Hesychasm

The Church's theology which was expressed in the 14th century by St. Gregory Palamas concerning God's uncreated energy and the uncreated Light is closely connected with what is called the hesychastic movement. For a man to attain this experience, vision of the uncreated Light, which is identified with deification, it is not a matter of developing his reasoning and loading his brain with knowledge, but a fruit of his purity, of his nous returning to the heart, and illumination of the nous.

From the acts of the Synodal tome of the year 1341 A.D. it appears that Barlaam was disputing the way of life of orthodox monasticism, the so-called hesychastic way. Indeed, this is also seen from the whole teaching of St. Gregory Palamas, especially his refutation of Barlaam's views in his well known work "On behalf of the holy hesychasts". I would like, however, to mention one excerpt from the acts of the Synod of 1341. Barlaam said among other things, "Of the many things with which one would have the right to charge the lecturer on such teaching, I regard nothing worse than the fact that in undertaking to upset the mysteries of the Christians by inhalations he even slanders the Fathers as having previously thought the things that he is teaching now".

In the writings of St. Gregory Palamas we see a continual removal of the false doctrine of this teaching of Barlaam, who was trying to shake the foundations of traditional monasticism.

Barlaam had in view the monasticism of the West, which had abandoned the hesychastic method and was busy with a social activity. In the Middle Ages, through the influence of scholastic theology, action (praxis),
which in patristic theology is purification of the heart, is interpreted as mission, and vision, which in the theology of the holy Fathers, is noetic prayer and vision of the uncreated Light, is interpreted as mental conjecture about God.

Indeed, inhaling and exhaling, as well as other methods, are psychotechnical methods by which the attempt is made to free the nous from enslavement to the environment and reasoning, and for it to enter the heart, where its real place is, its natural state, and from there to rise to the vision of God. The basic thing is to be able, through the grace of God and one's own effort, to concentrate the nous in the heart. This is what is called hesychasm and the hesychastic movement. It is the so-called noetic hesychia, about which so many holy Fathers wrote. By this method the nous is freed from logic and acquires its natural and supranatural way. Then it is in its natural state.

All the holy Fathers followed the same method, and that is why they ended with the same conclusions. Hesychasm is the ONLY method for man's cure. So there are, on the one hand, the hesychasts throughout the ages, who are the unalloyed theologians, and on the other hand, the antihesychasts, who theologise with
their imagination and therefore end in heresies.

In the Synodikon of 1341 A. D. there is a very meaningful and characteristic paragraph. Barlaam is
condemned, because he was accusing the monks "concerning the holy prayer that occupied them and was
often offered by them". The monks practised prayer and noetic hesychia because, as the whole Tradition also
bears witness, it is the appropriate method for concentrating the nous in the heart. The Synod accepts
this method, which appears to have been accepted by all the Fathers of the Church.

But at the same time the Synod also condemns all those who accept the same views as Barlaam and make
accusation against the monks who try to live in a hesychastic way, because the monks are doing nothing
else but adopting the method which the Church has. It says characteristically: "But also if any other one of
those under him, or any of those who offend in such things, being subject to this excommunication by our
humbleness, is seen to be either speaking or writing blasphemously and with false beliefs against the monks, or still more against this Church, let him be excommunicated and cut off from the holy catholic and apostolic Church of Christ and the orthodox community of Christians".

I consider this to be a very important text and reply to those who not only condemn contemporary hesychastic monasticism, but consider it heretical and pursue every means for liberating themselves from the whole hesychastic tradition and assign it a place among the anthropocentric communities or even general religious conventions of life. The statement that they are cut off from the Church of Christ is fearful.

Excerpt from "THE MIND OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH"
by:  Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos