The Mystical Stages of Prayer, based on the notes from the anonymous Syriac work *Liber Graduum* (L.G.)

I. Introduction

Within the framework I have outlined, ‘prayer’, as an element of mystical ascension, is situated between purification and enlightenment. Linked to the ‘mysticism of the heart’, prayer serves to fill the centre of the spiritual life, identified in the Syrian tradition by the term leb/slûtā – the ‘1 heart’ – with ‘the good thoughts, which ultimately spring from it (the heart) as well; and only by relating the bad thoughts to it from the very first moment can we succeed in the work of our inner purification’. The author L.G. also expresses this idea in his Twelfth Homily, where he likens the heart to the ‘altar of sacrifice’ or to the ‘church within man’. On the other hand, the concept of ‘pure prayer’, constantly nourished by the tears of repentance or the joy of experiencing divine grace, is situated on the stage of enlightenment. In conclusion, we may say that prayer has within itself several stages, ‘each corresponding to one of the stages of the spiritual ascent on which man finds himself […] according to its object, and according to the more or less perfect concentration, and according to the state of tranquillity of the soul that is praying. As regards the first criterion, Evagrius recommends that one should first pray ‘to be cleansed of passions; secondly, to be delivered from knowledge and forgetfulness; and thirdly, from all temptation and abandonment’. In general terms, these three distinct types of prayer, differing in their content, would correspond to the three phases of the spiritual ascent: purification, illumination and union”2.

In its doctrinal framework, alongside the Christocentric dimension within which it is situated, L.G. XII is characterised by an interesting ecclesiological approach. This is due, first and foremost, to the fact that asceticism elevates the bodies of the ‘righteous’ to the dignity of a ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ and makes their hearts ‘altars’ of the Paraclete. Anyone who enters this atmosphere of grace cannot bypass the toil of the ascent up the ladder of spiritual struggles. They are nourished at first with the ‘milk of the Church’, and will subsequently receive the solid food of sound teaching. Upon reaching the age of the ‘mature man’, the one nurtured by the Church may receive Holy Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ the Saviour. In this regard, the English professor Sebastian Brock provides a summary description of this chapter of the L.G., explaining the Christological and ecclesiological dimensions of the ‘righteous’ journey towards perfection: ‘This growth is linked to the Christian’s capacity for self-awareness and self-discovery, which is made possible through the work of the visible Church within the invisible Church of the heart. In this way, realising that the visible Church was founded by Christ through His Holy Apostles, the Christian directs this discovery towards an understanding of the heavenly Church. This understanding of the existence and work of the heavenly Church takes shape in the profound insights drawn from the reality of the Sacraments of the visible Church, which constitute the starting point in this process of spiritual growth. Those who have attained full growth or perfection ‘truly feed on the Lord Himself’; this is the true understanding3”.

In L.G. XVIII, the anonymous author speaks of the ‘prayer of tears’. The emphasis is on the saving and purifying role of repentance as a continuous struggle against the passions. Whilst the sinner must weep for his sins, the ascetic weeps because he cannot be in full communion with God. There are also the tears springing from the ‘broken and humble heart’ which rejoices and leaps for joy at its restoration to the grace-filled communion of Christ. In this case, the one who sheds tears of joy is like ‘one who, whilst far away and without expecting it, meets his beloved again and, throwing his arms round his shoulders, pours out sighs and tears of joy upon him’4

II. The Sacrifice of Prayer on the ‘Altar of the Heart’

In L.G. XII we find three levels, grounded in Christology and ecclesiology, which broadly encompass the theology of the heart: the visible Church, the Church within the heart, and the invisible Church 5. In the second framework, the anonymous author develops a theme that is unique in Syrian mystical literature. Although situated some distance from the complexity of the Hesychast tradition, in which the ‘prayer of the heart’ was definitively established, the subject developed here could constitute a genuine beginning of this complex theological concept within the Syro-Mesopotamian region.

Placing this theme within a Christological and ecclesiological context also facilitates the integration of individual mysticism into the liturgical mysticism of the Holy Sacraments. In this regard, the text focuses on the principal stages of initiation into the Christian life: Baptism, Chrismation and the Eucharist. Thus, the purification begun through Holy Baptism continues into the ascetic life, full of struggles and self-restraint. ‘The phase of purification,’ says the Romanian theologian Nichifor Crainic, ‘is nothing other than a methodical continuation of the spiritual work accomplished through Baptism, in order to maintain and strengthen us in the new order into which we have entered. Baptism has a dual character: negative and positive. Negative, because it is a breaking away from the state of affairs in which we were; positive, because it is an entry into a new order. Eastern mystics attach extraordinary significance to the Sacrament of Baptism, for it is Christianisation, that is, the new birth in Jesus Christ, the realisation of Him in the new man. In the age of martyrdom, death is regarded as akin to the crucifixion on Golgotha and is called the baptism of fire or the baptism of blood. Martyrdom is the sure sign of salvation, of holiness and of deification. For what greater proof can there be than actual death in Christ, which is superior to the symbolic death of ritual baptism? When martyrdom ceases, this conception continues to reign supreme and, since the martyr’s death no longer exists, it is embodied in ascetic mortification. In the historical development of Christian life, ascetic mortification thus appears to us as a continuation of baptism and as its methodical fulfilment”6.

Building on this argument, we can find the necessary clarification against the alleged Messalian tendencies of which the work of L.G. 7 was suspected. The accusations of those who disregarded the concrete forms of Church life, including the holy place itself, together with the Eucharistic Altar 8, are refuted in the text of L.G. XII, as follows: ‘For it is not without reason that the Lord and His preachers, both of old and of later times, have ordained a Church and an Altar, and a Baptism, visible to the physical eye, but so that through these visible things, making our bodies temples and our hearts altars, we might be in heaven, in the things unseen by the eyes of the flesh, journeying thither and entering here, whilst we are still in this visible Church with its priesthood and ministry. And once we have attained deep humility and shown respect towards all, that heavenly Church and that spiritual altar will be revealed to us, upon which we may offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Spirit in the prayer of our hearts, believing equally in the visible Altar and acknowledging the true priesthood that ministers there, since all that is in that (visible) Church is arranged in the likeness of that hidden Church. But if we doubt and despise the visible Church and the revealed Altar, the manifest Priesthood and the saving Baptism, neither will our body be a temple, nor will our heart be an altar or a fountain of praise; nor will that Church on high, that altar, that light and its priesthood be revealed to us, in which all the saints shall gather—who, being pure in heart, dwell in glory and delight in its light (Matthew 5:8)— for they have not despised that blessed Mother who, day by day, gives birth to them, nurtures them most well, and sends them to that great Church on high. The visible Church, whose Altar, Baptism and Priesthood the Lord has established, can be seen by anyone; for in it the Lord and His Apostles prayed, baptised, and offered His Body and Blood, and in it they truly ministered as priests. It is the true Church and the blessed Mother who nurtures everyone as her children; likewise, the body and heart in which the Spirit dwells are, for the Holy Spirit Who dwells within them, a true temple and altar, for the Lord dwells there, as it is written: ‘Your bodies are temples of the Lord, and Christ dwells within you’ (1 Corinthians 6:19). As for that heavenly Church, all good things originate from there. From there the light went forth to the ends of the earth; in its image this earthly Church and its Altar were made, and following the example of its ministers, the body serves outwardly whilst the heart dwells within as a priest; those who zealously seek this visible Church resemble her and follow her. For this reason, the (visible) Church is greater than all others, being the Mother of all the baptised, especially since the face of the Lord dwells within her and illuminates her”9

III. Between justification and spiritual perfection

L.G. goes on to develop a very interesting theme concerning the relationship between the main categories of its content: ‘the righteous’ and ‘the perfected’. Here, for the first time in Syrian mysticism, the issue of the spiritual maturity of those who belong to the visible Church arises. As we have seen above, the ascent of the ‘righteous’ along the steps of perfection is metaphorically measured by the way in which the teachings of the faith are administered to them, as nourishment for the soul. Those who are at the beginning of the path are nourished with ‘the milk of the Church’, eventually attaining ‘a profound education and understanding of the body and the heart, making their bodies temples and their hearts altars’10). This ultimate goal—union with the heavenly Bridegroom in the heavenly Church—is prefigured here, in the visible Church, through the sacrifice of the heart, which is none other than the Eucharistic prayer.

The faithful confession of the visible Church and of the Holy Mysteries constitutes the first condition on the spiritual journey towards perfection; it is the path that the Christian takes in order ‘to be alive in the Church of the heart and in the Church in heaven’. Those who leave the Church are categorised as ‘guilty and lost’ because they have violated the sanctity of the covenant established at Holy Baptism 11. In the struggle against the powers of evil, the righteous have a duty to defend the Church, keeping a ‘pure heart’ in order to receive the light and glory of Christ the Saviour. It is in this state that a person enters through the reception of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism: ‘those who have fought against Satan and defended the faith deserve this Church in which the Lord shines and is above all, whilst at the same time partaking of the light of His divine glory. For the Lord said: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8). For even though there are other blessings and other places prepared for each person after death, that place (of the invisible Church) has been made for those who have cleansed themselves of evil things and of all corruption. They will be exalted and glorified alongside the Lord Christ and will receive blessings from the priests’12

IV. The Prayer of Tears

The prayer of tears constitutes one of the most important features of Eastern Christian mysticism. Whether the fruit of repentance or of inexpressible joys springing from the regaining of lost grace, tears are never separated from the inner cry of the heart to God. This close connection constitutes ‘for Orthodox asceticism and mysticism, the true mirror of man, the cosmos and God’13 This state is best described by the Greek concept of penthos – sorrow, lamentation, grief over the loss of salvation 14.

In its biblical sense, penthos is equivalent to katanyxis 15, which could be translated as ‘regret felt from the depths of the heart’. This meaning is also evident in the testament which the Lord leaves to humanity, as He declares in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ (Matthew 5:4). In this way, the Holy Fathers define it as a ‘piercing of the heart’.

The doctrine of penthos became so deeply ingrained within the Syriac Church that the monks came to be known as penthountes – ‘shedders of tears’ (Syriac: ’abîlā). The robe of the hermit thus became a garment of repentance and tears16 The fact that this fundamentally mystical experience is both present and dynamic within the Syriac tradition is evident from the writings of Saints Ephrem the Syrian and John Chrysostom. The former describes this state with Saint Gregory of Nazianzus in mind, whose character he praises in beautifully crafted words: ‘The moment I prepare to recall his streams of tears, my own eyes fill with tears. It is no small thing to cross the ocean of his tears without shedding your own. Every day and night his watchful eyes were bathed in tears. He wept for the sins of all, but even more he wept for his own sins. His eyes would well up with tears when his lips spoke of repentance, sin or the rectification of one’s life, but also when he praised God’17”.

For his part, Saint John Chrysostom, one of the most illustrious Fathers of the Syrian tradition, also offers a particularly important description of the connection between prayer and sorrow. In this regard, he cites examples from real life—feelings of sorrow found in every person’s existence. None of these can compare to the tears of prayer, which pierce the heart and place the ascetic in communion with the love of Christ. ‘Tell me, then, what physical strength is required when it comes to piercing the heart, to vigilant prayer, to reflecting on sins, to the struggle against sins and to the restraint of the mind?’18 ‘Weep, then, for your sin too,’ says the Holy Father, ‘and do not weep half-heartedly, nor merely to be seen, but with bitterness, like Peter. Let springs of tears flow from the depths of your soul, so that, having mercy on you, the Lord may forgive your sin. For He is a lover of mankind, as He Himself said: ‘I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should turn back and live’ (Ezekiel 33:11). He asks only a little effort of you, and He will grant you great things. He is waiting for you to seize the opportunity to receive the treasure of salvation. Shed tears and He will grant you forgiveness; repent and He will overlook your sins’19

In L.G.’s work, this theme is found in the 18th Homily. Its prominence is evident from the very first lines, where the author distinguishes between tears shed in sorrow for sins and tears of joy. The reward for tears shed for sins will be ‘joy in the Lord’. Reflecting on one’s own deeds and weighing them up with hope in the goodness and help of the Merciful One constitutes the beginning of the process of detachment from passions. The author illustrates this entire spiritual journey using biblical imagery: ‘Understand what I am about to tell you, my sons! Tears spring from both sorrow and joy, as the Lord says: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy’ (John 16:20). Some weep for their sins, and they do well, for it is written: ‘For godly sorrow brings repentance leading to salvation, without regret; but worldly sorrow brings death’ (2 Corinthians 7:10). Others have overcome their passions and turned away from what is evil in order to do the Lord’s work. Out of love for God, who has blessed them with His grace, saved them from death and set them free, they have shed tears of joy, in humility and in His holy law, as the psalmist says: ‘For Your testimonies are my meditation, and Your precepts my counsel. My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word’ (Psalms 118:24–25). Let us therefore rejoice in this day of salvation! For if anyone has been delivered from death, they must serve the Lord with joy and not with sorrow’20

Having turned away from God because of his sins, man weeps as though he had lost his dearest friend. The casting out of sin brings with it the restoration of grace in the soul, as the anonymous author notes: ‘when he has completely cast out sin from his soul, he weeps for the joy of meeting God’21.

The ascetic’s weapon in the struggle against ‘evil thoughts’ is prayer. It must be modelled on that of Christ the Saviour, who washed away the sins of humankind with His tears, praying to the Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Divine Sacrifice. The entire journey towards perfection is regarded as a continuous struggle against the powers of darkness. In this context, tears play both a redemptive and a commemorative role, keeping man’s conscience alert. Emerging from this state of purification, man enters into communion with divine grace. From this moment on, sadness turns into the joy of regaining the gifts lost through sin. This is how L.G. describes this state: ‘Let us leave behind all transitory things and cast out from ourselves all sin that comes from without. Only then, once we have pulled this weed out by the roots, can we fight against the sin that dwells within us – against the evil thoughts that passion sows in our hearts. After this, we can press on in the race that lies before us, striving even more earnestly in prayer, just as the Lord did before us: for (Paul) has shown us that Jesus ‘during the days of His earthly life, offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His reverence, and although He was a Son, He learnt obedience through the things He suffered; and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him’ (Hebrews 5:7–9). And the Lord teaches us the same: when we have reached the state of dispassion, we must delve even deeper into this contest of prayer, just as He Himself said and did’22

Upon entering the state of perfection, the ascetic must preserve the grace regained through prayer. In this regard, we are reminded of the exhortation of Saint Paul the Apostle, who says: ‘Stand firm and be filled with all the will of God’ (Colossians 4:12). This is the gift which the Son of God Himself won by shedding His blood upon the wood of the Cross. In this, He set in motion our struggle against the devil’s temptations, making it ‘fitting that all who are in Him ‘should pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without anger or disputing’, to shed tears in their love and longing for God, awaiting the moment of face-to-face encounter, as it is written: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8)’22.

The author, L.G., goes on to refer to the purification of the heart through prayer. In this context, the idea emerges of uprooting sin from the heart through prayer and tears. Alongside purification through the ‘fire of the Holy Spirit’23, this theme places the work within the pneumatic dimension characteristic of Syrian mysticism. Placed in this context, this idea is linked to the second stage of the prayer of tears, that of ‘joy in the Lord’: ‘The heart does not become pure until sin has completely vanished from within it and until all evil thoughts, hidden in the power of sin, have come to an end. This sin will not disappear from the heart, nor will the evil thoughts springing from sin, unless we pray to our Lord. Only then, after we have prayed to Him in our hearts, will we be filled with unspeakable joy. For we shall rejoice for a long time, when our hearts no longer respond to sin, having opened ourselves up in God’s presence and fulfilled all His commandments. Remember how the Lord delivered our forefathers from the clutches of hell and how their hearts rejoiced in Him and in those who bear His Holy Name, just as the Holy Virgin said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked with favour upon the lowliness of His handmaid. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed’ (Luke 1:46–48). In the depths of her soul she rejoiced, and, lifting up her mind, she found grace and mercy before Him’24

When the ascetic has been deemed worthy of dispassion, warmed by the sanctifying light of grace, he sheds tears of joy. ‘For this reason,’ says Father Stăniloae – ‘the light within me is not a subjective light, but the very objective light of the Holy Spirit, which I have attained through purification from the passions and through the long practice of contemplation of God and prayer’25. In this way, the author moves on to the next stage of mystical ascent, illumination (26). To remain in this state, the ascetic must bear two things in mind: constant examination of conscience and remembrance of sin (27). In this regard, Saint Ephrem says: ‘The beginning of penance is self-knowledge’28’, and Saint John Chrysostom adds: ‘When tears spring from God, they are eternal’29.

V. Prayer Beyond Suffering

In a general assessment of Christian mysticism in the early centuries, the image of Christ the Saviour constitutes the principal model which the Christian follows and towards which he constantly looks with hope. This longing, manifested ceaselessly and perpetually in the lives of the ascetics, oscillates very easily between the experience of martyrdom and the struggle against the passions and thoughts that come from the enemy, the devil. Having attained the capacity to preserve in his heart, as if it were a piece of bread, the seal of Christ the Saviour, the Christian mystic ceaselessly seeks to externalise this state, moulding it mysteriously in the image of his Benefactor. He carries the martyrdom forward, this time clothed in the garment of his Lord’s sufferings. ‘The life of a martyr resembles the ascetic life in many respects,’ says His Eminence Irineu Popa, Metropolitan of Oltenia. ‘Thus, the spiritual ascent achieved by various means—whether through martyrdom, or through the ascetic path, is a journey of knowledge committed to a constant ascent towards the heights, towards union with ‘the Great High Priest, Who has passed through the heavens’. Thus, the martyrs and ascetics, following the Lord, ‘shall pass through the heavens, transcending not only the earth and its mysteries, but also the heavens and all that surrounds them’. In this way, people filled with love for God are called to be purified of passions and weaknesses, declaring with conviction, as did the Holy Apostle Paul: ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, Christ Jesus our Lord’30.

In L.G., the following of Christ or ‘life in Christ’31 is primarily kenotic in character, focusing in particular on His humble life in the flesh. Thus, the slaps across the cheek, the washing of the apostles’ feet, the healing of the high priest’s servant’s severed ear, and the prayer for those who crucified Him on the Cross are models to be followed by those seeking perfection. The example set by Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, the Holy Apostles, the Holy Martyrs and many others who sacrificed their lives for the faith, form the foundation of the belief that these things are not impossible to accomplish 32.

The call to follow the Lord’s passions and sufferings forms the central theme of L.G.’s seventeenth Homily. By placing the Person and sufferings of the Saviour at the centre of human existence, the author instils in the reader’s heart the call to order their life according to the model set by Christ the Saviour through His deeds, from His Birth to His Incarnation. The fruits of this endeavour will be centred on our glorification in heaven ‘33’. If the Son of God became Man and suffered for our sins, then we, in turn, by suffering for the sins we have committed, come to resemble Him, if we accept this state with humility and prayer: ‘Learn from the Holy Scriptures what sufferings arise from sin, and you will suffer, just as the Lord suffered, so that He may glorify you. This is what it means to suffer like our Lord. Even today, the Lord stands by you in your suffering, just as the Apostle said: ‘And if we are children, then we are also heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him’ (Romans 8:17). Take heed: are you not convinced that the Lord suffered in secret for your sake? He was tempted, yet He did not remove temptation from us, but suffered alongside those who are tempted’33).

The purpose of this imitative suffering is directed by the author towards prayer for one’s enemies: ‘For these are the sufferings of the Lord, Who, not turning His face away from the shame of being spat upon, prayed for those who mocked Him. Take heed to these things and, by mastering your impulses, pray for anyone who causes you harm and forgive them, for this is what it means to suffer with Christ and to be glorified together with Him’34 Just as the Saviour, Who healed people’s infirmities, washed the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, and healed the ear of the high priest’s servant 35, the righteous are urged to practise self-control in order to attain perfection 36. In their sacrifice, the Holy Martyrs followed the example of Christ the Saviour, Who prayed for those who were crucifying Him 37. With the saving sign of the Holy Cross imprinted on their minds and in their hearts, they transformed their suffering into salvation. In light of all this, the author L.G. concludes: ‘If you suffer in this way, blessed will your soul be, for your heart will be purified and you will see God. And bearing in mind how Saint Stephen prayed for those who were stoning him, saying: ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ (Acts of the Apostles 7:60), how could you possibly believe that only the Lord prayed for His persecutors? All the Holy Apostles prayed for their persecutors, just as the Lord had done before them. When they were led out beyond the city walls to their death, He stood by them, strengthening them to attain salvation. Whilst they were being crucified, the Lord strengthened them in their faith. Pray, therefore, to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who suffered first, and suffer with Him and in Him. For, being the One who suffered first, He has become a model for those who suffer with Him and in Him. Glory to Him, and blessed be those who have followed His example’38’.

The path which the righteous must follow is ‘narrow and fraught with tribulations’. By treading this path, he makes a covenant before God, committing himself to walk uprightly and not to fall into the temptation of the crafty one. The hardship of the steps taken cannot even begin to compare with the beauty and riches of the promised Kingdom. With this at stake, the ascetic clothes his aspiration in the garment of humility, becoming all things to all people, ‘so that he might win them all over’. His suffering thus becomes a ‘healing burden’, anchored in the desire to attain communion with God as swiftly as possible. For this reason, we might say that the intensity of suffering is equivalent to the intensity of communion with Christ. ‘Whoever wishes to live according to Christ’s plan,’ writes Metropolitan Nicolae Mladin, ‘must accept suffering. It is like an extension of His sufferings in history (for Christ Himself is the One who suffers in His members). The Church in the ‘present age’ is more the Church of suffering, humility and persecution than the Church of transfigurations: it is the Body of Christ, struck by every form of baseness, scourged by every slander, torn apart by every persecution, held upon the cross of all sorrows. So too are Christians, who are the members of this body. ‘How could the members remain without suffering, when they are the members of a head crowned with thorns?’”39

At the end of the 17th Homily, the anonymous author portrays the state of imitating Christ in suffering as a journey leading to the Kingdom of God. At the end of this quest, the pilgrim discovers the joy of union with God, which is the fulfilment of all his struggles: ‘If you wish to know these mysteries, however, do not try to ask or enquire of just anyone, nor look down on anyone, for it may well be that the very person you despise might know the truth you are seeking. Be humble and contrite before God and before people. Be like a man travelling to a distant land, showing no contempt for a child or an elderly person, nor for the frail or the unattractive, nor a woman, but asking anyone you meet along the way for the path to the harbour you seek. In the same way, since you too are seeking the path to the Heavenly Homeland, do not despise any of these least of the Lord’s (Matthew 18:10), but ask with love until you find someone to show you the heavenly path, along which, as you journey, you may reach the abode of glory and enter into the presence of the Lord, Who will grant you joy”40.

• 1

  Equivalent to the Greek word ‘kardia’ or the Latin word ‘anima’.

• 2

  Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Orthodox Asceticism and Mysticism, EIBMBOR, Bucharest, 2002, pp. 174, 291.

• 3

  Sebastian Brock, The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, introduced and translated by Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1987, pp. 43–44.

• 4

  Liber Graduum, published from the Syriac manuscripts preserved in Paris, London, Rome, Jerusalem and elsewhere, with a preface by Dr Michael Kmosko (ed.), in P.S. Pars Prima, Tomus Tertius, L.G. XVIII, 2.

• 5

  Act XII.

• 6

  Nichifor Crainic, Lectures on Mysticism. I. Mystical Theology. II. German Mysticism, an introductory study and edition by Deacon Ioan Ică Jr, Deisis Publishers, Sibiu, 2010, pp. 251–252.

• 7

  M. Komosko, De Secta Messalianorum deque Libri Graduum ad eam necessitudine, in PS, Pars Prima, Tomus Tertius, pp. CXV–CXLIX.

• 8

  Ioan Bizău, ‘Domus Ecclesiae between the Liturgy and Asceticism’, in Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai, Orthodox Theology, Vol. LII, No. 1/2007, p. 136.

• 9

  L.G. XII, 2, trans. Hieromonk Alexander Golitzin, Mystagogy – The Experience of God in Orthodoxy, translated and introduced by Deacon Ioan I. Ică Jr., Deisis Publishers, Sibiu, 1998, pp. 161–162.

• 10

  L.G. XII, 3.

• 11

  L.G. XII, 4.

• 12

  L.G. XII, 7.

• 13

  Deacon Ioan I. Ică Jr., ‘Argument’ to Irenée Hausher’s work, Weeping and the Piercing of the Heart in the Eastern Fathers, 2nd edition, trans. Mihai Vladimirescu, Deisis Publishers, 2009, p. 5.

• 14

  G. Abbot-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1999, p. 353; Irenee Hausher, Weeping and the Piercing of the Heart in the Eastern Fathers, p. 46.

• 15

  Evagrius Ponticus, On the Distinction between Passions and Thoughts, trans., intro., and notes by Rev. Prof. Dr Dumitru Stăniloae, in Philokalia 1, Humanitas, Bucharest, 2008, p. 60; Ibid., In the Struggle with Thoughts – On the Eight Evil Thoughts and Replies Against Them, with commentary by Hieromonk Gabriel Bunge, trans. Deacon Ioan Ică Jr., Deisis, Sibiu, 2006, p. 60.

• 16

  Tomas Spidlik, SJ, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook, trans. Anthony P. Gythiel, Cistercian Publications, USA, 1986, p. 194.

• 17

  P.G. 46, 829 D.

• 18

  P.G. 47, 409 ff.

• 19

  St John Chrysostom, ‘On Prayer and Vigilance’, in On Prayer and Vigilance in the Teachings of the Holy Fathers, trans. Cristea Florentina, Book published with the blessing of His Grace Father Galaction, Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman, Ed. Cartea Ortodoxă – Egumenița, Galați, pp. 57–58.

• 20

  L.G. XVIII. 1.

• 21

  L.G. XVIII, 2.

• 22a22b

  L.G. XVIII, 3.

• 23

  See also Sebastian Brock, Faire from heaven. Studies in Syriac Theology and Liturgy, Ashgate and Variorum, Great Britain, 2006, p. 254.

• 24

  L.G. XVIII, 4.

• 25

  Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Orthodox Asceticism and Mysticism, p. 254.

• 26

  Ioan Gh. Savin describes this stage as a passive purification, bearing in mind that man cannot be saved on his own, by his own efforts. Enlightenment thus becomes a radical purification, associated in the Semitic tradition with the ‘fire of the Holy Spirit’, established in the human soul at Baptism. The gifts of the Holy Spirit also play an important role at this stage, as they “carry out a work of preparation, of softening, of refining and shaping the powers of the soul, making them as suited and capable as possible to receive the special mystical gifts, or those of actual grace’ – Ioan Gh. Savin, Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism, with a foreword by Dr Antonie Plămădeală, Metropolitan of Transylvania, Published by the Sibiu Diocesan Press, 1996, pp. 128, 132.

• 27

  Tomas Spidlik, SJ, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook, trans. Anthony P. Gythiel, Cistercian Publications, USA, 1986, p. 196.

• 28

  Assemani (no. 31), Vol. I: 254 f.

• 29

  Homily 3, on the Epistle to Philemon, 4; P.G. 62, 204.

• 30

  †Irineu Popa, Mystical Experiences among the Eastern Fathers, Vol. II, published by the Metropolis of Oltenia, Craiova, 2012, pp. 203–204.

• 31

  See here: Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, with a preface by Rev. Prof. Dr Dumitru Stăniloae, an introductory study and translation from French by Rev. Vasile Răducă, Humanitas, Bucharest, 2010, p. 226.

• 32

  R. Reux, ‘The doctrine of the Imitation of Christ in the Liber Graduum: between exegetical theory and soteriology’, in Studia Patristica (S.P.), Vol. 30, Peeters, Leuven, 1997, p. 261.

• 33a33b

  L.G. XVII, 1.

• 34

  L.G. XVII, 2.

• 35

  L.G. XVII, 3.

• 36

  ‘The Lord healed the ear of the man who had come with a sword to kill Him. In this way, if you can control yourself, doing only what is right in the presence of those who wish you ill, you will come to be perfect” – L.G. XVII, 4.

• 37

  See: †Irineu Popa, Mystical Experiences among the Eastern Fathers, vol. II, p. 111.

• 38

  L.G. XVII, 8.

• 39

  Nicolae Mladin, Christ – Our Life or Pauline Asceticism and Mysticism, edited and with a preface by Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Ică, Deisis, Sibiu, 1996, p. 156.

• 40

  L.G. XVII, 9.