VERSIUNEA ORIGINALĂ TRADUCERE ÎN LIMBA ENGLEZĂISIHASMUL IN TIMP SI IN ORTODOXIEViata stresanta,pe care o traim fiecare dintre noi constituie motivul principal care m-a determinat sa aleg aceasta tema.

ISIHASMUL este mestesugul linistirii;este o miscare de renastere spirituala.ISIHIA(grec) inseamna linistea launtrica.Astazi, isihasmul este redescoperit.Lumea afla despre el,se apropie de el,vrea sa-l practice.Acest interes sporit se constata mai ales in spatiul ortodoxiei,unde isihasmul este “la el acasa”.

Catolicismul recupereaza si el isihasmul,prin indemnul pe care il da Vaticanul la integrarea acestei practice in viata spirituala.Astfel,in anii nostril,inceteaza,definitiv, o polemica veche.Polemica isihasta a inceput in 1342,intre doua personalitati simbol, ortodoxul Grigorie Palamas de la Muntele Athos,adept al contemplatiei si aparator al isihastilor si dominicanul Varlaam din Calabria,adversar al contemplatiei,adversar al rugaciunii isihaste,adept al autoritatii sacramentale.

Polemica aceasta,discutata cu obida de unii teologi,trebuie apreciata ca un catalizator formidabil: gratie ei,isihasmul a castigat contur precis,fundamentare teologica si filosofica,transformandu-se -din exercitiul individual,izolat (datand din paleocrestinism)-in curent spiritual structurat.Atunci,in secolul XIV,s-a mai petrecut un fapt insemnat: isihasmul s-a extins dincolo de pustie si dincolo de chilie,captand interesul larg al cautatorilor de imbunatatire.La aceasta extindere a contribuit,la timpul respectiv,nu doar Grigorie Palamas(1296-1359),ci,poate mai efecient,Grigorie Sinaitul(1255-1346).Acesta, calugarit la Sinai,a fost initiat in Rugaciunea inimii de catre isihastul Arsenie de pe insula Creta.Apoi,Grigorie Sinaitul vine pe Athos,pe la 1300,si-I invata pe discipoli procedeul vechi si “aproape

HESYCHASME IN TIME AND IN ORTHODOXYIt is commonly accepted that modern people have stressful lives and that is the main reason that prompted me to choose this topic.

HESYCHASM is the craft of appeasement and also a movement of spiritual rebirth.ISIHIA (Greek) means the inner stillness.The hesychasm has been rediscovered nowadays. People find out about it, approaching to it and wish to practise it. This increasing interest has been found especially in the Orthodox space where the hesychasme is "at home".

The hesychasme is being recovered by the Catholicism itself by the urge given by Vatican at integrating this practice into spiritual life.Thus an old polemic has finally come to an end.

Hesychast polemic started in 1342 between two symbolic personalities namely the Orthodox Gregory Palamas from Mount Athos who was a contemplation advocate and defender of the hesychasts and the Dominican Barlaam of Calabria, opponent of contemplation of hesychaste prayer who advocated a more intellectualist approach to prayer.This polemic discussed with resentment by some theologians has to be appreciated as an extraordinary catalyst: thanks to it the Hesychasm won precise outline, theological and philosophical grounding, turning from an individual isolated exercise (dating from paleo-Christianity) into a spiritual structured movement.A very important fact took place during the XIVth century, the hesychasme extended beyond the wilderness and beyond the cell drawing the large interest of spiritual improvement searchers.Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) was not the only contributor to this enlargement but perhaps more effectively Gregory the Sinaite (1255-1346).

As heremite of Sinai he was initiated in the Jesus Prayer by the hesychast Arsenie on the island of Crete.Then Gregory the Sinaite came on Mount Athos at

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uitat”(cum scrie un cercetator) al Rugaciunii neincetate.Grigorie Sinaitul,adept al isihasmului incluzand si laici, a trimis la Salonic,pe Isidor,ucenicul sau insemnat,pentru a fi un “isihast orasean”si pentru a fi “calauzitor al unui cerc de mireni”.Pe la 1333,dupa 33 de ani de la venirea sa pe Muntele Athos,Grigorie Sinaitul merge in Bulgaria unde intemeiaza un focar isihast(la Paroria) ,cu practicieni multietnici.Trebuie sa intelegem,cuvantul isihia ( de la grecescul hesychia),ca insemnand linistea launtrica,linistea luminata.Este linistea bunatatii si a sanatatii.Este linistea mintii clare,linistea sfintitoare.

Procedeul”oratio hesychasta”,adica Rugaciunea inimii,care conduce pe cel vrednic si pe cel harazit,la isihia,provine din traditia ascetica-contemplativa paleocrestina(sec.III-IV),relansat mereu de marii parinti(sec.VI-X) si structurat ( sec.IVX)ca un curent spiritual distinct.Este singurul procedeu complet de concentrare,introspectiva,meditatie si thosis elaborate pe terenul crestinismului.

El are anvergura si eficienta marilor metode din alte spatii geografice.Practica isihasta nu se reduce, insa,la procedeu,ea este un mod de viata.Ea presupune ,in prealabil,despatimirea,iertarea semenului,ca treapta a despatimirii.Ea presupune,deci,schimbarea mintii.Isihasmul este initiatic,adica presupune transmiterea de la parintele spiritual la ucenic.Parintele spiritual trebuie la randul sau sa fi cunoscut practica aceasta, si trebuie sa fi primit taina aceasta de la un isihast.

Cand spunem “initiatic” inseamna si faptul ca produce o “schimbare a mintii”dinspre simturi spre duh.Isihasmul se caracterizeaza si prin aceea ca este personal,adica nu se practica in grup,ci individual.In grup se poate face doar deprinderea procedeului.Intalnirile periodice de grup sau in tabere sunt

1300 and taught disciples the old and "almost forgot" method (according to a research fellow) of Unceasing Prayer.Gregory the Sinaite, follower of hesychasm including lay people, sent his significant apprentice Isidore to Salonic to be ”townsman hesychast” and ”guide for a group of lay people”33 years following his coming to Mount Athos at about 1333 Gregory the Sinaite went to Bulgaria where he founded an hesychast center (in Paroria) with pluri-etnichal practitioners.We have to understand the word hesychia (from the Greek word hesychia) meaning inner peace, enlighted peace.It is the stillness of kindness and health.It is thr stillness of the clear mind, consecrated quietness."Oratio hesychasta" process, meaning Prayer of the heart that drives the worthy and given one to hesychia comes from the contemplative ascetic paleo-Christianism tradition (IIIrd - IVth centuries), always released again by the Athonite Fathers (VIth -Xth century) and structured ( IXth century ) as a distinct spiritual movement.It is the single complete process of concentration, introspection, meditation and thosis developed within the field of Christianity.It has the breadth and the efficiency of great methods from other geographical spaces.Hesychast practice is not reduced at the process because it is a lifestyle.As a pre-requisite it assumes the dispassion, the forgiveness of the fellow as the level of dispassion. It implies, therefore, the change of mindset.Hesychasm has the initiatic character so that it supposes to be transferred from the spiritual father/ Elder to the apprenticeconditioned by the fact that spiritual father/ Elder had already received the sacrament from a Hesychast.When we say "initiatic" it means and that produces a "change of mindset"directed from the senses towards the spirit.Hesychasm has a personal feature meaning that is not practiced within a group but individually.Only the acquirement of the method can be made within a group.

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folositoare pentru consolidarea simtului de familie spirituala,pentru studiul Filocaliei,si in deosebi pentru deprinderea procedeului isihast,a exigentelor practicii.

A dobandi isihia este o lucrare de amploare,presupunand staruinta si inmultirea harului.Filocalia ofera procedee,experiente si modele “care arata cum se poate omul curatii,lumina si desavarsii”.Mitropolitul bucovinean Tit Simedrea(cel care a avut idea primei tabere isihaste ,la Cernauti,in 1942)demonstreaza ca intre ucenucii lui Grigorie Sinaitul, la Paroria,s-au aflat si romani-munteni si moldoveni-_isihasti care au adus practica aceasta in Tarile Romane inaintea lui Nicodim de la Tismana.

Redescoperit astazi isihasmul ramane totusi prea putin cunoscut,chiar printre cei preocupati de practici spirituale.Se publica acum lucrari care fac istoricul si descrierea acestei miscari innoitoare,se publica teze da doctorat,sau dezbateri pe teme filocalice.

Toate acestea sunt binevenite ca fapte de cultura si de climat spiritual.Dar,cunoasterea isihasmului presupune initiere urmata de practica staruitoare.Isihasmul nu se invata la Facultate si nici din manual.Singura cunoastere o da practica indrumata.Primele intalniri mirene de practica isihasta,episodice, au putut fi initiate in 1985,la Bucuresti si la Sibiu,in semiclandestinitate,in conditiile prohibitiei spiriruale din Romania anilor ’80.Atunci,procedeul Rugaciunii inimii,a fost numit in latina”Oratio mentis”(Rugaciunea mintii in inima)sau in greaca”Noera proseuche”,pentru a putea fi sustrasa rigorilor cenzurii comuniste.Dupa liberalizarea din 1990 ,un timp a fost pastrata denumirea “Oratio mentis”,deoarece se obisnuisera cu ea practicienii,dar,treptat,au fost introdusi termenii romanesti”Rugaciunea inimii”sau ‘Rugaciunea lui Iisus” fara a se renunta

Regular meetings of the group or in the camps are useful for strengthening the sense of the spiritual family for the study of the Philokalia and in particular to grow familiar with the hesychast process and demands of the practice.

The acquirement of the hesychia is a large enterprise assuming perseverance and grace multiplication.Philokalia offers processes, experiences and models "that show how a man can be cleansed, enlightened and completed".Metropolitan of Bukovina Tit Simedrea (the one who had the idea of the first hesychast camp at Cernauti in 1942) proves that among the apprentices of Gregory the Sinaite at Paroria were also Romanians hesychasts from Wallachia and Moldavia that brought this practice to the Romanian Principalities before Nicodemus of Tismana.Rediscovered today the hesychasme still remains too little known even among those concerned about spiritual practices.Different papers published nowadays have presented the history and description of this innovative movement, doctoral theses have published or debates on FILOKALIA themes have taken place.All these are welcome as facts of culture and the spiritual climate.But the mastery of the hesychasm involves initiation followed by a persistent practice.Hesychasm can not be learnt in college or from the manual.Knowledge rises only from the guided practice.The first episodic laical meetings of the hesychast practice took place in underground back in 1985 in Bucharest and in Sibiu under spiritual prohibition of the 80's in Romania. Then the Prayer of the heart was called in Latin "Oratio mentis" (Prayer of the mind in the heart) or in Greek "Noera proseuche" in order to avoid the Communist censorship.After the liberalisation of the 1990s the name "Oratio mentis" was kept because the practicians have gotten used to it but Romanian phrases have been gradually introduced "Heart Prayer" or

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definitive la termanul latin sau cel grecesc.Dupa 1990 intalnirile de practica isihasta au functionat la lumina zile,infiintandu-se Centrul National de Practica Isihasta,inregistrat juridic in Bucuresti si avand filiale in marile orase ale tarii.

Participantii la aceste cercuri si lucrari, vechi sau noi,nu se numesc deloc “isihasti” ci “ravnitori”.

Reperul hristic,codurile simple si nesofisticate ale Rugaciunii inimii,destinatia mantuitoare,aduc o lumina decisiva privind mestesugul si finalitatea meditatiei.In legatura cu meditatia,in cercurile bucurestene de practici sapientiale sunt multe confuzii,multe derive si improvizari.Cine stie ce este meditatia?Mai ales ca meditatia nu se poate invata si nu exista retete sau predanii pentru aceasta.Cel mult concentrarea se poate invata si numai de la un maestru spiritual.Experienta isihasta ii scoate pe cei exaltati din starea de “science fiction”si ii aduce in realul unei practice de viata imbunatatita cu repere ferme.

Principiul de baza al meditatiei isihaste este”nepsis”,adica,trezvia sau sobrietatea.Idealul isihasmului romanesc,dintotdeauna,este omul cu viata imbunatatita.Acest ideal orienteaza bine nu numai asceza ci si trairea lumeasca.Asa se face legatura de la religie la viata si,astfel,isihasmul se implica in cotidian.Cand orice om aude ca procedeul isihast consta in repetarea unei propozitii de cinci cuvinte,adica”Doamne Iisuse Hristoase ,milueste-ma” crede ca este simplu si se instituie opinia ca oricine si oricum o poate face.Este aceasta rugaciune pentru toti?Exista o rugaciune pentru toti si o rugaciune pentru cei care se consacra.In primul caz avem in vedere rugaciunea de veneratie,in care se include rugaciunea de implorare si cerere.Omul venereaza pe Dumnezeu ca sa smulga un beneficiu.Omul se infurie cand nu primeste nimic,lauda si

"Jesus Prayer" without giving up entirely to Latin or Greek expression.After the 1990 meetings of hesychast practice have been legally kept establishing the National Center of Hesychast Practice legally registered in Bucharest and having branches in major cities of the country.The participants in these circles and acts, old or new, are not anymore hesychasts but zealous Christians.Christic marker, simple and direct codes of the Prayer, liberator destination bring a decisive prospective regarding the art and meditation outcome.In terms of meditation there are many confusions, deviations and improvisations within sapiential practice groups in Bucharest.Who knows what meditation is ?Especially since you can't teach meditation and there is no recipe or tuition to do this.At most the concentration can only be learnt from a spiritual master.Hesychast experience takes out the exalted ones from "science fiction" condition and brings them into the real practical life improved with clear benchmarks.The basic principle of hesychast meditation is the "nepsis" meaning the watchfulness or sobriety.The ideal of Romanian Hesychasm ideal has always been the individual with improved life.This ideal not only directs the ascetism but also the worldly living.So it makes the connection from religion to life and thus the hesychasm engages in daily life.When everyone hears that hesychast process consists in the repetition of a sentence of five words, meaning "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" believes that is simple and everyone and anyway can do it.Is this prayer for all?There is a prayer for everyone and a prayer for those who consecrate.In the first case we consider prayer of veneration which includes a prayer of supplication and petition.Man worships God as to elicit a benefit.

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multumeste cand primeste.De aici rugaciunea de multumire de lauda si de preamarire.Aceasta este Rugaciunea pastorala sau rugaciunea pentru toti( se mai numeste si rugaciunea cultica, atunci cand este insotita si de jrtfa euharistica),sau rogation(latineste)Al doilea tip de rugaciune,oratio,inseamna convorbire cu Dumnezeu si este o Rugaciune isihasta,este o convorbire cu Dumnezeu cand “tac gandurile”.Aceasta Rugaciune ste mult mai grea si pentru a o practica iti trebuie o initiere.Atitudinea mentala trebuie sa fie cu totul alta.Prin “initiere”trebuie sa intalegem trecerea de la informatie la revelatie.O initiere poate fi scurta sau de durata,depinde de vrednicia ucenicului si de anvergura indrumatorului.Rugaciune isihasta nu este o cerere nu este formularea unei dorinte.Sintagma “miluieste-ma” nu este o cerere ci,inseamna o stare de suflet,cu recunostinta si descoperirea lui Hristos in inima ta.

Ortodoxia ramane,in spirit,dominant isihasta(ar fi o explicatie a faptului ca este mai putin extinsa pe glob).Catolicismul,preponderant sacramental,este de trei ori mai extins decat ortodoxia.

Catolicismul,insa,are destui mistici de mare valoare si profunzime,care au dobandit iluminarea si desavarsirea in afara practicii isihaste.Asa se ajunge la constatarea parintelui Petroniu Tanase potrivit cu care “isihasmul nu este singura cale pentru obtinerea desavarsirii”.

prof.dr.Silviu CostacheVicepresedinte”Fundatia Oamenilor de Stiinta”-PrahovaBibliografie:FILOCALIA B.O.R.; Vasile Andru “Isihasmul sau mestesugul linistirii”- Editura”Cartea Moldovei”,Chisinau,2002.

Man is getting angry when gets nothing, praises and thanks when gets what he wants.Here the prayer of praise, thanksgiving or apotheosis.This is the pastoral prayer or prayer for all (it is called prayer of when it is accompanied by eucharistic sacrifice) or rogation (Latin)The second type of prayer, oratio, means conversation with God and is an hesychastic prayer, it is a conversation with God when "thoughts are put to silence".

This prayer is more difficult and in order to practice it one needs an attunement.Mental attitude must be totally different. Through "attunement" we have to understand the transition from information to the revelation.The attunement can be brief or long depending on the worthiness of the apprentice and the scope of the master.Hesychast prayer is not a request or a formulation for a desire.The phrase "have mercy on me" is not a request but it means a certain condition of the soul with gratitude and the revelation of Christ in your heart.Orthodoxy remains mainly hesychast in spirit (this would be an explanation of the fact that it is less extended around the globe). Catholicism is mainly sacramentally and is three times extended than the orthodoxy.Catholicism however has plenty of great mystics who have gained enlightenment and plenitude outside the hesychaste practice.So it comes down to finding of Father Petroniu Tănase with that "the hesychasme is not the single way to reach the plenitude".

Prof. B ScSilviu CostacheVice President of "Scientists Foundation” Prahova

Bibliography: PHILOKALIA B.O.R.; Vasile Andru ”Hesychasm and the art of inner stillness", "Cartea Moldovei" Publishing House, Chisinau, 2002.

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