Third paper „On Hesychios“ Mihailo Vlajkovic

Description

The work of St. Hesychios, "On Wathcfulness and Holiness," is divided into 203 small chapters
that mainly deal with the topics from the title itself. However, it is essential to note that a large
part of the work is dedicated to invoking the name of Jesus in prayer. The work is difficult to
divide into categories because it is not written strictly divided thematically, but specific topics
intertwine and build on each other. We see that the author directs his work to Theodulus - we do
not know if it refers to a specific man or a servant of God (Θεόδουλος). From the beginning, the
author leads us to the terms that will be represented throughout the work. These are watchfulness,
attention, inner stability, humility, Jesus's prayer, image (thoughts, projections, fantasies), and
demons. What is particularly striking in the entire work is many quotations from the Scriptures,
whether from the Old or the New Testament.
Individual chapters are taken from other authors and integrated into the work. We have examples
of this in 54-61, 79-82, identical to Saint Mark the Ascetic, 67-75 identical to Maxim the
Confessor, a large part of the 100th chapter is a quote from the Ladder of St. John Climacus, 179 –
quote from St. Athanasius' work on St. Anthony. As St. Hesychios was most likely the abbot of a
monastery in Sinai, we see that he tried to find fine examples for his teaching, which would help
the reader to understand the lesson as well as possible. The evidence for this claim is represented
by 15 places in the text where different animals are taken as an example to convey better the state
he describes. In chapter 12, Hesychios gives the example of the Lord himself, where he is tempted
in the desert after his baptism, and then from chapters 13 to 18, he gives different types of
watchfulness. We see that the author states that first, it is necessary to cleanse the heart and mind
so that we are ready for the Lord to enter it and strengthen us to fight demons. What has been
pointed out several times is that since demons do not have a physical form, they actually use our
thoughts and insert images into our minds that can potentially develop into sin if we give them
space to develop in us. This is developed in more detail in Chapter 46, which shows the whole
process. He gives an excellent example of how to deal with this in chapter 34, where he says that
we must gain control over all five senses to deal successfully with attacks. The three passions that
make our intellect blind are: avarice, self-esteem, and sensual pleasure; from them come all other
passions that easily dominate a person(59). The importance of the Mystery of Christ and its
participation in it is discussed in chapter 101, which emphasizes even greater attention to receiving
the Lord as humbly as possible. The parallel given to us with the Old and New Testaments in
chapters 112 and 113 clearly emphasizes how necessary it is to know the Scripture itself, not just
mere knowledge, but also to act following it. Chapters 31, 115, 116, 157-159, 200, and 201
especially touch on the monastic path, compared to the angelic way of life, and St. Hesychius
points out how impossible it is to persevere on this path without Christ - 117. We see that we can
often become our enemy. In chapters 163-165, Hesychios again points us to Christ, who should
help us strengthen our will to deal with problems successfully. That light has a significant role in
his writing; we see this in chapters 83,84,86,89, and the essential light is given in Jesus - 196, for
He is Sun which cleans our minds from evil thoughts. Hysichios says in chapter 199 that he is
about to finish his work, which he says was not just his but also the work of many fathers. The
very end - 203 again tells us about his humility where he says that none of this would have been
written if it were not for the help of the Holy Trinity.
Impression
The "part" that left the biggest impression on us is how much of it is dedicated to fighting demons.
Father often says how important it is for a person to persevere in his plan to protect his heart
because demons are constantly lurking to find us unprotected and thus attack us. It is crucial
because we often find ourselves thinking that they do not actually exist and that by being baptized,
we are permanently protected from their influence. How arrogant and lofty we are in our thoughts.
We even think something like that without talking about the fact that we live like that daily. How
easy it is for a person to rely on himself and to think that he does not need prayer and return to the
Lord. Take refuge, Lord; We are strong enough to fight. We do not remember how hard it is to
engage in battle without Christ, who is there to carry our burden and yoke us. Demons want
precisely that. The most significant concession we can give them is to believe they are not there. It
is precisely their victory that we believe there are none and that everything can be solved
independently. Hence, it is clear how much we do not pay attention to all the evil thoughts that we
allow to accumulate in our hearts and that slowly, like poison, take over our entire being. A prayer
that is said just to be said can hardly expect an answer from the Lord. We must be conscious in
prayer and not repeat it like a mantra or a charm that will drive away everything that does not suit
us. When we are aware and focused on the words of the prayer we utter, we sharpen the spiritual
sword that will then disperse the demons as a hot knife cuts through butter. The demons like to use
the most in the fight with us are the sins that we committed before and did not repent of, but we
tried to suppress them in ourselves. They then revive them and reinsert them into our mind, which
is not strong enough to resist, further developing these images and delights in them until, in the
worst case, it finally tries to manifest them in concrete sin. Once we give in, it will be easier to
find an excuse for it the next time, and it will not seem like we are doing something terrible. The
demon, of course, will not stop until he is sure that we have sunk and wholly drowned in our sin.
We must never forget that even the tiniest cry to Christ that comes from the heart is enough to
make Hades tremble because it is known how hell reacted to the power of Christ, who destroyed
the abysses of hell and gave us eternal life.
"A donkey going round and round in a mill cannot step out of the circle to which it is tethered; nor can
the intellect which is not inwardly chastened advance in the path of holines. " (Hesychios, 130)

Even if it looks like this sentence is elementary and does not invoke any more profound thoughts,
we would still give it a shot. Why do we have to see this only as an example of something terrible?
Can we reverse the perspective? The donkey is often taken as an example when we want to
express someone's stubbornness, but if we stop for a moment and remember the story from the Old
Testament (Num 22: 21-39). The story shows us an excellent example of how even a donkey can
be wise in its stubbornness. Now that we have this donkey in mind, let us use that "stubbornness"
by remaining persistent - "stubborn in prayer" and we will see how powerless the demon is in
front of the one who has decided to follow the path of prayer. As a summary of all presented
before, among all thoughts, those three questions we found as important to be asked if not even
answered.
1. Why do we always like to blame demons for everything wrong that happens?
The answer is quite evident to us. Because most of the time, we are cowards who are not ready to
deal with our sins and are just looking for an excuse for everything wrong that happens in life.
Should Mary of Egypt have remained true to her way of life and condemned others for her fallen
state to the end? Let us remember her example; the answer to this question will be crystal clear.
2. Is it dangerous to pray for the sake of prayer, or in other words, is it enough to pray without
using intellect in prayer?
A man was not created for the sake of prayer, but prayer was created for the sake of man. It is the
therapy for his condition that followed the original sin. We often hear arrogant people condemn
others for not praying more often, but are they right? No specific recipe will suit everyone because
we are all different, and not everything suits everyone. We need to find the right measure that will
benefit us and not just cause even more damage. Someone can pray for all his life without
benefiting him, while others can do it once, but sincerely, and will receive the Lord's mercy -
remember the thief on the cross - Lk 23, 41-43. All this is not written to say that we should not
pray, but to be careful how we pray.
3. How is it possible that despite so many stories about prayer and experiences, there are no more
stories about the Eucharist? Is it taken for granted and rarely mentioned, or does it represent
something that should only come later?
By asking this question, we hope that the answer is given in the first part of the question and that it
is clear that participation in the Eucharist is something that must not be missed; otherwise, all our
efforts are for no reason because we refuse to participate in Communion with the Lord. Suppose
the answer is given in the second part of the question itself. In that case, we risk finding ourselves
in a state where we think we are never worthy of taking part in the Mystery and do not understand
the depth hidden in the Mystery of Mysteries.