The Doctrine of Intelligent Doing in the Letters of Saint Theophan the Recluse to the Monastics

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the features of the ideas of the inner prayer of the SVT. Theophanes the Recluse, a well-known ascetic and teacher of prayer in the Church. For this purpose, his letters are studied, since the Bishop, having gone into retirement, was not only engaged in divine thought and the study of the Holy fathers of the Ancient Church, but also conducted an active correspondence with various people: both laymen and monastics. In correspondence, he raises various topics, but pays special attention to prayer. This article provides an analysis of the teachings about prayer, contained in letters to eight recipients. All these persons were undergoing the feat of Orthodox hesychia, and they turned to Saint Theophanes with questions about intelligent work. The Bishop does not present a complete understanding of the prayer, but in each letter, answering questions, reveals its separate sides. Some of the letters studied in the article have already been published in various publications, and some have not yet been published and are stored in the archive of St. Panteleimon’s monastery on mount Athos. The result of the research was the conclusion: the teaching of Saint Theophanes on inner prayer, based on the personal passage of the feat of hesychia, does not bring anything fundamentally new to the teaching of ancient ascetics, but actualizes patristic wisdom for contemporaries.