Nicodemus the Hagiorite or Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain ( el, Ὅσιος Νικόδημος ὁ Ἁγιορείτης; 1749 – July 14, 1809) is a saint of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

. He was an ascetic

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, mystic,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and philosopher. His life's work was a revival of traditional Christian practices and patristic literature. He wrote ascetic prayer literature and influenced the rediscovery of hesychasm, a method of contemplative prayer from the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period. He is most famous for his work with

Macarius of Corinth Macarius of Corinth ( el, Μακάριος Κορίνθου. birth name: Michael Notaras) was born in Corinth in 1731 and died in Chios in April 1805. Macarius as Metropolitan bishop of Corinth, was a mystic and spiritual writer who worked to rev ...

on the anthology of monastic spiritual writings known as '' The Philokalia'', as well as for his compilation of canons known as the ''Pedalion'' (or ''The Rudder'') which he co-wrote with a

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...

named Agapios Monachos. With Macarios of Corinth, Nicodemus was responsible for the compilation and publishing of The Evergetinos, thoroughly reviewing a vast collection of materials from a number of other collections of sayings of monastics and others, ranging from the well-known works of St.

John Cassian John Cassian, also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman ( la, Ioannes Eremita Cassianus, ''Ioannus Cassianus'', or ''Ioannes Massiliensis''; – ), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern c ...

and Palladius, to the anonymously produced Apophthegmata collections, but including materials also from hagiographies, menologia, and other, unspecified and now-lost sources. Assembling, collecting, and editing a number of manuscripts scattered among the libraries of Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain. Nicodemus was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

by the Ecumenical Patriarch of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1955.

Early life and education

Nicodemus was born Nicholas Kallivroutsis (Νικόλαος Καλλιβρούτσης) in 1749 on the Greek island of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, which was at the time part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. According to his biographer, he was possessed of "great acuteness of mind, accurate perception, intellectual brightness, and vast memory", qualities which were readily apparent to those who furthered him along in his learning. He passed from the tutelage of his parish priest to that of Archimandrite Chrysanthos, who was the brother of Cosmas. From there he made his way to

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

(now Izmir, Turkey), where he studied at the Evangelical School. Here he studied theology, as well as ancient Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. Persecution from the Turks, who ruled most of the Greek world at the time, cut his schooling short, and he returned to Naxos in 1770. He studied at Smyrna but was forced to abandon his studies during a time of Ottoman persecution. Instead he entered the Dionysiou monastery on Mount Athos in 1775.

Monastic life

Nicholas made the acquaintance of

a few years after returning home, beginning a lifelong friendship. It was shortly thereafter that he decided to embrace the monastic life, following the example of three monks he had encountered, Gregory, Niphon, and Arsenios. These men had come from Mount Athos, which had been an important center of monasticism for over seven hundred years, and persuaded Nicholas to go there as well. He arrived there in 1775, at age 26. Upon being

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...

d a

, Nicholas' name was changed, as is the custom for those who had abandoned the world, to Nicodemus. He was initiated into the practice of ''

hesychia The Greek term ''hesychia'' (, ) is a concept that can be translated as "stillness, rest, quiet, silence". In Christianity In hesychasm, an Eastern Orthodox Christian mystical tradition, it refers to the state of stillness and peace that is obta ...

'', a method of prayer involving inner stillness, controlled breathing, and repetition of the "

Jesus Prayer The Jesus Prayer,; syr, ܨܠܘܬܐ ܕܝܫܘܥ, translit=slotho d-yeshu'; syr, label= Amharic, Geez and Tigrinya, እግዚኦ መሐረነ ክርስቶስ, translit=igizi'o meḥarene kirisitosi. "Note: We are still searching the Fathers for ...

" (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner). Nicodemus aligned himself with the monks known as

Kollyvades The Kollyvades ( el, Κολλυβάδες) were the members of a movement within the Eastern Orthodox Church that began in the second half of the eighteenth century among the monastic community of Mount Athos, which was concerned with the restorati ...

, who sought a revival of traditional Orthodox practices and patristic literature, and he spent the remainder of his life at work translating and publishing those works. He also composed many original books of his own. He died on July 14, 1809 on Mount Athos and was

by the Church of Greece on May 31, 1955. His feast day is 14 July.

Major works

In cooperation with Macarius of Corinth, Nicodemus compiled the

Philokalia The ''Philokalia'' ( grc, φιλοκαλία, lit=love of the beautiful, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tr ...

, which became an important work on monastic spirituality. It contains some of the teachings of many of the ancient

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the ea ...

. Nicodemus also published modern editions of other theological writings, such as those of

Symeon the New Theologian Symeon the New Theologian ( el, Συμεὼν ὁ Νέος Θεολόγος; 949–1022) was an Eastern Orthodox Christian monk and poet who was the last of three saints canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and given the title of "Theolo ...

and

Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he ...

. In addition, he wrote original works, such as the ''Pedalion'' (also known as ''The Rudder''), a treatise on

Eastern Orthodox canon law The canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church consists of the ecclesiastical regulations recognised by the authorities of the Eastern Orthodox Church, together with the discipline, study, and practice of Eastern Orthodox jurisprudence. In the Ea ...

, and the ''Exomologetarion'', a guide for confessors. Another of his famous works is the ''Enchiridion of Counsels'' (or "Handbook of Spiritual Counsel"), written by Nicodemus at the suggestion of his cousin Hierotheos, who had recently been made Bishop of Euripos. This handbook on the religious life, aimed at clergy and lay Christians alike, continues to be influential on Greek spirituality to this day. The work has been described as a theological-ethical tract that displays both deep psychological insight and a keen scientific mind. He was not ignorant of the Western spiritual writers, and even published reworked versions of the ''

Spiritual Exercises The ''Spiritual Exercises'' ( la, Exercitia spiritualia), composed 1522–1524, are a set of Christian meditations, contemplations, and prayers written by Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish priest, theologian, and founder of the Soci ...

'' (Πνευματικά γυμνάσματα) of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

and ''The Spiritual Combat'' (βιβλίον καλούμενον· Αόρατος Πόλεμος) of

Lorenzo Scupoli Lorenzo (Lawrence) Scupoli (ca. 1530 – 28 November 1610) was the author of ''Il combattimento spirituale'' (''The Spiritual Combat''), one of the most important works of Catholic spirituality. Life Scupoli was from Otranto in Apulia. At ...

Beauty shall save the world

The term Philokalia (φιλοκαλία) (love of the good), used for the texts, aims to enshrine the history of the

(the Prayer of the heart), and the spiritual practice of this, called Hesychasm. It is this love of beauty that revives and gives faith to the hopeless. The history of the prayer begins with the earliest fathers including

Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

, and the text ends with

. The title conveys the contemplative tradition, in that it teaches understanding of the inner or mystical Kingdom of God within each person. The spirit of God is an ember and one must cultivate the ember into an open fire. This perpetual fire burns in the heart, in love for all things, which is to share in the energy of God, which is love. () It is within the Philokalia that one learns how to properly navigate the passions and depravity of existence called the

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. The object of contemplation is "the love of beauty" or infinite beauty, which is God. For if existence were truly evil it could neither contain nor express beauty. This expression conveys the truth about the divine (ascetic) life and purpose which the heart learns through practice of the Prayer of the Heart, called Hesychasm. God in his energies is love. God is also the source of all that is truly beautiful, resplendent with divine glory. It is this beauty, the

Russian philosophers Russian philosophy includes a variety of philosophical movements. Authors who developed them are listed below sorted by movement. While most authors listed below are primarily philosophers, also included here are some Russian fiction writers, ...

held, that "will save the World".''Scripture in tradition: the Bible and its interpretation in the Orthodox Church'' by John Breck. Published by St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001 ,

/ref>

Sources

innerlightproductions
(accessed Feb 17, 2007)

accessed Feb 17, 2007)
OrthodoxWiki

References