... in His life, union with Him through humility, prayer, love of enemy and repentance before all and for everything, is the purpose of the Christian life. Hesychasm (Greek Hesychia=Silence) is the name applied to the Orthodox tradition of ceaseless prayer and inner stillness. But these are incorrectly understood if they are separated from knowledge of God and participation in His life, union with ...

... was implemented by the Athos ascetics. The experienced use of mental prayer (or prayer of the heart), requiring solitude and quiet, is called “Hesychasm” (from the Greek “hesychia” meaning calm, silence), and those practicing it were called “hesychasts.” During his stay at Glossia the future hierarch Gregory became fully embued with the spirit of hesychasm and ...