HESYCHASM. – A characteristic system of Eastern asceticism which from the mid-14th century became virtually synonymous with Palamism, since the early Palamites were staunch supporters of the method of prayer then prevalent among the hesychasts of Mount Athos; indeed, by defending the nature and legitimacy of this method against Barlaam of Seminara, they laid the foundations for a new and unsuspected theological doctrine that later became official in the Byzantine Church. Yet the method they propagated was but a distortion of the ancient practice. From the minute description given by the monk Nicephorus (PG 147, 963-64) we learn that the Athonite hesychast method had two essential elements: the *omphaloskopia*, or uninterrupted invocation of the so-called “Jesus Prayer”: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”
The hesychast, seated in his cell, would fix his gaze on his navel while invoking Jesus within the depths of his heart, until God granted him to see within his own entrails a wondrous light, bearer of celestial joy, and he himself became invulnerable to the assaults of the enemy.
The errors inherent in this strange method, which gave rise to the Palamite controversies over the nature of the light communicated by God to the contemplative soul, were never taught by the celebrated Symeon the New Theologian (11th–12th c.), as some claim. In his authentic works, such as the *Divine Songs* (PG 120, 507-602), he does indeed often speak of the apostolic integrity of the heart and of divine illumination, but these statements were later misunderstood by the monks of Mount Athos. Nor is Symeon the author of the anonymous treatise *Method of Prayer and Watchfulness* (*Methodos tes proseuches kai phylakes*), which, despite certain passages that seem to favor the *akrivia* of the hesychasts, clearly echoes the spirituality of Sinai, where the true origin of Eastern hesychasm is to be found.
This legitimate form of solitary life within cenobitic monasticism, suited to the quiet of contemplation (*thēraxia*, whence *thēsyxaxos*, from *thērax* = tranquility of mind and body), was already foreseen by the great monastic legislator of the East, St. Basil (Longer Rules, VI–VIII: PG 31, 925-41), though always with many restrictions and for a very limited number of superior souls; it is then described from the 5th century onward in its external aspects in the *Life of St. John the Hesychast*, a monk of the laura of St. Sabas (Acta SS. Maii, III, Antwerp 1683, pp. 232-38), and in its internal aspects a century later in Step 27 of the *Ladder* of St. John Climacus, who likewise represents the Sinai spirituality (PG 88, 1096-1101).
According to the model described therein, the hesychast must first faithfully observe the common life for several years; then, though secluded in his cell (*kellion*), he remains under the authority of the monastic superior, who may recall him to the life of the cloister. His duty in solitude is to strive for perfect *thēraxia*, that is, bodily tranquility by regulating all his movements according to virtue, and spiritual tranquility by seeking to introduce peace into the world of his thoughts. This peace is necessary for contemplation. He must not undertake such a life unless he is forearmed against the dangers of temptation and, above all, of *akēdia*, that is, sloth, and must always feel within himself the signs of a special vocation, such as rapture toward God (*ekstasis*) and the gift of tears.
From these ancient documents there emerges a praiseworthy ideal, regarded as a higher degree of monastic life; and it goes without saying that such asceticism should have been for the few only. Historically, however, there have been countless followers of the method, who all too often became mere wandering ascetics. Hence various laws sought to restrict their numbers: Justinian (Novellae, VI, 3; CXXIII, 36), the Quinisext Council (Mansi, XI, 664; canon 41), and even St. Athanasius, founder of the Lavra on Athos, whose constitutions allowed the method only for five of the 120 monks. These prescriptions failed in the face of the desire for independence among the popular *laurai*; ignorance of true asceticism, moreover, ended by staining the method with the errors mentioned above.
Many wish to trace the origins of hesychasm to ancient spiritual writings condemned by the Church in the East, such as those of the Messalians in Cappadocia, the Paulicians in Thrace, and the Bogomils in Bulgaria.