Abba Poemen Archives - Saint Sophia

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part X) The Cell and the World

10/15/2024

The Cell and the World Is anachoresis a rejection of the inhabited world? Is the solitude and inwardness of the cell a selfish endeavor? The desert abbas and ammas helped form a wider Christian monastic tradition that combines seeking God with conversion of life. In the cell the monk risks all in the battle between the ego (subjectivity) and openness to the Other. Through ascetic praxis the boundaries of the self are extended beyond itself

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent: On Humility and the Humble Outlook (Part 3)

03/23/2022

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, November 14, 2014 By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi With a variety of definitions, our Fathers lead us to humility, but the meaning is almost the same: the comprehensive labour of love that supports all the other virtues. We shall now note some of the sayings of the Fathers which refer to the qualities and fruits of the humble outlook and the manner in which those who have it behave. This will

Early Christianity: Practice Prayer of the Heart

10/27/2020

Practice: Prayer of the Heart Abba Poemen said, “Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.” [1] Many of the desert fathers and mothers, as well as the collected texts of the Philokalia in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, have described prayer as bringing your thinking down into your heart. It always seemed like soft piety to me until someone taught me how to do it, and I learned the immense benefits of the prayer

Prayer of the Heart in an Age of Technology and Distraction, Part 2

09/19/2019

By Fr. Maximos (Constas) The sayings of the desert fathers are really remarkable—some of the oldest Christian literature we have and yet it sounds so contemporary, fresh, modern, and relevant, partly because the whole ethos is just stripped down to the essentials and simplicity of the desert. There is a story from Abba Poemen who is one of the more prominent desert fathers. Apparently a layman from a nearby city had heard about his reputation

On Silence and Solitude (II)

08/28/2018

On Silence and Solitude (II) A catena of sayings, drawn at random from the desert ascetics of the early Christian centuries, well expresses the value and necessity of authentic silence, silence of the heart. “A brother asked Abba Pambo if it is good to praise one’s neighbor, and the old man said to him, ‘It is better to be silent.’” “A brother asked Abba Poemen, ‘Is it better to speak or to be silent?’ The

Stillness and Silence: The Practical Dimensions of Silence

02/15/2018

Abba Gregory Nazianzus, the theologian, said, “These three things God requires of all the baptized: right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, temperance in the body.”42 The desert elders taught that there must be a direct flow from purity of heart to speech and action. When words have their origin in the silence of purity of heart they will be congruent with the monk’s behavior. The common vocation of all Christians is to

Stillness and Silence: Silence and Purity of Heart. The Silent Power of the Heart

02/01/2018

Silence and Purity of Heart The disciples of Abba Pachomius learned that silence is not simply the absence of sound. It is a unique form of human consciousness. In the silence of their teacher they were drawn beyond themselves into a transpersonal form of listening, seeing and learning. They witnessed the presence of God in Pachomius in such a way that the judgments of their egos were released. They were lured beyond the boundaries of

Stillness and Silence: Speaking of Silence (Part I)

01/18/2018

Abba Poemen said, “In Abba Pambo we see three bodily activities; abstinence from food until the evening every day, silence, and much manual work.”26 A brother asked Abba Poemen, “Is it better to speak or to be silent?” The old man said to him, “The man who speaks for God’s sake does well; but he who is silent for God’s sake also does well.”27 Stillness provides an environment for silence. Abba Poemen understands silence as

Stillness and Silence: Stillness Is the Colleague of Prayer

11/09/2017

The tranquility born of stillness is the grace of God present in a person’s life. This leads us away from the vanity and futility of material pleasures, unhealthy relationships and the struggle of our egos to control our lives. How does this happen? Abba Moses said to Abba Poemen, “If a man’s deeds are not in harmony with his prayer, he labours in vain.” The brother said, “What is this harmony between practice and prayer?”

Stillness and Silence: Stillness (Part I)

10/27/2017

Stillness A brother asked Abba Poemen, “How should I live in the cell?” He said to him, “Living in your cell clearly means manual work, eating only once a day, silence, meditation; but really making progress in the cell, means to experience contempt for yourself, not to neglect the hours of prayer and to pray secretly. If you happen to have time without manual work, take up prayer and do it without disquiet. The perfection

Archive

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part X) The Cell and the World

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent: On Humility and the Humble Outlook (Part 3)

Early Christianity: Practice Prayer of the Heart

Prayer of the Heart in an Age of Technology and Distraction, Part 2

On Silence and Solitude (II)

Stillness and Silence: The Practical Dimensions of Silence

Stillness and Silence: Silence and Purity of Heart. The Silent Power of the Heart

Stillness and Silence: Speaking of Silence (Part I)

Stillness and Silence: Stillness Is the Colleague of Prayer

Stillness and Silence: Stillness (Part I)

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