Sfântul Vasile de la Poiana Mărului: rolul rugăciunii minții în viața creștinului
Saint Basil of Poiana Mărului: Jesus' prayer in the Christian's life

Summary/Abstract: A remarkable figure of the Eastern spirituality generally, and of the Hesychastic movements in the Romanian Principalities particularly, Saint Basil of Poiana Mărului is known to posterity more from the writings and testimonies of his disciples, especially of Saint Paisie Velicicovski, than from his personal reflections. Considered by his spiritual disciples to be a true milestone of the 18th-century Hesychast revival, expressing the depth of Christian spirituality through his life and guidance, Saint Basil of Poiana Mărului has been brought back to the attention of scholarly theological life by the research carried out in the Christian West. In today’s context, characterized both by theological confusion as well as sincere calls for spiritual knowledge and prayerful guidance among the contemporary faithful, the Basilian teaching stands out for its careful attention to the details of the spiritual life and the way in which the work of Jesus prayer is carried out. With this pastoral background in mind, the present study seeks to bring to the attention of clerics and lay people the teaching of St. Basil of Poiana Mărului on the practice of unceasing prayer. In this sense, the present approach is marked by the attempt to offer answers that respond to the spiritual quests of Christian people nowadays. Who exactly can practice Jesus prayer, the spiritually advanced or the beginners? What are the benefits of the Jesus prayer? What is the relationship between the Jesus prayer and the sacramental life? Etc. In the end, the whole investigation brings out the ascetic dimension given by St. Basil of Poiana Mărului to the “unceasing prayer”, probing the effects of the interiorization and the transformation of the human spiritual powers produced by it in the very depths of the human being.

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