The Hidden Man of the Heart

(1 Peter: 3:4) The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology

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‘In temptations and sufferings, it is not we who make the plans, we do not choose our cross, but we accept the cross that the all­ wise Providence of God allows in our life. God knows how big or small a cross we need. He will give us just that cross which is absolutely right and necess­ary for us to be disentangled from all our attachments in this transitory life, and to run after Christ with a free heart.’

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The Hidden Man of the Heart consists of a series of presenta­tions on the place of the heart in the spiritual life of the Chris­tian. Reference is made to the Hesychast tradition of the Orthodox Church, including two of the most influential figures in contemporary Christianity: Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938) and Saint Sophrony the Athonite (1896-1993).
Delivered in Wichita, Kansas at the 2007 Clergy Brotherhood Retreat of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, each lec­ture (divided here into chapters) is published in full, together with its corresponding Questions & Answers.

‘Man’s true purpose foreordained before all worlds is attained by the keeping of the Creator’s commandments; their fulfil­ ment presupposes the return of the mind to the heart and the restoration of its original integrity. For only then can a person love God with his whole being and his neighbour as himself, according to the twofold commandment of love. Such was the state of man in Paradise; he knew neither division nor struggle within his soul. The natural God-given power of his mind was continually turned towards the Face of God, and his delight in the glory of God knew no bound. But now he is fallen and his mind is dispersed; he must return to his heart and rediscover his unity…The mind is now in the heart. God watches over it.
It is immersed in the warmth of the heart, and is cleansed by the baptism of fire which the Lord brought to earth (cf. Luke 3:16; 12:49). And when the cleansing is complete, the mind becomes as lightning, and is ready to enter the deep heart!


CONTENTS

Foreword
The Mystery of Man’s Heart: an Introduction
1. The Awakening of the Heart through Mindfulness of Death
2. The Hour of Death
3. The Awakening of the Heart through Fear of God
4. The Awakening of the Heart through Bearing Shame in the Sacrament of Confession
5. The Building Up of the Heart by Vigilance and Prayer
6. Prayer as Infinite Creation
7. The Building Up of the Heart by the Grace of Repentance
8. On Repentance
9. On Repentance and the Struggle against the Passions
10. On Repentance within the Body of the Church
11. The Building Up of the Heart by the Crucifixion of the Mind
12. ‘Go in and you will find rest’
13. The Deep Heart, New Energies and True Humility
14. The Word of God, Divine Inspiration and Prophetic Life
15. On the Gift of Speaking in Tongues
16. Sermon for the Leave-taking of the Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Temple
Index of Names and Subjects
Index of Scriptural References
Weight 0.464 kg
Dimensions 21.5 × 15 × 2 cm
Author

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Language

English

Book cover

Hardback Clothbound with Dust Jacket

Pages

280

Publisher

Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist

Edition

2nd edition

Publication year

Reprinted 2023

ISBN

978-1-874679-97-4

What Readers Say

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  1. Christopher Callen (verified owner)

    This books has truly been a blessing for me! I was not able to put it down. Glory to God in all things.

  2. Anthony (verified owner)

    Just what my soul needed. Really simple and beautiful words. The book itself is also stunning, and very well constructed! Thank you.

  3. Frieda (verified owner)

    I have been following Archimandrite Zacharias since I first heard his talk on Youtube many years ago. The topic then was the deep heart. I was drawn to his humility and the deep simplicity of his message, which is the message and spirit of his spiritual fathers, Saint Silouan and Saint Sophrony.

    In Fr. Zacharias’ book, we find the core teaching of the Orthodox Church from the earliest days, that is, that sincere life-long repentance/contrition and continual prayer that come with love of God draw The Lord to dwell in our hearts, thereby deepening and enlarging our hearts towards union with the heart of Our Lord. Fr. Zacharias explains this path in a detailed way, showing the stages of progress, the pitfalls, the dangers for the lay person as well as the monk. Although the path of repentance is ‘narrow”, Fr. Zacharias has explained it in such a way that anyone who truly desires to love God can start and continue on this path. The Jesus Prayer is covered in detail.

    This book, like Fr. Zacharias’s other books and talks conveying the teaching of his fathers, is permeated with the spirit of compassion and humility that I cannot help but feel is meant to be communicated along with the written word. I am grateful to Saint Silouan, Saint Sophrony and Fr. Zacharias for sharing their valuable experiences and their spiritual blessing with us. May I be forgiven if I have shown error and misunderstanding of the book in this review.

  4. David Robles (verified owner)

    These books are healing. No one answers my questions like St Sophrony and Fr Zacharias. These books have changed my life. I read them over and over. I have been listening to Fr Zacharias since he came to Kansas to speak on the ascetical life of St Silouan and St Sophrony. These books are a great gift of Grace to us, teaching us how to sanctify ourselves and be closer to the Lord.

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