Episode 10: “The 3rd Form of Prayer”; “Development of Intrusive Thoughts”, Saint Silouan the Athonite, with Prof. C. Veniamin

Episode 10: “The 3rd Form of Prayer”; “Development of Intrusive Thoughts”
Unit 16: “Sts. Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites: Principles of the Christian Life”, by Prof. Christopher Veniamin
Series: “Mystical Theology"

Based on the reading of excerpts from St. Sophrony’s masterpiece, Saint Silouan the Athonite, Episode 10: “The 3rd Form of Prayer”; “Development of Intrusive Thoughts”, includes such themes as the guarding of the mind, mental vigilance, and the need for purification and regeneration even after great spiritual experiences have been granted to the believer. Dr. Christopher Veniamin is a spiritual child of St. Sophrony.

It is hoped that these presentations will help the enquirer discern the interwoven character of Orthodox theology and the Orthodox Christian life, and to identify the ascetic and pastoral significance of the Orthodox ethos.

Q&As related to Episode 10 available in The Professor’s Blog.

Recommended background reading: Saint Silouan the Athonite, by St. Sophrony the Athonite; and The Enlargement of the Heart, by Archimandrite Zacharias

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I wish to express my indebtedness to the spoken and written traditions of Sts Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites, Fr. Zacharias Zacharou, Fr. Kyrill Akon, Fr. Raphael Noica, Fr. Symeon Brüschweiler; Fr. John Romanides, Fr. Pavlos Englezakis, Fr. Georges Florovsky, Prof. Constantine Scouteris, Prof. George Mantzarides, Prof. John Fountoulis, Mtp Kallistos Ware, and Prof. Panayiotes Chrestou. My presentations have been enriched by all of the above sources. Responsibility

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Okay, so let's read a little passage about the third form of prayer in Father Sophrony's introduction to Saint Silvan. The third form of prayer, when the mind is conjoined with the heart, is, generally speaking, the normal religious state for the human spirit Desired, sought after, bestowed from on high. Every believer experiences this union of mind and heart when he prays attentively from the bottom of his heart. He knows it to a still greater degree when his heart is softened and he feels a sweet sense of divine love. Tears of compunction during prayer are a sure sign that the mind is united with the heart and that pure prayer has found its prime place, the initial step in ascent to God. This is why ascetics rate tears so highly. But now, in our given case, in discussing the third form of prayer, I am referring to something different and more important the mind in prayerful attention stationed in the heart. So there's a difference between the mind when it's conjoined with the heart, which is something that every believer experiences, when he prays attentively from the bottom of his heart. That's the state, if you like, in which Adam and Eve were created. But at the end of that paragraph, father Sophrony is pointing to a higher state, which is the mind in prayerful attention, stationed in the heart, it's characterized by a greater stability and steadfastness. As a typical consequence, the virtue of this movement and installation, this indwelling of the mind within the imagination is curtailed and the mind, the noose, released from all the mental images that have invaded it. In this state, the mind becomes all ears and eyes and sees and hears every extrinsic thought approaching from without. The mind, the noose becomes like a radar before it can invade the heart. Every extrinsic thought, every thought coming from outside is detected before it approaches the heart. Praying the, while the mind not only refuses to admit extraneous thoughts into the heart but positively thrusts them aside and preserves itself from association the Greek patristic term grasis, which is a mixture or a mingling, a co-mingling, it's preserved from that taking place inside them, thereby, at the very outset, cutting short the action of every passion in its initial stage, before it's had the chance, the opportunity to present a delight to the soul. This is cutting short the action. The energy of it is cut off, it's cut. And then Father Sophrony says this is an extraordinarily profound and complex question and I can only give a very primitive outline of it here. So he goes on to the development of logism, intrusive thoughts or tempting thoughts.

Speaker 1: 5:07

I once asked Saint Baesius actually it was the first time I met him. I didn't realize what a blessing it was. There was nobody else there sitting down next to him for a couple of hours and I thought I should ask him a question. It was good just to be there and just to be with him. And he didn't say anything.

Speaker 1: 5:36

And from the moment I arrived in Greece with my kitchen Greek from home I didn't know how to read and write Greek. I was not literate in Greek, but I could speak a little bit thanks to the fact that my parents would speak Greek in the home, and I thought I've got to ask something. So yeah, from the moment I arrived in Greece, I noticed that, whereas at home, from time to time, my mum would use the word birazmos Birazmos is temptation I kept hearing the faithful people in Greece, with whom I stayed, saying loikismos, loikismos, not birazmos, loikismos. I thought what's that? And so I thought I would ask Saint Paisios Father, what is the difference between birazmos and loikismos? And he didn't say anything for a while and I waited, thinking boy, that must have been a stupid question. And afterwards he said the yinis theologos, you're going to become a theologian To this day. I'm not sure whether he was joking or whether he meant that seriously, but that's what he said.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Loikismos, then intrusive thought. It's translated here as an intrusive thought, attempting thought, but really it's just thought, loikismos. And Father Sophrony says and let's see how he describes this development Sin becomes sin after completing specified stages in its inner development. The first stage is when some spiritual influence approaches from without, which may to begin with be quite vague and shapeless. This initial stage in formation is the appearance in the field of man's inner vision of an image egon. The word is icon, and as this does not depend on one's will, it is not regarded as a sin. Images in some cases appear to take on visible form, while others are mostly products of the mind, but more often it is a combination of the two, as visible images also generate some thought or other. Ascetics label all images intrusive thoughts. Logismi, logismoi, to use the Erasmian Omicron Yoda plural.

Speaker 1: 9:23

The man who is not enthralled to the passions Okyriarchos, nus, in other words the one whose Nus rules over his being, the one whose Nus is dominant, so he's not subject to the passions, can recognize the force of an intrusive thought and yet remain completely free from its power. But if there is some place in one, a topos, some suitable soil for the development of the intrusive thought, the thought will strive to take possession of one's psychic being, of the heart, of the soul. It achieves this because it prompts a feeling of the delight to be afforded by one or another passion, a sense of pleasure, esthima, idonis. A sense of pleasure, the delight figures, temptation, that's birazmos. That's the point where one is tempted. But even the fleeting pleasure, though it testifies to man's imperfection, is not yet to be reckoned as sin. It is only a proposal for sin, brodasis. It's a proposal.

Speaker 1: 11:17

The further development of a sinful, intrusive thought can be portrayed roughly as follows Mind is attracted by the delectation to be afforded by the passion. And this is an extremely important and crucial moment, because the fusion of mind with tempting ideas provides fertile soil for passion. If the mind does not, by an exercise of the will, tear itself away from the suggested delights, but continues to dwell on them, it will find itself pleasantly attracted. It says in sympathy simbathia, literally. Simbathia, bathos is passion, and sin is together with the passion. So it's translated as pleasantly attracted, and then it becomes involved.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Let's see sinomilia get sintheasmos. So sinomilia is intercourse with, in conversation, in dialogue, engaged in intercourse with the passion, and sintheasmos literally means coupling. So again, simbathia, sinomilia, sintheasmos and finally positively acquiescent syngodathesis. So acquiescent, giving in surrendering, surrendering to the passion. After that, the ever-increasing delight in the passion may take possession of, make captive the mind and will the noose and the thelicis. Thelicis will Only the whole strength of the one enslaved by passion, the one whose in captivity to the passion, the one who's enslaved by the passion, is directed to a more or less determined actualization of sin. In other words, all of one's energies are then directed towards playing out the passion if there are no outside impediments, or, where there are, to seeking ways of getting around them, such as the determination. Such captivity may happen once only and never recur if it had come about because of the inexperience of someone engaged in the ascetic struggle. But if the enchantment repeats itself, passion becomes second nature. Exis, exis is the habit, it's the word that ethos comes from. Yes, when the mind is prayerfully stationed in the heart. That's the formula that Father Saphroni uses to indicate that this is a higher state than the one mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph.

Speaker 1: 15:30

As I was saying, it's a question of stability and steadfastness. The perfect are characterized by what is known as permanence. The spiritual life is very rich and it has different degrees and many vicissitudes, and that's why it requires great discernment. And it's not black and white. Other times great experiences, even visions, are given early, for reasons that the Lord knows. Other times this takes place later. This comes up in my talking with people across the country. People have, in some cases, really remarkable initial encounters with God and, again for reasons which only the Lord knows, this is given to some and not to others.

Speaker 1: 16:35

I found Father Zechariah very helpful on this question because he was asked it by a group of priests who were not sure how to respond because in some cases, like the Centurion Cornelius in the Scriptures, the experiences, as Saint Peter said, it's on the same level as what the apostles were experiencing. But Father Zechariah said something that was very helpful that even though these great experiences can be given by God for his reasons, to people of relatively modest experience, still what remains is they have to undergo the cleansing of the passions and the regeneration of their nature. God can forgive us in an instant, but then begins a struggle, then begins the next phase, if you like, and the next phase involves what we know of purifying the passions, practicing the virtues, cultivating the virtues, being diligent in virtue. As Saint Maximus the Confessor says, we still have to overcome the passion. It doesn't mean, because we've had a vision or because we've been forgiven, that suddenly the passions have disappeared, and this is the mistake that many make. Usually I think mostly, it's safe to say it's people outside the church who have these experiences, but not only. Still, we have to overcome the passions, so our nature needs to be regenerated in Christ, in other words, reborn. There are many deaths that need to take place vis-a-vis the old man, and there are many, many resurrections, many, rather, rebirths that need to take place as well. There's many deaths and many rebirths Until we reach the measure of the stature, of the fullness of Christ, which is a perfection that is unending, it's dynamic and knows no end. So I found that very helpful in Father Zechariah's and for that reason, and others as well, I recommend that you read as much of him as you can, and particularly the inspired interaction that he had with the priests, because their questions were good and his answers were also good.

Speaker 1: 19:40

So the guarding of the mind, now shutting the doors of his heart, stationing his mind on guard like a sentinel, unfettered by imagination and cogitation. Imagination characterizing the first form of prayer, cogitation characterizing the second form of prayer. Unfettered by them, but armed with prayer and the name of Jesus Christ, the ascetic striver embarks on the struggle against all external influence, all thoughts from without. This is the essence of mental vigilance. Its purpose is to contend against the passions in a wider and all comprehensive sense. Victory over the passions is achieved by keeping Christ's commandments. But now we are discussing a special form of ascetic awareness which begins after the ascetic, having gone through the familiar stages of spiritual development, abandons the prayer of the imagination in its first form and then in its second, having found by experience its imperfection. Also, preserving the mind and heart from all extraneous thoughts means prolonged struggle of an extraordinarily difficult and subtle kind. We mentioned Mother Mary of Egypt and how Father Sophrony used to say that she struggled with the carnal passions as with wild beasts for 17 years, and how that in fact is a very short time, because she overcame them in 17 years. That's amazing.

Speaker 1: 22:04

Subject to a multitude of the most varied influences and impressions, with their perpetually shifting values, the ordinary man fails to grasp either their origin or their power. But the ascetic striver, the hessicast, detached from all external influences in his efforts, day and night, to reduce all outside impressions to the lowest possible minimum, shunning the outside world, deaf to all irrelevant discussions, reading no books, concentrates his whole attention on his inner being and there engages in single combat with intrusive thoughts. This is the only way to discover the genus and power colossal sometimes of intrusive thoughts. The man who is not sufficiently attentive within himself falls under the influence of an intrusive thought and becomes enslaved. By heeding the intrusive idea, man comes to resemble, even identifies with the spirit of the intrusive thought and the energy contained in it. So you see, it's a form of possession when we are enslaved by a passion. It's a form of possession when his soul accepts a passionate thought, very often the consequence of demonic influence. He thereby becomes a tool for demonic action.

Speaker 1: 24:08

Now the mind, deeply engrossed in prayer, is sometimes aware of the approach of some spirit from without. But if his prayerful attention is not disturbed, the intrusive thought departs without having been received. So afterwards the one who was praying cannot say who, why or what had approached. Sometimes something occurs in deep set prayer that is difficult to explain. Referring now to the appearances of light-bearing apparitions. Lights appear around the mind trying to attract the mind's attention to themselves, and if the mind refuses to pay attention, they, as it were, say to the mind we bring you wisdom and understanding, and if you refuse us now, maybe you will never see us again.

Speaker 1: 25:18

But the experienced mind pays no attention whatever and they depart Not only unaccepted but even unacknowledged. The mind does not know for sure if it was an evil enemy or a good angel, but does know by experience that if it stops to consider the brilliant thought, it loses prayer and with great pains must seek it again. Experience shows that in the hour of prayer we must not listen even to good thoughts, because if we do, other ideas will occur and, as the starret said, you will not continue undistracted. Nothing can compensate for the loss of pure prayer. We'll pause there. There's a lot for us to digest, but I'm glad to introduce you to this literature which, as I said, could prove to be very helpful to you one day.