Page 59 - History of Christianity I - Student Textbook

Study Section 11: Hesychasm Controversy, c. 1300-1399

11.1 Connect

Do you think that your Bible is a precious book? I’m sure you do. After all, it provides for us God’s
revelation. It tells us how the world came into being, how man turned from God in sin, and how God
had to provide a sacrifice to be able to redeem man back to Him. It traces the history of Israel and
prophesizes the future return of Christ to rule and reign as Lord of Lords. It tells us who we are and
how we can become right with God. Without our Bible, we would be ignorant and totally lost in our
sin.

In the Middle Ages, the common people were forbidden to read or have a copy of the Bible. Only the priests
could read the Bible. The Bible was translated into Latin and few people spoke or understood Latin. So even
when it was read, people did not know what the priest was saying. They called it the “Dark Ages” because men’s
minds were filled with darkness; they did not know the light of the Bible. But God began to raise up men whose
desire was to translate the Word of God into the common language of the people, and give them opportunity to
read the Scriptures themselves. These men had to oppose the powerful church. And they paid the price! Let’s
see what happened….

11.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain what Hesychasm is and why it is a false form of prayer.

2. The student should be able to describe the contribution John Wycliffe made in changing the course
of church history.

3. The student should be able to give a biographical sketch of John Hus’s life and why he was such an influence
in the Middle Ages.

11.3 Hesychasm Controversy, c. 1300-1399

Hesychasm is a form of Christian mysticism found almost exclusively in Eastern Orthodoxy,
rising to popularity in Greece in the 1300s. Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations
have no meaningful equivalents to it. Hesychasm has many similarities to Buddhist concepts
of meditation, but it maintains a Judeo-Christian framework, rather than a pantheistic one.
The general idea in Hesychasm is to use contemplative prayer, particularly the repetition of
“the Jesus Prayer,” as a means to experience union with God. This requires the Hesychast to
block out all his senses and eliminate all his thoughts.

Hesychasm is, supposedly, grounded in Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:6. There, Jesus refutes the ostentatious
prayers of hypocrites who want to be seen praying in public. Instead, Jesus says, “Go into your room, close the
door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.” Hesychasts take Jesus’ reference to secret praying in an extreme and absolute sense. In particular, they
believe that Jesus intended His followers to separate themselves from all sensory and intellectual inputs. In
other words, “go into your room,” really means “go into yourself.”

This withdrawal into oneself is accomplished by a form of repetitive contemplative prayer. The Jesus Prayer is a
short, liturgical chant very popular in Eastern Orthodoxy: Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν
ἁμαρτωλόν (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”). Hesychasts will repeat this prayer
over and over, seeking to invoke the power of the name of God. As they do so, practitioners gradually cut off
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