Hesychasm Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The present study investigates the spread of the ho Ôn (ὁ ὤν) inscription in Christ's halo. Developed in the early Palaiologan period, the inscription originates with the liturgy for the Feast of the Transfiguration and was popularized through the theology of light elucidated by Hesychasts. Contextualizing the epigraphic innovation within the wider debates over Hesychast theology, this essay pursues lines of inquiry first proposed by Titos Papamastorakis, who drew attention to the proliferation of this inscription in dome ensembles. The study concludes by discussing the reception of the ho Ôn inscription in the Post-Byzantine Greek and Slavic worlds.

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- Greek Epigraphy, Hesychasm, Gregory Palamas, Icons
- by Nicholas Denysenko
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- Patristics, Sacramental Theology, Hesychasm, Mystagogy

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) is an Orthodox Christian whose music proclaims his faith. He does not attempt to proselytize for Christianity, but he is an evangelist, taking seriously the church's mandate to spread the word of God. In this chapter I describe Part as the "quiet evangelist," a man whose music is promulgating Christianity through his settings of Christian texts, but in a manner that is both modest and self-effacing. I focus on his setting of the “Magnificat” (1989), one of his most popular and frequently performed works.
I establish it as a landmark piece in Part's developmental history by virtue of the mastery of technique; in which the composer exhibits more musical control over the tintinnabuli processes he invented than before. I also suggest that Pärt’s “Magnificat” exemplifies the telos for his music, a goal that is nothing short of union with God. To this end, using semiotician Umberto Eco’s notion of "expression plane" and "content-plane," I present a textual analysis of the work concentrating on the extra musical processes at work, and I offer an exegesis of the piece demonstrating that it is part of the hesychast tradition (one in which practitioners seek divine quietness through contemplation of God). Finally, I broaden the project to describe this piece as one where Pärt is clearly evangelizing Christian theology not just to the initiated, but to a much wider and more diverse audience, and suggest that the key to understanding the religious context is through several Christian concepts notably found in the Orthodox tradition.

- by Andrew Shenton
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- Musicology, Theology, Choral Music, Hesychasm

Сборник содержит материалы V Международной научно-практической Свято-Тихоновской конференции, которая прошла в Пскове 16–18 ноября 2018 года. Главная ее тема — проблема понимания Бога, человека и церкви у Владимира Лосского и связанной с... more

This study explores common ground and affinities between Christian Orthodoxy and Pentecostalism in theology, spirituality, cosmology, anthropology and the understanding of rites and sacraments. The focus is on the understanding and perception of the Holy Spirit, with regard to spiritual experience, personal transformation and the life of the Church. It also reflects on the African religious heritage of Christianity in the formation of these forms of spiritual experience and expression. The role and development of African Instituted Churches is taken into view, aware of their common heritage with Pentecostalism and of their distinctness. The context of ecumenical exchange between Pentecostalism and the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches in the 20th century is considered as background for the realization of convergences. The growing awareness in both Pentecostalism and Orthodoxy of their common ground, based in the hermeneutics and spirituality of early Christianity is recognized and recommended as field for further engagement. The common affirmation of both Churches of a spiritual world view in contrast to the positivistic ‘naturalistic’ world view of secular Enlightenment – as distinct from the spiritual branch of Enlightenment in which Pentecostalism is rooted through Pietism – is recognized as common ground for mutual understanding and critical difference to mainstream Western secularism. This study thus aims at fostering a better mutual understanding of Pentecostal and Orthodox Churches and of their epistemological agreements with regard to the challenges of secular cultures.

- by Ullrich R . Kleinhempel
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- History of Religion, Spirituality, Orthodox Theology, Pneumatology

The main function of religious art is to embody the abstract idea of God in a form that allows its easiest perception. A central problem of any religious system is God’s presence and its adequate description. Theophanic events are never single-layered and this is a challenge for both the spiritual writer and the spiritual artist.
One of the most enduring trends in religious beliefs in all ages and cultures is the designation of the diversity of manifestations of the divine power, presence and action with unifying notions. Probably the most sustainable and universal in this respect is the concept of the “glory” of gods, through which their divinity is expressed most emphatically, most sensually, and at the same time most unattainably for mankind. This concept is expressed through the term “the glory of God”, which is used in the theological language of all organized religious systems to denote the manifestations of the sacred.
The radiance, which symbolizes the divine grace, power and superiority over all the senses is a common and invariable part of the outward expression of the supernatural character of the events connected with the manifestations and actions of God’s glory. Therefore, one of the key problems facing the visual language of any religion is to find a concise, clear, easily doable and easily understandable form in which to express the theophanic radiance. Thus, two of the most ancient sacred symbols in human history – the nimbus and the aureole (mandorla) were born.
In Christian art, the mandorla has been used to depict the manifestations of God’s presence and actions. The human consciousness perceives the verbal descriptions of theophanic events differently and is not able to create a general convention for their uniform understanding, so the iconographic canon uses certain symbols capable of presenting the necessary universal ideas. The mandorla is an oval, oval-pointed or round outline, which in certain iconographic subjects encompasses the figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity and the Theotokos or in rare cases those of some saints. It serves as a visual epitome of the phenomenon of God’s glory.

- by Rostislava Todorova
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- Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Iconography, Hesychasm, Byzantium

The Hesychastic system of spiritual practices leads to an enlightenment "experience" that involves the transcendence of the canons of rationality, liberation from conventional morality, and the cessation of emotions, passions, and thoughts (hesycheia). These transformations mark the beginning of theosis or divinization, practices including silent union with God, the paradoxical experience of divine light/darkness, and ineffability. These transformations, exceeding as they do the conditions of natural subjectivity, would seem to preclude any kind of artistic production. After all, how can any sensory experience lead to, follow from, or express theosis? However, theosis includes a further moment, the practice of reintegration, when the previously transcended elements of subjectivity become capable not only of expressing themselves artistically, but in such a way as to reveal the divine, and to elicit the possibility of transformation in others. In order to place the practices of reintegration in their proper context, we have to examine the nature of Hesychastic practices themselves. Analysis of the spiritual practices of the Hesychastic system reveals the functioning, scope, and purpose of individual practices, and of the system of practices generally. Once we have sketched out these characteristics, we will be able to see the ways in which reintegration both resembles, and goes beyond, them.

1. Meditation 2
1.1 On the Meditation Practice 3
1.2 Meditation in Eastern Christianity 4
1.3 Hesychasm 4
1.4 Meditation in Medieval Europe: The Sermon of Meister Eckhart 4
1.5 Dream as a State Close to Meditation 5
1.6 Meditation and Consciousness 5
1.7 Our Unconscious self 5
1.8 Symbols 5
1.10 An Auto Training Experiment 7
1.16 Experimental Experiences 9
1.17 The Unconscious 11
1.18 Mandala 11
2 Meditation and Knowledge 11
2.7 World View 14
2.8 The Bayesion Syllogism 15
2.9 Consciousness and Knowledge 15

In: Pravoslavnaya Entsiklopediya (Orthodox Encyclopedia). T. 29. Moscow, 2012. P. 545–554.

Not only the question, but the reality of selfhood is basic to all thought and action. Patristic, theological anthropology addresses both the question and the reality by framing man not only in terms of his divine origin through the inbreathing of the spirit of life by God, but also and especially as the one who ontologically bears God's image. According to this anthropology, to bear God's image is what it means for man to be man, and so no profound anthropological knowledge of man can be obtained apart from this revealed theological truth. In the Patris-tic, Orthodox theology of the East, however, the apophatic dimension of God's essence is preeminently emphasized , and as such the supra-rational mystery of God is highlighted, 50 Joshua Schooping a mystery not only in the sense of exceeding gnoseological or epistemological limits but mystery of an ontological nature. Yet what is arguably underdiscussed is the impact this emphasis on apophaticism has on anthropology, specifically as regards man's experience of God in terms of man's own mysterious, divinely apophatic, albeit created, nature. Since man is made in God's image, and God is ultimately and essentially mysterious, then in a very profound sense the imago dei that is man must also bear the image of this apophatic mystery as a fundamental dimension of his own being. Looking primarily at the work of two Twentieth Century Orthodox theologians, the present research attempts to demonstrate the consequence of divine apophaticism on theological anthropology, not only with an eye towards its dogmatic logicality, but with reference to the necessary bond of theology, spiritual life, and spiritual practice, specifically hesychasm and nepsis.

- by Joshua Schooping
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- Anthropology, Patristics, Orthodox Theology, Russian Orthodoxy
- by Marius Dorobanțu
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- Greek History, Monastic Studies, Orthodox Theology, Byzantine Studies
- by Mikonja Knežević
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- Mysticism, Hesychasm, Njegoš, Hesychastic Prayer
- by Срђан Антић
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- Theology, Orthodox Theology, Hesychasm, Gregory Palamas

Maximus the Confessor’s «unforgettable knowledge» (ἄληστος γνῶσις) in Mystagogiа V This article investigates the practical (Part I) and theological (Part II) sense of Maximus the Confessor’s term «unforgettable knowledge» (ἄληστος... more

- by Victor Neovitos
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- Maximus the Confessor, Hesychasm

This article looks at the encounters between the hesychast and Ignatian traditions. What elements of agreement are there and how can two apparently quite distinct traditions be placed side by side? The article starts with a brief introduction to the two traditions and suggests that spiritual traditions offer the chance for experience to meet experience. It then look in more detail at some features of the hesychast and Ignatian traditions: their Christocentric emphasis, their relationship to the Scriptures, their views on discipleship, on the church and on the world. The article concludes by asking what it means to speak about either tradition or innovation in terms of spirituality and whether spirituality can serve as a test case for the discussion around the nature of tradition and innovation.

- by Tim Noble
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- Contemporary Spirituality, Spirituality, Mount Athos Studies, Spirituality & Mysticism

У раду се обнова манастира Преподобног Прохора Пчињског у доба владавине краља Стефана Уроша II Милутина посматра у контексту одређених црквено политичких прилика које су облежиле крај XIII и почетак XIV века у Византијском царству и Србији и њиховим узајамним везама. У том смислу, предлаже се један шири контекст посматрања мотива за обнови култа Преподобног Прохора Пчињског и манастира као његовог средишта, пре свега у контексту подвлачења аутокефалности Српске цркве која се од обнове стара о овом старом византијском светитељском култу, онда када су тековине српске црквене аутокефалности биле угрожене Лионском унијом. Такође, обнова Прохоровог манастира посматра се и у складу са новим тенденцијама унутар византијског света који је обележио покрет исихаста како на Светој Гори, тако и у држави краља Милутина, где је будући архиепископ Данило II артикулисао исихастичке идеје и појмове у својем делу Животи краљева и архиепскопа српских.

- by Dragoș Bahrim
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- Patristics, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Hesychasm

Овај текст је агиолошке природе и огледа се у потреби за расветљавањем Григоријеве светачке личности и отклањањем постојећих сумњи, а све у контексту његовог црквеног прослављања као светог. Полазећи од оскудних и недоречених историјских извора и чињеница, које тим пре не могу бити валидне, приступићемо археолошком и антрополошком светлу сагледавања ове теме што ће се показати веома битним. Доносимо и делове прикупљених текстова који су релевантни за ову тему. Значај рада је у томе што даје одговор на више пута постављано питање: ко је Свети Григорије Синаит чије су мошти у Војловици, тј. да ли је идентичан са Григоријем Синаитом чије су мошти у Горњаку? Ово је мултидисциплинарни рад и помаже да буде обновљено богослужбено прослављање Божјег угодника Григорија које подразумева агиографски, иконографски и химнографски елемент.

- by Лазар Љубић
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- Saints' Cults, Hesychasm, Agiography - agiology, Istorija Srpske Crkve

This is the English text, unreleased in Europe or the US, given by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware to be included in the Malayalam edition of the Philokalia published in India in 2006. This edition contains a complete, but presumably unpolished, translation of Vol. 5, hitherto unknown in English. You can read about the release of the Malayalam Philokalia, which was attended by then-Metropolitan, now-Patriarch Kiril, in Kottayam, here: https://mospat.ru/archive/en/2006/12/34240/

- by Andrey Vinogradov
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- Patristics, Hesychasm, Isaac of Nineveh, Isaac the Syrian

The thought of Gregory Palamas is marked by an extraordinary appropriation of Pauline theology that has largely escaped scholarly notice. This paper argues that the Hesychast controversy unfolded around rival interpretations of Paul's theology and visionary experiences, especially his vision of the divine light (Acts 9:3–9) and his ascent into the 'third heaven' (2 Cor 12:1–10), which Palamas and his followers identified with their own understanding of the uncreated light of God and with Hesychast spirituality more generally. Palamas' rich and complex handling of Paul's letters is explored through a close reading of the first Triad, along with relevant passages from the other works in the trilogy. The analysis suggests that the Hesychast controversy was in many ways a debate about who was the true follower of Paul. The last fifty years have witnessed an explosion of Palamite studies, along with growing interest in other theological writers of the period, yet almost no attention has been paid to the Palamite (or Hesychast) use of the Pauline corpus or of Scripture more generally. If we take the standard works of reference as our starting point, we will be told that the Hesychast controversy was a debate about the nature of mystical experience, a clash between ascetic spirituality and scholastic methodology, a chapter in the ongoing quarrel between faith and reason (or between theology and philosophy, or Christianity and Hellenism), or simply an ideological screen for the ambitions of warring feudal magnates set against the background of reviving urban life. As true as these interpretations might be, they do not even remotely suggest that the Hesychast controversy can and probably should be seen as a debate about who was the true follower of Paul.

Fundamental history of Arvo Pärt and his musical background; Discussion of the development of his tintinnabuli period, analysis of Berliner Messe (text setting, iconography, use of silence and space, phrasing, dynamics, range, coloristic... more

- by John Forrestal
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- Music, Iconography, Minimalism, Hesychasm

The spiritual tradition of hesychasm is arguably one of the most distinguishable features of Athonite monasticism. This chapter explores hesychasm’s deep intertwining with Mount Athos, by following its historical unfolding from its... more

- by Marius Dorobanțu
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- Asceticism, Byzantine Studies, Mount Athos Studies, Christian Spirituality

Monastic life at Mount Athos today claims to merely continue the same age-old traditions that have been at work on the peninsula for the past thousand years. This article argues that during the last few decades, Athonite monasticism has undergone a noticeable shift in orientation, becoming more pragmatic and increasingly preoccupied with the noetic experience here and now. What are the signs of this shift? How is this new approach reflected in practice? What are some of the possible causes behind it?

- by Marius Dorobanțu
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- Liturgical Studies, Asceticism, Monastic Studies, Orthodox Theology

Hescycheia Course of Studies proposal

- by Mark W Flory
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- Practice theory, Spirituality, Spirituality & Mysticism, Christian Spirituality

The article is the attempt of researching Maximus Confessor's Ambigua 41 in terms of contemplation in a hesychast practice. The meaning of five divisions and a way of their overcoming by the person is investigated as steps of mystical... more

- by Victor Neovitos
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- Plato, Plotinus, Hesychasm, Maximus Confessor

Traducere din limba greacă de Ierom. Agapie Corbu, Ed. Sf. Nectarie, Arad, 2008. Cartea de faţă cuprinde o biografie a Bătrânului Iosif, precum şi câteva scrisori ale sale, până astăzi needitate. În primul rând, deci, o biografie... more

- by Editura Sf. Nectarie
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- Asceticism, Monastic Studies, Orthodox Theology, Mount Athos Studies

The paper studies the concept of sophía in the doctrine of saint Gregory Palamas. It is not limited to the factual presence of the term “sophía” in some passages of Palamas’ work, but delineates a sophiological conceptual spectrum as a perspective of comprehension of the doctrine of the byzantine theologian. It is not a concluded study, but it represents only the tentative to focus on the foundations of what should be a more extensive work. The first part takes into consideration the concept of lógos in two variants: firstly, as the logical faculty of the human soul (according to Palamas’ anthropology), i.e. the discursive logic as a faculty and as an epistemological way; secondly, the “lógoi kat’eikóna Theoũ” of the human intellect, where the expression “kat’eikóna” refers to the lógoi of the divine intellect, that is to the uncreated wisdom. The second part offers a comparison between Palamas’ symbol of the snake, image of the human wisdom, and the way in which Palamas comprehends the spiritual wisdom that comes from God. The third part analyzes Palamas’ rebuttal of Platonism in the context of the byzantine philosophical culture of the time. The fourth part focuses, finally, on the concept of hypostasis in relation to the concept of sophía, studying Palamas’ rebuttal of the Platonizing concept of autosophía of Barlaam.

- by Raffaele Guerra
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- Medieval Philosophy, Medieval Theology, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Philosophy

The article presents Evagrius as a spiritual father who guides his monks
towards the contemplation of the divine light. The path to this peak follows a certain route and has several stages. The author analyzes the Evagrian texts related to this topic contextually and terminologically, organizing them according to the stages of spiritual ascent. Thus, after affirming the biblical substrate of Evagrian theology, the author shows that even at the stage of the praktikē the ascetic is imparted with the divine light to a certain degree. The fundamental distinction between the created light of the mind and the uncreated divine light is highlighted, and the connections between ascetic anthropology and the light of the Holy Trinity and between contemplation and deification are emphasized. Finally, it is demonstrated that the experience of the light described by Evagrius has a profound Christological and ecclesiastical character, despite some interpretations that see Evagrius as an author under the sway of non-Christian influences. These teachings on the divine light have been retrieved, developed, and detailed throughout history by all the hesychast fathers who used Evagrius’ writings, a fact showing the importance of the topic for the whole Christian spirituality.

- by Ieromonah Agapie Corbu
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- Patristics, Asceticism, Spirituality, Monastic Studies
- by Andrey Vinogradov
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- Patristics, Monasticism, Hesychasm, Syriac Christianity
- by Theodore Sabo
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- Patristics, Hesychasm

ABSTRACT. The “shining face” theology as luminous metamorphosis of a visionary has experienced three great challenges: the anthropomorphic controversy, iconoclastic debate and the hesychast dispute. This study attempts to make a mystagogical connection between those three theological developments which are standing all together in God’s holy fire with the ‘unveiled face’. I have imposed myself a line of research into the contemplative spirituality field, which in fact represents a hermeneutical trajectory: Glory in the NT (hidden-revealed or being-energies) – Glory in the NT (theosis as Christification) – pre-nicene Christology (eikonic and apophatic Light / glory) – Desert Fathers (“shining face” christology) – Efrem the Syrian (clothing metaphore) – Dionysius the Areopagite (veils of theurgic rays and Christ’s Presence as immanent transcendence or as tension between transcendent hiddenness and revelation) – Palamas hesychasm (christology of the uncreated light). I am the first who calls the light from the "Shining Faces" of the Desert Fathers as an uncreated light and a discovery of a Hidden pre-Nicene (apophatic) Christology. I have to emphasize that because these two aspects of my ‘disclosure’ (meaning ‘uncreated’ light and ‘hidden christology’ to the Desert Fathers) were inspired to me by the readings in the field of palamite theology which consider that this light of the ascet’s glowing face to be an uncreated light experienced by the body (aesthetically), an inner presence of Christ who identifies himself with His light (apophatic), He Himself being the deifying light as uncreated divine gift. All studies in the late antiquity ignore this visionary experience, reducing it to the level of a simple metaphor of light (completing the ascetic quest for “real self”), a metaphor in which the saint’s life is hagiographically (mystifying!) described. A second reason for this ‘blindness’ was a restraint coming from the Evagrian theology that draws attention to the danger of seeking visionary experiences, because in that light there is the risk of an illusory or deceitful demonic appearance. Another reason represints the fact that the hesychast controversy and the theology of the uncreated light as divine energy of the Saint Gregory Palamas’ theology (which in Western media has long been discredited as heretical) have played a negative role in accepting the nature of uncreated light into the “shining face” Christology of the Desert Fathers.

- by Tanase Nichifor
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- Iconoclasm, Apophaticism, Iconoclastic Controversy and Iconophilia, Hesychasm

"E demnă de remarcat congenialitatea între mişcarea patristică din mediile teologice şi spiritualitatea despre care dădea mărturie Gheron Iosif. În viaţa lui Gheron Iosif va urma perioada când în jurul lui se va strânge o veritabilă obşte de ucenici, care vor duce mai departe moştenirea duhovnicească isihastă. De numele ucenicilor, dintre care să îi amintim doar pe Efrem Filotheitul şi pe Iosif Vatopedinul, se leagă atât perpetuarea spiritualităţii isihaste, cât şi o autentică restaurare a experienţei monahale în Muntele Athos, prin numeroşii ucenici care au ajuns stareţi la câteva dintre mănăstiri." Arhid. IOAN I. ICĂ jr.

- by Editura Sf. Nectarie
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- Hagiography, Asceticism, Monastic Studies, Mount Athos Studies
- by Marco Toti
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- Comparative Religion, Comparative Mysticism, Hesychasm

Abstract: In this study we will try to present the iconographic tradition as a form of visual theology, though it is difficult to conceptualize what it used to be like in the immediate presence of God. The Transfiguration is one of the keys that can unlock the mystery of our eschatological fate, glorified body and the participation in the energies of God. All the ascetics who had the experience of the uncreated light or were transfigures themselves describe it in very similar way and connect it with the Transfiguration of Christ. It is only in later hesychasm that we are assured theologically that these experiences were in the body. Within this context, liturgical art and aesthetics differ from secular aesthetics, as being beyond the five senses and beyond the art itself. The Fathers, from Origen to John of Damascus, refer to Christ as the visible image and consubstantial icon of the Father. Icons were anything more than vessels of the grace of God and suggest the real presence of the grace of the depicted person. In the Old Testament, God denied the wish of anyone who asked to see him directly. The desire to see God was impossible before the Incarnation of Christ. The mosaic of the Transfiguration in St Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai shows a completely glorified Christ with eight rays emanating from his body and introduces the luminous mandorla, a symbol that symbolizes the glory of God. The mandorla of the Sinai mosaic is oval, whereas the mandorla of the Rabbula Gospels is round. These two types express the glory of God in different way, highlighting the correspondence between theological concepts and the visual language. Mandorla expresses visually the Jewish concept of kabod, that connoted a more physical, concrete presence than the abstract meaning of δόξα. Certain scholars separate two main meanings of kabod: shekinah (from shakan, “to live in a tent” or simply “to dwell”) and yeqara (from yqr, the sensory splendor of light), in order to express this visual manifestation of the two natures of Christ. So, the oval mandorla corresponds with the luminous characterists of the kabod as yeqara. Here, the three concentric oval layers, increasingly dark, represent the depiction of the excessive divine light as the darkness of the incognoscibility of God, even in revelation. The round mandorla, on the other hand, represents the manifestation of the kabod-glory of God as shekinah/tabernacle. Here, the emphasis on the spatial rather than luminous nature of mandorla described the glimpse of the Trinity, as opposed to a less-historicized reading that emphasized the continuous splendor of Christ. The Transfiguration enjoyed a renewed interest in fourteenth-century theology, and, at the same time, a mysterious complex mandorla made its appearance, the so-called “hesychastic” mandorla (first appears in the churches of Mistras and in manuscripts of the ex-emperor and hesychastic monk, John Cantacuzenos). It consists of a geometric design as two superimposed concave squares (actually a square and a rhombus) inside a circle. These three shapes circle-square-rhombus superimposed on top of each other indicate the Trinity. This ties with Gregory Palamas’s attempt to harmonize the days of the Gospel narratives: “six” (six figures who are visible) and “eight” (adds the two who were invisible but certainly present, the Father and the Holy Spirit). Therefore, in our study we analyze how the icon of the Transfiguration encapsulates the ascetic ascent to deification.

- by Tanase Nichifor
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- Apophaticism, Hesychasm, Deification, Apophatic theology

This text concentrates on Metropolitan Kallistos’s way of translating the Philokalic tradition into language accessible to the Christians living in current Western world. Themes like the relationship to the spiritual guide, watchfulness (nepsis), stillness (hesychia), and invocation of the name of Jesus are interpreted in this light. It shows how Metropolitan Kallistos proposes to unite the life of work and of prayer, how to seek for Christ everywhere, and through that seeking and finding, making the secular sacred.

- by Ivana Noble
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- Theology, Spirituality, Orthodox Theology, Hesychasm
- by Andrey Vinogradov
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- Hesychasm, Syriac literature

This is an article on Athonite saints and elders that will be published in the Routledge Handbook of Mt Athos. I am grateful to my teaching assistant, Anthony Ladas, for his assistance with the section on Athonite Martyrs, which is the... more

- by Fr. Maximos Constas
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- Hagiography, Monastic Studies, Byzantine History, Byzantine monasticism

Mount Athos experienced a spectacular material and spiritual revival in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Previous scholarship has hinted at the emergence of some charismatic figures, especially Elder Joseph the Hesychast and his disciples, as the main cause of this revival. However, a precise and detailed explanation of the connection between the two is still lacking. This thesis argues that a form of mutated hesychasm (neo-hesychasm), practised unconventionally in coenobia, alongside a new approach toward the Jesus Prayer, can convincingly fill the gaps in the 'charismatic elders explanation,' by specifying the exact means through which such a dramatic revival could occur in such a short period of time.

- by Marius Dorobanțu
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- Orthodox Theology, Mount Athos Studies, Monasticism, Hesychasm