets are placed for our salvation on the face of his manifold charms and dreams. For this reason, it is necessary for those who are zealous in this Divine work to learn to do this, according to Saint Simeon the New Theologian, to commit themselves to obedience in soul and body according to the Holy Scriptures, that is, complete cutting off of their will and reasoning, to a person who fears God and His Divine commandments, a zealous guardian and in this mental ascetic is not unskillful, able, according to the scriptures of the Holy Father, the path to salvation is not lost in this mental activity, that is, secretly performed prayers with the mind in the heart, obeying the show; so that by true obedience according to reason, freedom can exist from all the rumors and cares and addictions of this world and the body. Whatever freedom there will be, on God and according to God on his father, placing all sorrow about his soul and body; With humility (according to St. John Climacus and many Holy Fathers, the testimony), born from obedience, he will be able to escape from all the charms and snares of the devil, and quietly and silently without any harm, with great success in his soul, he will exercise himself in this mental task. Even if he had betrayed himself into obedience according to God, he would not have found his father through the very deed and skill of this Divine mental prayer to be a skillful mentor: in the present time (alas, things worthy of much crying and sobbing) until the end of this work, the skills of mentors become impoverished: then one should not despair about this, but in truth, according to the commandment of God, by obedience and with humility and fear God’s, and not in an arbitrary and especially self-willed life without obedience, but it is charming to follow the custom, remaining, placing all hope in God, together with your Father, instead of a true mentor, with faith and love to obey the teaching of our Reverend Fathers, about this Divine work, through the enlightenment of God’s grace, who teach subtly, and from there about this prayer learn: and all the grace of God will hasten and instruct, through the prayers of the Holy Fathers, to learn this Divine work without any doubt. What is this sacred prayer of Jesus in quality and effect? Therefore, the preparatory work of this Divine prayer, that is, blessed obedience, like some kind of solid and unshakable foundation, has been laid in existence: the time has now come, from the teaching of the Holy Fathers to indicate what this sacred prayer is in quality and effect, so that whoever wants to sow spiritually learn to do it, and the vision for such great and ineffable success of various elevating the ascetic to virtues; with great zeal and Divine zeal, he will desire this all-holy to adhere to the cause with mental prayers. Saint John Climacus in the 28th word about prayer, at the beginning says: Prayer is, in its quality, the coexistence and union of man and God: in action, the state of peace, God's reconciliation, mother's tears and daughter's tears, propitiation for sins, bridge of temptations, mediastinum of sorrows, contrition of war, Angel's work, food for the incorporeal, future joy, endless work, a source of virtues, a guilty gift, invisible prosperity, food for the soul, enlightenment of the mind, an ax to despair, an indication of hope, a solution to sorrow, the wealth of monks, a treasure of the silent, a diminishment of rage, a mirror of prosperity, a manifestation of the world, a manifestation of the dispensation, a herald of the future, a sign of glory. Prayer is truly the judgment seat for the one who prays, and the judgment seat, and the Judgment Seat of the Lord, before the future Throne. Saint Gregory of Sinaite, in chapter 113 of the borderlands, says: Prayer exists in the novices, like a fire of joy from the heart; in the perfect, like a fragrant light, we act; or again: prayer is the preaching of the Apostles, the action of faith, and even more so, faith is not intercessory, the hypostasis of the hoped for, the action of love, the Angelic movement, the power of the disembodied, the work and joy of them, the gospel of God, the notification of the heart, the hope of salvation, the sign of sanctification, the formation of holiness, the knowledge of God, the appearance of baptism, the cleansing of the baths, the betrothal of the Holy Spirit, Jesus joy, joy of the soul, the mercy of God, a sign of reconciliation, the seal of Christ, a ray of the mental sun, the day of hearts, confirmation of Christianity, the manifestation of God's reconciliation, the grace of God, the wisdom of God, more than the beginning of self-wisdom, the manifestation of God, the work of monks, the silent dwelling, more than the silence of wine, a sign of angelic dwelling. Blessed Velpksh Macarius says 116: the head of all good endeavor and the top of all directions is to endure in prayer, and we can always acquire other virtues through a petition from God: from here there is in those who are worthy the communion of the holiness of God and spiritual action, and the union of the testament of the mind to the Lord with ineffable love: who is always in prayer compels you to endure, into divine zeal and into desire kindled by spiritual love, kindled towards God, and the grace of spiritual sanctifying perfection rises as you go. Saint Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, says 117: let the guardianship of the mind be luminous and lightning, light-emitting and fiery, let decency and names be called. Surpasses, truly, the bodily virtues are countless and many. For this reason, for the sake of honest names, this virtue should be named, for the luminous lights born from it, and the one who desired it from the sinful and indecent and the dirty and ignorant and unreasonable and unrighteous, righteous, beneficial, pure, holy and reasonable through Jesus Christ can be: and not just this, but also the mysterious Divine vision and theology: and the spectators of the former, float to this purest and endless Light, and approach Him with indescribable approaches, and truly dwell and live with it: having already tasted that the Lord is good 118: as the first angel of David will be fulfilled in such as 119: both the righteous will confess to Your Name, and will dwell right with Your Face, truly, truly, these alone are known to call upon and confess to God, and with Him they love to converse with those who love Him. Saint Simeon 120, Archbishop of Thessalonites, says about this same sacred prayer: This is the Divine prayer, the invocation of our Savior: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, and prayer is, and prayer and confession of faith, and the giver of the Holy Spirit, and the giver of Divine gifts, and purification of the heart, and the casting out of demons, and the joy of Jesus Christ, and spiritual thoughts and thoughts of the Divine source, and deliverance of sins, and souls and bodies healing, and the giver of Divine enlightenment, and the source of God's mercy, and the giver of revelations and mysteries of the Divine to the humble, and salvation itself, which bears within itself the Name of our God: the very Name that is given to us is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Likewise, other God-bearing Fathers who write about this holy prayer, about the action of it and the ineffable spiritual benefit that comes from it, and in the Divine gifts of the Holy Spirit through it, express the foreknowledge of the Wisdom of God to those who are filled with their teaching. For whoever, seeing this most sacred prayer, which leads the ascetic to such a heavenly treasure of various virtues, is not kindled by God’s zeal for the constant practice of prayer, let him treasure the all-sweet Jesus in his soul and heart, constantly remember His Most Dearest Name within himself, and inexpressibly liquefy Him with this love 121. Is it possible that to worldly thoughts, diligence and care for the body, a bond that leads many away and sets aside the Kingdom of God within us, having been embraced by the very deed and temptation of the ineffable Divine sweetness of this most useful work, without tempting the soul’s throat, and without leading this thing, which is within itself, to have a hidden spiritual benefit, that Precisely such a mental prayer will not be too zealous to touch upon the matter. Those who want to be lovingly united with the Sweetest Jesus, all the redness of this world and pleasures and bodily peace, spitting on, nothing else in this life, will delight in having, even though they will practice in the heavenly practice of this prayer. About the beginning, how one should learn to act with the mind in the heart this Divine prayer Since in ancient times, this all-holy mental prayer was done on many, where the Holy Fathers had abiding, your place shone, and many then taught this spiritual work: for this reason, our holy fathers, writing about it, expressed exactly the ineffable spiritual benefit that comes from it: the need, as I think, is not for the beginners themselves befitting the skill of this task of writing. Even if they wrote in part, then the skill of this work is very clear to those who know, but it is hidden to those who do not know. But from them, when you saw that the true and unpretentious work of this mentor began to diminish greatly, God’s Spirit moved him, so that the true teaching would not become scarce about the beginning of sowing mental prayers, and wrote the very beginning in practice, how a beginner should learn, and with his mind enter into the lands of the heart, and truly and It is inadvertent to act in prayer there with the mind: the Divine teaching on Wednesday should also offer them about this very thing. Saint Simeon the New Theologian says this about the beginning of this work: 122: True and unpretentious attention and prayer is: guard your heart and mind, always pray, and always turn within, and from this depth of prayer send up to the Lord. Here, having tasted that the Lord is good, no one is driven away from the monastery of the heart; He will also say with the Apostle: It is good for us to be here, and when I look around at the places there, I cast out all the thoughts of the enemy. And lower about this, and even more clearly, he says this: Sit silently in the cell, and in one individual corner, listen to do what I say to you: close the door, and take your mind away from all vanity, and also establish your spirit towards your breasts, moving your sensual eye with your mind. Suppress the desire of the nostrils, so that it is not impudent to rest: and try mentally inside the womb to find a place of the heart, where all the spiritual powers have the desire to abide in nature: and first of all, you will find darkness and stupidity unrelentingly. I abide for you, and do these things night and day, and you will see a miracle! constant fun. It’s great that when the mind finds a place in the heart, it sees like never before: it sees air in the middle of the heart, and everything is bright and full of reasoning. And from there, from there, the thought enters, before even being accomplished, or being made into idols, by calling on Jesus Christ, it drives away this and consumes it. From here the mind, holding a grudge against demons, naturally raises up anger against it, and persecution overthrows mental adversaries. And learn otherwise, together with God, to guard your mind, holding Jesus in your heart. The Venerable Nicephorus the Faster, teaching even more clearly about entering with the mind into the heart, says: May your first life be silent, sorrowless and peaceful with everything. Having entered your cage, shut it for yourself, and sit in one corner, do it, as I say to you: weigh, like the breath with which we sigh, this air is; Let us rest this time, not for anything else, but for the sake of our hearts; This is because it brings life and warmth to the body. It will attract the air to the heart, and the stench will emanate its warmth with its breath, and will give itself a blessing. It is the fault of such a structure, or rather of the words, the servant, that the lung is, the rare thing that was created by the Creator, like a kind of wineskin, inexorably introduces and expels the containing, that is, the spirit. Such a cold heart is attracted by the spirit, but a warm heart is gushing, a rite, that is, for the sake of which it was quickly arranged to the state of an animal, it constantly observes. You are already grey, and having gathered your mind, lead it into the nostril path, where the spirit enters the heart, and leek it, and force it to come together with the sighing spirit in the heart. When I entered there, no one was sad, and even now, no one would be joyful. And lower: For this reason, brother, create a habitual mind, so that you don’t go anywhere soon: in the beginning, you become very discouraged from internal tension and cramped conditions. Sometimes it is customary for no one to remain in external circles: For the Kingdom of heaven is within us: looking at it there, and seeking it with pure prayer, all the external things that are vile and hateful are imputed. If from the very beginning, as it was said, with your mind you go into the place of your heart, and show these signs: give thanks to God, and glorify, and leap, and hold on to this doing, and teach you this, even if you don’t weigh it. It is fitting for you to understand this, because your mind exists there, not to stand silent and idle, but, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, to have work and teaching unceasingly, and never to cease from this: for this is incomprehensible, containing the mind, not that it shows it and is inviolable by the enemy’s excuses, but in love and desire The divine everyday elevates. If you have worked a lot, O brother, you are not able to enter into the lands of the heart, as you were instructed: do the hedgehog, I say to you: and let, by cooperating with God, find what you are looking for. Do you think that every person’s verbal essence is in him? inside the chest, and to silent lips, there we speak and advise, and we instruct prayers and Psalms and some other things. For this verbal thing, take away every thought from it (you can, if you want), let us say: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, and compel this, instead of every other thought, to always cry out within. Having held this for a while, the heartfelt entrance will be opened to you, just as it was written to you, except for any doubt, just as we have learned through skill. The whole face of virtues will come to you, with much-desired and sweet attention: love, joy, peace, and so on. The Divine Gregory of Sinaite, also teaching how it is appropriate to act with the mind in the heart the most salvific calling of the Lord, says 123: Since the morning, sitting on the podium of the seat, press down the mind from the sovereign in the heart, and keep it there. Bow down with difficulty, and with your breasts and neck in great pain, constantly call mentally or spiritually, the hedgehog: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Also, for the sake of the cramped and painful, negli and unsweetened frequency for the sake of having: (to eat one for the sake of the Triple-named food, often eaten: Those who eat for me, he says, will still hunger): changing your mind to the other half, say: Son of God, have mercy on me. And having said this half of the word a lot, you should not often change your sowing out of laziness and coldness: for gardens do not take root when they are often planted. Keep your lungs resting, and don’t breathe more impudently. For the inspiration of spirits, given from the heart, darkens the mind, forbidding the heart, or not allowing it, but scatters the thought. From there he forbids him, or betrays the captive into oblivion, or arranges for him to learn from others instead of those, in whom it is not appropriate to be found in an insensible way. If you see the impurity of evil spirits, that is, thoughts arising or being transformed in your mind, do not be horrified or surprised; Even if the blessings of the understanding of certain things appear to you, do not heed them: but holding sighs, as if they were powerful, and closing the mind in the heart, and invoking the Lord Jesus often and abidingly, quickly burned and destroyed these, wounding them invisibly with the Divine Name. For the Climacus says: In the Name of Jesus beat the warriors: for there is not a single stronger weapon in heaven and on earth. And again, this Saint, about silence and prayer, as befits a gray-haired person in it, while teaching, says 124: Sometimes on a chair there is a lot of work for the sake of: but sometimes on the bed there is little time, for the sake of joy. Your sitting must be in patience, for the sake of it: enduring in prayer, and not getting up quickly, enduring hardships for the sake of illness, and intelligent crying of the mind and frequent erection. Behold, the Prophet says: I have been overcome with sickness, like one who is in labor: but lower myself, gathering my mind in my heart, and even if it is opened, call on the Lord Jesus for help: but the pain of the shoulder, and the head aching many times, endure more laboriously and diligently in those, seeking in the heart of the Lord: for those who are in need are the Kingdom of God, and the needy are delighted, and so on. And also how it is appropriate to act the prayer Verb 125: Sitsa rekosha Fathers: Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, all of me. And the same sex: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, even though it is more convenient to eat for my still intelligent infancy and weakness. Below, anyone can say about himself secretly without the Spirit alone the Lord Jesus, precisely by the Holy Spirit, pure and perfect; but as if he had been speechless as a child, he was still unable to accomplish this. You shouldn’t eat often and change invocations for the sake of illness, but inertly for the sake of content. Paki: use your lips, and teach them to speak with your mind; I suppose both. Sometimes the mind is exhausted from speaking despondently, and then the lips: and for this reason, prayer is appropriate for both the deeds, both the lips and the mind: both silently and unabashedly it is appropriate to cry out, as if the feeling of the soul and the attention of the mind are not disturbed by the voice, it is forbidden. pray in every possible way. Then it does not require the mouth to speak; it can, being content with the mind, do the perfect work. Behold, these Holy Fathers, as stated above, present a very clear teaching and the skill of teaching mental doing to beginners: from their teaching and other Saints about this doing, the teaching, even if it is spoken most covertly, can be understood. End of six chapters. To the most merciful God be glory, honor, worship and thanksgiving forever and ever. Amen. (There is no perfect end to these chapters even in the original ones). Matthew 17:5 , Mark 9:7 , Luke 9:34 A Word on the Three Ways of Attention and Prayer About silence 15th chapter 2nd chapter The last seven chapters first