Hesychasm

The Bedewing Furnace of the Heart

AUD $42.00

The work of holy stillness is dynamic and so enthralling that when the mind is enthroned in the heart, it is captivated and longs for nothing to tear it away. It descends into the deep recesses of the heart and rises to the infinite heights of the divine Will. Purified in its furnace, the mind becomes fit for the contemplation of the judgments of God. Like the apostles after Pentecost, man now lives as if he were ‘full of sweet new wine’, given over to the sober drunkenness of divine love.

Australian dollar ($) - AUD
  • Pound sterling (£) - GBP
  • Euro (€) - EUR
  • United States dollar ($) - USD
  • Canadian dollar ($) - CAD
  • Australian dollar ($) - AUD
  • New Zealand dollar ($) - NZD

Description

Information

Through the hesychastic method, the ascetic keeps watch over his senses which are the entrances of his soul, so that the enemy cannot enter and tempt him as he tempted the first-created, pillaging Paradise in his heart. Instead of the Cherubim, it is now the mind of man that guards the place of the heart, having as an invincible ‘flaming sword’ the Name of the Almighty Jesus. And if God is well-pleased to make man’s body ‘a place for the manifestation of His glory’, what greater honour can mortal man render to the Great King than to fix his mind in his heart, the place that is the footstool of His feet?

Being free from the agitation and vanity of this world, hesychastic life anticipates the supra-cosmic victory of Christ Who has come and is coming again. More specifically, by his struggle to rid himself of earthly cares and to surrender to the memory of God, invoking His Name with ardent love, the hesychast becomes a sharer in the victory of Him Who encouraged His people with the words: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’


CONTENTS
Forward
Be Ye Still and Know
Born Again through Unceasing Invocation of the Name Jesus
Continuing in the Invocation of the Name of the Lord Jesus
Fundamental Principles of Hesychasm
Hesychasm, the spiritual work in the heart of man
Two kinds of wisdom. The distinction between Essence and Energy
The creation of man and his calling
Fall and division
The circular movement of the mind
The descent of the mind into the heart
The energy of the divine Name
Spiritual poverty and mourning
Purpose and fruits of hesychia
The true work of the true man
The Furnace of the Heart
Hesychasm and Eastern Religions
Cosmogony
Prayer to the personal God
Clairvoyance and the spiritual guide
The peace of Christ
Different kinds of light
Humility

On Delusion

ACCOUNTS FROM THE LIVES OF THE HESYCHASTS
Accounts from the Lives of the Hesychasts (I)
Hesychasm, the spiritual work in the heart of man
Two kinds of wisdom. The distinction between Essence and Energy
The creation of man and his calling
Fall and division
The circular movement of the mind
The descent of the mind into the heart
The energy of the divine Name
Spiritual poverty and mourning
Purpose and fruits of hesychia
The true work of the true man
Accounts from the Lives of the Hesychasts (II)
Seeking for the word of salvation
Ascetic instructions
Despondency and Hesychia
Vigilance, the antidote of despondency
Christ, the measure of all things
The unerring life of repentance
Temptations and afflictions
Accounts from the Lives of the Hesychasts (III)
Struggle with the passions and the tiredness of the body
The twofold perspective of the Gospel
The struggle against thoughts
Fighting the enemy
Accounts from the Lives of the Hesychasts (IV)
The chain of virtues
God-loving thoughts
The changeability of man
The groanings which cannot be uttered
Accounts from the Lives of the Hesychasts (V)
Striving for purity of mind and heart
Renouncing one’s own will
Spiritual mourning
Non-acquisition
‘Righteous judgment’
Man – the house of the living God
Practical philosophy – natural contemplation – mystical theology
Discipleship
PURE PRAYER AND MENTAL STILLNESS IN SAINTS SILOUAN AND SOPHRONY
Pure Prayer and Mental Stillness in Saints Silouan and Sophrony (I)
Anthropological foundation of hesychia
Pure Prayer and Mental Stillness in Saints Silouan and Sophrony (II)
The four kinds of vigilance according to Saint Hesychios
Mental stillness
Pure Prayer and Mental Stillness in Saints Silouan and Sophrony (III)
Practice (praxis) and contemplation (theoria) in the lives of the saints
From sacred stillness to the love of God
The essence of hesychastic prayer and the relative value of its methods
Compunction, the power of the heart in combat against the enemy
The Great Science (‘The Noble Lore’)
Epilogue – ‘The Word that came forth out of silence’
Index of Scriptural References
Weight 0.725 kg
Dimensions 21.4 × 15.7 × 3.1 cm
Author

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Language

English

Book cover

Hardback Clothbound with Dust Jacket, Paperback

Pages

478

Publisher

Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist

Edition

2nd edition

Publication year

2023

ISBN

978-1-909649-92-7

About the Author

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Father Zacharias studied theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris and at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has lived all his monastic life in the monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex where he serves as a spiritual Father and minister of the word of God to his brethren and the people that come to him. Read more…

Book Sample

Reviews

  1. Danny (verified owner)

    First off, this book is absolutely beautifully made and bound. It’s printed on very nice paper with nice wide margins — One of the most beautiful books I own. This is sort of a “Mini Philokalia” as it dives deeply into the practice of Hesychasm and The Jesus Prayer, touching on all the main points, but in incredible depth.
    Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou’s writing is great, as always, and easy to follow. This is a book that I’ll be revisiting regularly for many, many years to come.

  2. Jo (verified owner)

    Every book I read from the monastery brings new treasures and this one is no exception…I highly recommend them
    Thank you for such a service to us all.

Add a review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read more reviews on