Ieromonk Ghelasie Gheorghe: "Hesychasm, the Threefold Akathist of the Heart" (translation from Romanian by Alice Butnar)

In the Heart the Soul shows her Image and abides as in a barge,
From the Heart the Soul is spreading out her “Rays” as Body,
In the Heart the Soul Sings Divine Laud to its Creator.

From the Heart the Soul stretches out and Meets other Souls,
From the Heart the Soul opens up and pours herself out endlessly over the Heart,
Into the Heart the Souls Receives God Himself – as into a Church.

The Soul is our Created Substance of Being,
That has also an Energy that becomes Body,
As we are a Unity of Created Being that has its own Created Energies.

The fall from Heaven with the evil sin “splits us into two”,
Tearing asunder our Soul Being from its Energies, the Body,
Therefore, we seem made up of two estranged realities, which hate each other to death …

The fall also breaks us away from our Creator and makes us blind and mute, without the Holy Singing.
And the suffering of death and darkness frightens us ever.
And we wish to regain the Peace and Rest of eternal Life.

The Body’s Mind must be Sacralized through Christic Prayer,
The Body’s Senses must be Sacralized through Repentance and Fasting,
And the Spirit of the Soul must be awoken through the Lord Christ Coming into one’s Heart.

Hesychasm is thus a “Threefold Akathist” of Holy Prayer,
The Prayer of the Mind – in the Ceaseless Singing of the Divine Name,
The Prayer of the Senses – through Fasting,
And the Prayer of the Spirit – through direct Repentance of the Soul.

Come, Lord Jesus, into my Heart and awaken my Soul,
Come into my Heart and give Sight to my sin-blinded Eyes,
Come into my Heart, Lord Jesus, for my Soul to “Meet” Thee!

I make my Mind a Speaking Prayer,
My Senses I make Repentance-feeling Prayer,
My Soul I make Speaking-direct Communion with Thee.

Lord, Absolute Father, have mercy on me! – Forgiveness of the fallen Creation,
All-Holy Spirit, have mercy on me! – Spirit of the Praying Heart,
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me! – Ceaseless Prayer of the Heart...

Published in the volume "Hesychasm", Platytera Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007, pp. 61-62. Translation from Romanian: Alice Butnar.

Copyright: Platytera Publishing House.

The Romanian (Original) Version can be found here.
The German Version can be found here.