Jesus prayer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jesus prayer is performed on such a prayer cord, called a Komboskini or Chotki .

The Jesus Prayer , and prayer of the heart or continuous prayer called, is a especially in the Orthodox Churches common prayer , in which continuously the name of Jesus Christ is called. This is intended to satisfy the apostle Paul's call to “pray without ceasing!” ( 1 Thess 5:17  EU ) . In the hesychasm and other forms of meditation in the Eastern Churches, this prayer occupies a central position, as well as in the spirituality of the Carthusians . A theological foundation of the practice of the Jesus prayer can be found in the orthodox Imjaslavie movement ( worship of the name of God) in the early 20th century. As a noetic prayer, the Jesus prayer is a central element of orthodox spirituality.

The Jesus prayer is often performed with the help of a prayer chain, called Komboskini in Greek , Chotki in Russian and Brojanica in Serbian , which consists of 30, 33, 50, 100 or more knots. The closed cord stands as a symbol for the never-ending monastic prayer. It is used less to count the prayers than to help concentration and a steady rhythm. In the Orthodox Church the monks and nuns receive such a prayer chain for profession . The Old Orthodox, however, usually pray the Jesus prayer with a Lestowka .

A Lestowka used by the Old Believers for the Jesus prayer.

A specific German variant of the prayer from the heart was “The Little Secret”. This contemplative practice for everyday life, founded by Capuchin Father Cassian Karg , was widespread in the 20th century, especially before the Second Vatican Council . Berta Hummel found through this prayer to a deepened life of faith, so that she became a religious sister .

history

The story of the Jesus prayer can be divided into three phases:

Païssi Welitschkowski

Its beginnings go back to the time of early Eastern monasticism. Short quotations from the Bible, often psalm verses, were repeated over and over again, sometimes pronounced aloud, sometimes internally recited. Over time it came into use to recite the name Jesus instead of quoting the Bible. The form Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me is already documented for the 6th century. This goes back to the pericope about the blind beggar Bartimaeus: Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me (narrated by the Synoptics , e.g. Mk 10.47  EU ).

The second major phase in the history of the Jesus prayer is hesychasm , which was practiced on Mount Athos in the 12th century . The most important representative of hesychasm was Gregor Palamas (1296-1359), a monk on Mount Athos and later Archbishop of Thessaloniki. In hesychasm, the Jesus prayer is recited in silence to the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat. In 1782 the monk Nicodemos Hagioreites published the Philokalie from there , a collection of quotes from spiritual writers on the Jesus prayer.

The third phase in the history of the Jesus prayer begins in the 16th century in Russia, where it flourished well into the 18th century. In particular, the Starzen Nil Sorski (1433–1508) and Païssi Welitschkowski (1722–1794) ensured its spread. In Russia, at the end of the 19th century, a book was created with the title Sincerely Tales of a Pilgrim, Communicated to His Spiritual Father , which was translated into many languages ​​and thus spread the tradition of the Jesus prayer worldwide, including in German-speaking countries, where it was titled Sincerely of a Russian pilgrim appeared. Through this book in particular, the Jesus prayer found supporters in all Christian denominations, so that today we can already speak of an “ecumenical Jesus prayer”.

Prayer text

There is no uniform prayer text. The name of Jesus is always invoked. Possible formulations are:

Lord jesus christ.
Jesus Christ.
Jesus.
Christ jesus.

After the invocation of the name of Jesus, a plea for mercy can follow. Possible formulations are:

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, (you) Son of God, have mercy on me (sinner).

Instead of asking for mercy, you can also ask for help. Possible formulations are:

Lord Jesus Christ, help me.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, help me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, be my salvation.

On Mount Athos the hermits say the so-called little Jesus prayer :

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με. (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me)

Practice

The practice of the Jesus prayer can take place on the basis that the Fathers of the Church have already given: It is a matter of striving to introduce the breath through the nose into the heart in a pure and uninterrupted manner and to concentrate solely on the words of the prayer, meditate on it and circle it in thought.

Traditionally (following the example of the Russian pilgrim), the practice takes place in three steps, each of which will take several years for most people:

  1. frequent oral recitation,
  2. inner prayer and
  3. independent prayer to the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat.

Oral recitation

For practice, an upright sitting position should be taken on a meditation bench or chair. In order to avoid one-sidedness and falsification of the exercise idea, it makes sense to consult a teacher or spiritual advisor who already has experience with it; it does not have to be a priest or a monk.

In the first step, the prayer text is very often spoken aloud or at least formed with the lips. The prayer is said initially three thousand times a day - counted on a rosary or, even better, since there is no annoying click, on a knotted cord - then six thousand times, then twelve thousand times and finally as often as possible. This conscious frequent saying of the prayer in the first phase serves for internalization. You can also start with a smaller number, and shouldn't increase too quickly at the beginning, otherwise extreme weariness and spiritual emptiness can easily set in when practicing and the exercise is then interrupted.

Inner prayer

In the second step, prayer becomes an inner prayer. Now one can consciously pay attention to the breathing during prayer, so when breathing in, say Lord Jesus Christ and when breathing out have mercy on me . After that, the rhythm of the heartbeat can be included in the prayer. Lord is prayed at the first heartbeat, Jesus at the second , Christ at the third , and so on. The coordination with breathing and heartbeat should be done carefully and preferably under the guidance (and blessing) of an experienced spiritual guide.

The great teachers of the Jesus prayer such as B. Bishop Theophan der Klausner (1815–1894) warn against combining the Jesus prayer with heartbeat and breathing without the spiritual guidance of an experienced spiritual father. Experience has shown that this has led to serious health problems for some practitioners.

Pray to the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat

In the third phase, the prayer is so much internalized that it is prayed automatically with every breath or heartbeat. After long practice it comes from the subconscious, and at first one is amazed because one suddenly hears oneself praying without having willfully started the prayer. The Jesus prayer has become independent.

Today's forms of practice

The decisive factor for the practice is not the number of prayers, but the regularity of the prayers. Bishop Theophan der Klausner recommends that beginners say 30 prayers three times a day and strictly adhere to this rule. Depending on your needs, the number can then be increased. He strongly advises against a connection with breath and heartbeat without guidance from an experienced spiritual father. Bishop Theophan is for today's teachers of the Jesus prayer such as Emmanuel Jungclaussen or Bishop Kallistos Ware u. a. of great importance.

Modern teachers of the Jesus prayer such as Franz Jalics , Emmanuel Jungclaussen or Maschwitz advise against counting as described above. Jalics recommends a gentle and very solid path. First he leads to the perception of nature in order to draw attention to the divine. Then he leads into the perception of the breath and the hands in order to physically support the Jesus prayer. He uses the name "Jesus Christ" as a word of prayer, where "Jesus" is associated with the exhalation and "Christ" with the inhalation.

Special newer forms of exercise

In the orthodox monastery of John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights ( Essex ), the practice of praying the Jesus prayer together has developed in such a way that one person recites the Jesus prayer aloud about 100 times and the others pray along silently, then another prayer leader takes over the loud reciting, while the rest of them pray silently and so the loud prayer then goes in turns. Several Orthodox parishes in England have adopted this form of exercise , so that every week believers come together in the parishes for half an hour or an hour to pray together for Jesus.

Another new development is the Jesus prayer with children, whereby one tries to find a child-friendly introduction to silent prayer. There are now separate approaches and methods for this.

Today's distribution

Due to its origin in the east, the Jesus prayer is most widespread in Orthodoxy and the churches of the Byzantine rite. It is probably even more firmly rooted in the people than the rosary is in the believers of the Latin rite, to which it corresponds as a repetitive form of prayer.

In the 20th century, prayer was also spread in the Roman Catholic Church through clergy and monks such as Franz Jalics, Emmanuel Jungclaussen and Thomas Merton ; the Catechism of the Catholic Church also mentions the Jesus prayer (cf. KKK 430–435 and 2666–2668; 2688 f.).

Russia

It has been a very popular form of prayer in Russia since the book Sincere Tales of a Russian Pilgrim was published there. Although this book was read by the affluent population rather than by ordinary believers, the Jesus prayer found a great number of followers because the clergy taught this form of prayer to the believers. In addition, there is the fact that it corresponds to Orthodox teaching that one can pray a certain number of Jesus prayers if one is not able to participate in the liturgy .

German-speaking area

In the German-speaking world, the Jesus prayer has recently found acceptance among the faithful, especially through the publications and exercises of the Jesuit Franz Jalics and the Benedictine Emmanuel Jungclaussen. Both wrote standard works on the Jesus prayer. The same applies to Peter Dyckhoff , who practices and teaches a preliminary form of the Jesus prayer with the rest prayer according to Johannes Cassian . There are four "schools" of Jesus prayer in the German-speaking area:

  • The so-called Gries path is a systematic and methodical training path for Jesus prayer founded by Franz Jalics in Haus Gries in Upper Franconia.
  • At the so-called Via Cordis School, which was founded by the psychotherapist Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger in Flüeli and in the German Protestant monastery Wennigsen , prayer from the heart is the central element of a ten-year contemplation teacher training and is combined with depth psychology, spiritual and other therapeutic insights .
  • The World Community of Christian Meditation was founded by the Irish Benedictine monk John Main and continued by Laurence Freeman. She has many meditation groups worldwide, including in the German-speaking area.
  • A fourth "school" of the Jesus prayer in the German-speaking area was founded by the Benedictine Abbot Emmanuel Jungclaussen. In this school the Jesus prayer is used in its longer form.
  • The Benedictine monk Anselm Grün guides the Jesus prayer in a form that comes close to Buddhist metta meditation. When breathing in, the words "Lord Jesus Christ" represent that God's love flows into the heart of the person praying; when breathing out, it is imagined that God's love is distributed in the body with the words "Son of God, have mercy on me".

Health aspects

The British Medical Journal reports on a study by the University of Pavia which found that practicing a mantra had a positive effect on the cardiovascular system . The constant rhythm of prayer reduces the breathing rate to about six breaths per minute . Concentration and inner peace are promoted.

The preventive medicine specialist Gerd Schnack has developed the so-called repetitive meditation training (RMT) together with the music teacher Hermann Rauhe , based on the concept of repetitive prayer formulas, including the Jesus prayer. Schnack and Rauhe write: "Five minutes of RMT have a stronger restoring effect on physical fitness than one hour of relaxation without RMT." In addition to relaxation for the body, there is also a completely new creativity for the mind.

Father Emmanuel Jungclaussen also made the Jesus prayer known as a supportive measure in psychotherapy when he gave a lecture to doctors and psychotherapists at the 46th Lindau Psychotherapy Weeks in 1996. Due to the great response from the specialist public, Jungclaussen's lecture was subsequently published as a book, somewhat modified.

Typological classification

From a religious comparative point of view, the Jesus prayer materially belongs to the type of prayer by name and formally to the repetitive forms of prayer. The question of whether the Jesus prayer (as wording) is a mantra can be answered in different ways; In practice, however, the Jesus prayer is a “mantric prayer”. As taught by Franz Jalics, it can also be understood as mindfulness meditation .

In the Orthodox tradition, the Jesus prayer is viewed not only as a Christ-centered, but also as a Trinitarian prayer: If Jesus is addressed as "Son of God", this would also refer to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is also included in the prayer after 1 Cor 12.3  EU nobody can say “Jesus is Lord” except through the Holy Spirit.

See also

swell

Theophan Goworow (1815-1894) is one of the most important teachers of the Jesus prayer.
  • Amwrossi Grenkow: Sobranie pisem k mirskim osobam. Sobranie pisem k monasestvujushchim. 3 vols., Sergiev Posad 2 1908.1909; Il santo starec Amvrosij del monastero russo di Optina, Abbazia di Praglia 1993.
  • Anatoli Serzalow: Sobranie pisem k monachinjam, Sergijew Possad 1910: A Collection of Letters to Nuns. Jordanville 1993.
  • Antoni Bloom: Schkola molitvy, Klin 2003; School of prayer. Trans. V. W. Herbstrith, Munich 2 1981.
  • Apophthegmata Patrum , Alphabetical Collection , in: Patrologia Graeca 65, 71–440; Instruction of the fathers. Apophthegmata Patrum, transl. V. B. Miller, Sophia 6, Trier 7 2005. - Systematic collection , introduction, ed., Transl. U. Notes v. J.-C.Guy, B. Flusin, et al. B. Meunier, 3 vols., Paris 1993.2003.2005.
  • Diadochus von Photice , Oeuvres spirituelles, introduction, ed. u. Trans. V. E. des Places , Paris 3 1997; Feeling for God, transl. KS Frank, Einsiedeln 1982.
  • Dorotheos of Gaza, Oeuvres spirituelles, Introduction, ed. u. Trans. V. L. Regnault et al. J. de Préville, Paris 2 2001; Doctrinae diversae / The spiritual teaching, introduction a. Trans. V. J. Pauli, 2 volumes, Freiburg i.Br. 2000.
  • Euagrios Pontikos , Logos peri proseuches, Philokalia, Vol. 1, Athens 5 1982, 176-189; 153 Chapter on prayer, Philokalie, Vol. 1, Würzburg 2 2007, 287–309.
  • Gregorios of Sinai, Werke, Philokalia, Vol. 4, Athens 5 1991, 31-88; Kapitel, Philokalie, Vol. 4, Würzburg 2 2007, 177-266.
  • Ignati Brjantschaninow , Polnoe sobranie tvorenij, 8 vols., Moscow 2001–2008; About the Jesus prayer, in: Der Bote 1990–1992.
  • Ilarion Alfejew , O molitve, Klin 2004.
  • Kallistos and Ignatios Xanthopulos, Methodos kai Kanon, Philokalia, Vol. 4, Athens 5 1991, 197-295; Weg und Richtschnur, Philokalie, Vol. 5, Würzburg 2 2007, 5–153; The centuria of the monks Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopouloi called, in: Alfons Rosenberg , ed., Transl. R. Birchler, The meditation of the heart prayer. A Christian way of meditation - with an introduction to method and practice, Munich 1983, 8–132; The gaze of God in the Palamitic hesychasm, transl. AM Ammann, The Eastern Christianity NF 3/4, Würzburg 4 1988, 51–192.
  • Johannes Klimakos , Klimax, ed. v. Archimandrite Ignatios, Oropos Attikes 6 1994; Klimax or the ladder to heaven, trans. Georgios Makedos, Athens 2000.
  • Makari Ivanov , Sobranie pisem, 6 vols., Moscow 1862f. 2 1880; Jesus prayer. Letters, transl. From HM Knechten, in: Ders., Monastische Väterliteratur and their reception by Makarij von Optina, Waltrop 2002, 202–277.
  • Nil Sorski , Sochinenija, ed. v. GM Prochorov, St. Petersburg 2 2008; Nil Sorskij and his writings, transl. F. v. Lilienfeld, Berlin 1963, 193-284; Book of Life of the Nile by Sora, transl. Hierodiacon Prokopy, ed. v. K. Kenneth, Freiburg im Üechtland 2007.
  • Païssi Welitschkowski, Schitie i pisanija, Moscow 2 1847, 165–268; Saint Paisius Velichkovsky, transl. V. S. Rose, Platina 1994.
  • Philotheos of Sinai, Neptika kefalaia, Philokalia, Vol. 2, Athens 5 1984, 274-286; 40 chapters on sobriety, Philokalie, Vol. 3, Würzburg 2 2007, 5-25.
  • Sofroni Sakharov, O molitve, St. Petersburg 2003; The practice of the Jesus prayer, in: Voice of Orthodoxy 1997, No. 2, 41–44.
  • Symeon the New Theologian ” (Nikephoros the Monk), La méthode d'oraison hésychaste, ed. u. Trans. V. I. Landlord, in: Orientalia Christiana 9 (1927), 101–210; Treatise on the three types of prayer, Philokalie, Vol. 5, Würzburg 2 2007, 411–421.
  • Theophan Goworow , Newidimaja bran, Moscow 4 1904, 206-211; The Jesus prayer. The exercise in Jesus prayer, trans. HM Knechten, in: Ders., Catholic Spirituality with Theophan dem Klausner, Studies on Russian Spirituality I, Waltrop 2005, 159–170.
  • Wassili von Poiana Marului, in: Schitie i pisanija Moldawskago starza Païssija Welitschkowskago, Moscow 2 1847, 72–164; The essence of the Jesus prayer, in: Voice of Orthodoxy 1984, No. 12, 38–45; Book of life of Basil of Moldova. Practice in prayer from the heart, trans. Archdeacon Prokopy, ed. v. K.Kenneth, Freiburg im Üechtland 2009.

further reading

Web links

Wiktionary: Jesus prayer  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

General or spiritual

Scientific

Individual evidence

  1. Cf. on this fundamentally Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos: Orthodox Spirituality. A brief introduction .
  2. Cf. Cassian Karg: The Little Secret , Verlag der Schulbrüder, 28th edition, Karlsruhe 1983.
  3. See Renate Just: Kitsch. It remained her secret. In: Die Zeit , December 23, 2008.
  4. Cf. “Symeon the New Theologian” (Nikephoros the Monk), La méthode d'oraison hésychaste, ed. u. Trans. V. I. Hausherr, in: Orientalia Christiana 9 (1927), 164; Treatise on the three types of prayer, Philokalie, Vol. 5, Würzburg 2 2007, 418; Alfons Rosenberg (ed.), Die Meditation des Herzensgebets, Munich 1983, p. 51f.
  5. See also the following Kallistos Ware: The Jesus Prayer. What is the Jesus prayer? , in: Hesychia II. Ways of the Heart Prayer , edited by Andreas Ebert, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-532-62461-6 , pp. 18–54, here: 38-39.
  6. Cf. Rüdiger Maschwitz: Das Herzensgebet mit Kinder , in: Hesychia II. Paths of the Heart Prayer , edited by Andreas Ebert, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-532-62461-6 , pp. 212-223.
  7. See Sluschebnik, Moscow 1996, 461f. The condition is that the church is far away and that those concerned cannot read.
  8. See also the following Andreas Ebert : Introduction. Enlightened eyes, enlightened heart , in: Hesychia II. Ways of the Heart Prayer , edited by Andreas Ebert, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-532-62461-6 , pp. 9–15, here: 9–10.
  9. Luciano Bernardi et al. a .: Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: comparative study. In: British Medical Journal 323 (2001), pp. 1446-1449. ( available online )
  10. See Hermann Rauhe / Gerd Schnack: Top fit through doing nothing. RMT - the formula for optimal energy , Munich 2002, Kösel, ISBN 3-466-34446-8 , pp. 40 f., 100 ff.
  11. Cf. Emmanuel Jungclaussen: Instruction in the heart prayer , EOS-Verlag, 2nd edition, St. Otilien 2003, ISBN 3-88096-454-8
  12. See Sabine Bobert: Mystik und Coaching mit MTP - Mental Turning Point , Münsterschwarzach 2011, ISBN 978-3-89680-518-8 , pp. 68-72, 99f., 103ff. (Differentiation from other mantras).
  13. See Kallistos Ware : The Orthodox Way . St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York 1979, ISBN 978-0-913836-58-3 . P. 38