Chapter 210

The Jesus Prayer, Noetic Prayer, and Noetic Practice

You must pour your heart into every work, and it must be a God-fearing heart. For the heart to be in a state of God-fearing, it must constantly be overshadowed by remembrance of God. Remembrance of God will be the door through which the soul enters into active life. All labor now must be directed toward thinking of God without ceasing, or walking in God’s presence (Seek God, seek his face continually (Ps. 104:4)). This is where watchfulness and noetic prayer stand. God is everywhere: act so that your thought too may be everywhere with God.

How then can we do this? Thoughts swarm like gnats in their columns, and above the thoughts are the feelings of the heart. To attach the thought to the one thing, the elders had the custom of becoming accustomed to uninterrupted recitation of a short prayer; from habit and frequent repetition this prayer so stuck to the tongue that it repeated itself. Through this the thought became attached to the prayer, and through it to remembrance of God, ceaseless. After the habit was formed, prayer bound remembrance of God, and remembrance of God bound prayer; and they mutually supported one another. This is walking before God.

Various short prayers were used—one “God, be merciful to me,” another “God, come to my aid,” another “I am human and have sinned; you are God and merciful—have mercy on me.” But later everyone preferred one prayer—the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!” They became accustomed to repeating it and with it keeping remembrance of God. You see now where the Jesus Prayer stands and what its significance is? By itself it is not noetic, but spoken, external, like all other written prayers, and is a means to noetic prayer, when someone, standing with it before the Lord, prays to Him. Likewise it is not noetic practice, but the same practice as church or home prayer-reading prayer-book style. Noetic prayer is when someone, having become established in attention in the heart, from there sends forth prayer to God. Noetic practice is when someone, standing in attention in the heart with remembrance of the Lord, keeps out every other thought trying to enter the heart.

Now I think you yourself will resolve many of your misunderstandings. By noetic prayer you mean the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” But after the explanations given, you see that this is not noetic prayer, but spoken prayer, and you can practice it without fear, just as you learned any other prayer. Whether you sit or walk or do something else, repeat this prayer, and that’s all—you will become skilled in it, and it will repeat itself on your tongue by itself. No harm is foreseen in this.

Noetic prayer is when you, standing in the heart in attention, call out to the Lord, and ask Him, or repent, or give thanks, or glorify Him. In this action too there is no danger; such prayer serves as a guard to itself. For here the Lord is present, if you turn to Him with faith. In this very hour you can try this in deed.

Practice, practice, and not only when you sit alone in your cell, but everywhere: in church, at the table, and when you walk. Only take care that there is remembrance of the Lord here, and not merely words.

What the schema monk Basil said about setting aside singing for noetic prayer applies to recluses and to those people in whom noetic prayer has unfolded and become unceasing. They can do all things instead of church services and personal prayer rule. But here we are not speaking of repetition of the Jesus Prayer, but of unceasing prayer-like ascent of prayer-filled cries from the heart. I read how it is said of one elder that he could continue his prayer-reading only until the first “Glory” (from the Psalter), and then entered into heart prayer and prayed without words. The reading of the prayer then ceases of itself. Thus setting aside singing does not apply to us with you; we must maintain church services and fulfill what is appointed for personal prayer-reading.

When unceasing heart prayer is formed, then you will see how to proceed. You ask for a blessing for your inner work. God will bless! But clarify for yourself what the matter is here: become accustomed to practicing the Jesus Prayer so that it sticks to your tongue, but always with thought of the Lord. If while doing this you sigh to the Lord from the heart, this will be noetic prayer, not the words of the Jesus Prayer. If, having stood in attention in the heart before the Lord and practicing the Jesus Prayer, you keep out from the heart every other thought and feeling, this will be noetic practice.

(Letter 240. Vol. 2, pp. 55–58)

Sections (zachala) divide the Church Slavonic text of the New Testament into parts similar to chapters and also have their own numbering. At each service, specific sections are read, whose numbers are indicated in the church calendar.

Thomas à Kempis—a Catholic author who wrote the popular book of that time, The Imitation of Christ.

The Six Psalms—six psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, and 142, read at every evening service. It begins with the words: Lord, why have those who trouble me multiplied?

That is, Psalm 24 (To you, Lord, I lift up my soul) and Psalm 90 (The one who dwells in the help of the Most High).

This refers to the book by Abbot Nikodim of Mount Athos, The Invisible Warfare (1st ed. Moscow, 1886), translated from Greek by St. Theophan the Recluse. All the books mentioned in this edition have been reprinted in recent times.

Margarite—pearl.

This refers to the book by Abbot Nikodim of Mount Athos, The Invisible Warfare.

See: Whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do all things for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)

Cf.: Abbot Makarios the Egyptian. Spiritual Homilies. Klin, 2001. Homily 19, 3. P. 174.

Cf.: From the Life of the Venerable Father Maximus of Kapsokalyvia. On Noetic Grace-filled Prayer // The Philokalia: In 5 Vols. Moscow, 2003. (reprint). Vol. 5. P. 511. St. Theophan refers not to the Russian but to the Slavonic Philokalia for the reason that the 5th volume of the Russian Philokalia appeared in 1889, whereas the letter 516 cited here was written by him in 1888. The Russian five-volume Philokalia we know is the fruit of the great ascetic labor of St. Theophan himself.

Otrevat’—to deny, to cast aside.

Most likely, St. Theophan has in mind the book Holy Patristic Teachings on Prayer and Watchfulness, or Attention in the Heart to God, and an Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Words of the Holy Fathers. 1st ed. Moscow, 1881; 2nd ed. Moscow, 1889. The name of the compiler of this book is not given, but it is known that it was St. Theophan himself. In recent times the book has been reprinted under the title The Holy Fathers on Prayer and Watchfulness.

See: St. John, Abbot of Mount Sinai. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Sergiev Posad, 1908. Sermon 28, 11, 49. Pp. 234, 239.

This refers to St. Savva the Sanctified (†532; commemorated December 5/18), who composed the oldest of the liturgical monastic rules—the Jerusalem Typicon.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

See: Saint Basil the Great’s Teachings on Prayer and Watchfulness // Holy Patristic Teachings on Prayer and Watchfulness… Moscow, 1889. P. 11.

See: The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Sermon 28, 17. P. 235. See also: Sermon 4, 92; Sermon 19, 7; Sermon 25, 5.

See: St. John Cassian the Roman. Works. Moscow, 1892. Conference 10, chapter 10. Pp. 356–361.

See: Memorable Sayings on the Ascetic Struggles of Holy and Blessed Fathers. Moscow, 1999. Abba John the Little, 3. P. 202.

Cf.: St. Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic Teachings, 218 // The Philokalia. Vol. 2. P. 775.

The book What is Spiritual Life and How to Attune Oneself to It (Moscow, 1878) was written by St. Theophan himself.

See: St. Anthony the Great. Rule for the Solitary Life, 124, 126 // The Philokalia: In 5 Vols. St. Petersburg, 1877. Vol. 1. P. 89.

These are not the ancient elders, but recent ones who wrote instruction to that same monk from their own understanding. – Note from the 1898 edition.

See: St. Symeon the New Theologian. On Three Forms of Attention and Prayer // The Philokalia. Vol. 5. Pp. 500–510.

The advice about prayer beads concerns clergy. As a rule, lay people are not blessed to pray with beads.

Term—a deadline, a limit.

friend! how have you entered here?... (Matt. 22:12)

This refers to a note in which it was reported that a certain elder answered the question of a nun: “How is it better to pray—with the mouth or with the mind?” – Note from the 1898 edition.

The question of external methods of performing the Jesus Prayer

Probably, this refers to the book Candid Tales of a Pilgrim to his Spiritual Father. The stories of the first part of the book were copied from an Athos manuscript titled A Seeker of Unceasing Prayer. There are conjectures that its author is Archimandrite Michael (Kozlov, 1826–1884), who spent many years laboring on Mount Athos. At the beginning of the 1880s, the 1st edition of Candid Tales of a Pilgrim appeared in Kazan.

It is possible that St. Theophan has in mind the following words: “…Whoever thinks in the feeling of the heart that he stands before God will be in prayer like an unmoved pillar” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Sermon 19, 4. P. 138).

See: St. Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic Teachings, 45–49. Pp. 706–709.

See: Memorable Sayings… Abba Arsenius, 30. P. 44.