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Jesus Prayer
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Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer, also known as The Prayer, is a short formulaic prayer. It is most common in Eastern Christianity. There are multiple versions of this prayer, however the most widely used version is as follows:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use being an integral part of the Hermitic tradition of prayer known as hesychasm. The prayer is particularly important to the spiritual fathers of this tradition, such as in the Philokalia, as a method of cleaning and opening up the mind and after this the heart (kardia), brought about first by the Prayer of the Mind, or more precisely the Noetic Prayer (Νοερά Προσευχή; Noerá Proseyxí), and after this the Prayer of the Heart (Καρδιακή Προσευχή; Kardiakí Proseyxí). The Prayer of the Heart is considered to be the "Unceasing Prayer" that the Apostle Paul advocates in the New Testament. Theophan the Recluse regarded the Jesus Prayer stronger than all other prayers by virtue of the power of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Though identified more closely with Eastern Christianity, the prayer is found in Western Christianity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is also used in conjunction with the innovation of Anglican prayer beads. The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Lutheran Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches. The ancient and original form did not include the words "a sinner", which were added later. The Eastern Orthodox theology of the Jesus Prayer as enunciated in the 14th century by Gregory Palamas was generally rejected by Latin Church theologians until the 20th century. Pope John Paul II called Gregory Palamas a saint, a great writer, and an authority on theology. He also spoke with appreciation of hesychasm as "that deep union of grace which Eastern theology likes to describe with the particularly powerful term theosis, 'divinization'", and likened the meditative quality of the Jesus Prayer to that of the Catholic rosary.
The prayer's origin is the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers in the 5th century. It was found inscribed in the ruins of a cell from that period in the Egyptian desert.
A formula similar to the standard form of the Jesus Prayer is found in a letter attributed to John Chrysostom, who died in AD 407. This "Letter to an Abbot" speaks of "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy" and "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on us" being used as ceaseless prayer. Ammonas of Egypt advised another monk to "always keep in your heart the words of the Publican" (God, be merciful to me a sinner, Luke 18:13), while Macarius of Egypt taught Evagrius Ponticus to say with each breath "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. I bless you, my Lord Jesus", or when he is distressed, "My Lord Jesus, help me".
Early forms of the Jesus prayer are also mentioned in the context of Gazan monasticism; Saints Barsanuphius and John the Prophet recommended several formulae, including "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". Their chief disciple, Dorotheus of Gaza, later taught his disciple Dositheus to preserve the "remembrance of God" by saying continuously "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" and then at intervals "Son of God, help me".
What may be the earliest explicit reference to the Jesus Prayer in a form that is similar to that used today is in Discourse on Abba Philimon from the Philokalia. Philimon lived around AD 600. The version cited by Philimon is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me", which is apparently the earliest source to cite this standard version. While the prayer itself was in use by that time, John S. Romanides writes that "We are still searching the Fathers for the term 'Jesus prayer'."
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Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer, also known as The Prayer, is a short formulaic prayer. It is most common in Eastern Christianity. There are multiple versions of this prayer, however the most widely used version is as follows:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use being an integral part of the Hermitic tradition of prayer known as hesychasm. The prayer is particularly important to the spiritual fathers of this tradition, such as in the Philokalia, as a method of cleaning and opening up the mind and after this the heart (kardia), brought about first by the Prayer of the Mind, or more precisely the Noetic Prayer (Νοερά Προσευχή; Noerá Proseyxí), and after this the Prayer of the Heart (Καρδιακή Προσευχή; Kardiakí Proseyxí). The Prayer of the Heart is considered to be the "Unceasing Prayer" that the Apostle Paul advocates in the New Testament. Theophan the Recluse regarded the Jesus Prayer stronger than all other prayers by virtue of the power of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Though identified more closely with Eastern Christianity, the prayer is found in Western Christianity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is also used in conjunction with the innovation of Anglican prayer beads. The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Lutheran Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches. The ancient and original form did not include the words "a sinner", which were added later. The Eastern Orthodox theology of the Jesus Prayer as enunciated in the 14th century by Gregory Palamas was generally rejected by Latin Church theologians until the 20th century. Pope John Paul II called Gregory Palamas a saint, a great writer, and an authority on theology. He also spoke with appreciation of hesychasm as "that deep union of grace which Eastern theology likes to describe with the particularly powerful term theosis, 'divinization'", and likened the meditative quality of the Jesus Prayer to that of the Catholic rosary.
The prayer's origin is the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers in the 5th century. It was found inscribed in the ruins of a cell from that period in the Egyptian desert.
A formula similar to the standard form of the Jesus Prayer is found in a letter attributed to John Chrysostom, who died in AD 407. This "Letter to an Abbot" speaks of "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy" and "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on us" being used as ceaseless prayer. Ammonas of Egypt advised another monk to "always keep in your heart the words of the Publican" (God, be merciful to me a sinner, Luke 18:13), while Macarius of Egypt taught Evagrius Ponticus to say with each breath "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. I bless you, my Lord Jesus", or when he is distressed, "My Lord Jesus, help me".
Early forms of the Jesus prayer are also mentioned in the context of Gazan monasticism; Saints Barsanuphius and John the Prophet recommended several formulae, including "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". Their chief disciple, Dorotheus of Gaza, later taught his disciple Dositheus to preserve the "remembrance of God" by saying continuously "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" and then at intervals "Son of God, help me".
What may be the earliest explicit reference to the Jesus Prayer in a form that is similar to that used today is in Discourse on Abba Philimon from the Philokalia. Philimon lived around AD 600. The version cited by Philimon is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me", which is apparently the earliest source to cite this standard version. While the prayer itself was in use by that time, John S. Romanides writes that "We are still searching the Fathers for the term 'Jesus prayer'."
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