The Jesus Prayer, also known as The Prayer, is a short formulaic

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and is especially esteemed and advocated in

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

and

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. There are multiple versions of this prayer, however the most widely used version is as follows: It is often repeated continually as a part of personal

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

practice, its use being an integral part of the Hermitic tradition of

known as

hesychasm Hesychasm () is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in ...

. The prayer is particularly esteemed by the spiritual fathers of this tradition (see '' Philokalia'') as a method of cleaning and opening up the mind and after this the heart (), brought about first by the Prayer of the Mind, or more precisely the Noetic Prayer (), and after this the Prayer of the Heart (). The ''Prayer of the Heart'' is considered to be the ''Unceasing Prayer'' that the

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

advocates in the New Testament. Theophan the Recluse regarded the ''Jesus Prayer'' stronger than all other prayers by virtue of the power of the Holy Name of Jesus. Though identified more closely with Eastern Christianity, the prayer is found in

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

in the ''

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a reference work that summarizes the Catholic Church's doctrine. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 ...

''. It is also used in conjunction with the innovation of

Anglican prayer beads Anglican prayer beads, also known as the Anglican rosary or Anglican chaplet, are a loop of strung Christian prayer beads used chiefly by Anglicans in the Anglican Communion, as well as by communicants in the Anglican Continuum. This Anglican dev ...

(Rev. Lynn Bauman in the mid-1980s). The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Catholic Church and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. The ancient and original form did not include the words "a sinner", which were added later.''On the Prayer of Jesus'' by Ignatius Brianchaninov, Kallistos Ware 2006 pages xxiii–xxiv The Eastern Orthodox theology of the Jesus Prayer as enunciated in the 14th century by

Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (; ; – 1357/1359) 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 Thessalonica, he is famous for his defense of hesyc ...

was generally rejected by

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

theologians until the 20th century.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

called Gregory Palamas a saint, a great writer, and an authority on

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He also spoke with appreciation of hesychasm as "that deep union of grace which Eastern theology likes to describe with the particularly powerful term '' theosis'', ' divinization, and likened the meditative quality of the Jesus Prayer to that of the Catholic

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

Origins

The prayer's origin is the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Wadi El Natrun, then known as ''Skete'', in Roman Egypt, beginning around the Christianity in the ante-Nicene period, third century. The ''Sayings of the Dese ...

and Desert Mothers in the 5th century. It was found inscribed in the ruins of a cell from that period in the Egyptian desert. A formula similar to the standard form of the Jesus Prayer is found in a letter attributed to

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

, who died in AD 407. This "Letter to an Abbot" speaks of " Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy" and "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on us" being used as ceaseless prayer. Ammonas of Egypt advised another monk to "always keep in your heart the words of the Publican" (''God, be merciful to me a sinner'', ), while

Macarius of Egypt Macarius of Egypt (c. 300 – 391) was a Christian monk and Grazers (Christianity), grazer hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder or Macarius the Great. Life Macarius was born in Lower Egypt. A late tradition places his birthplace in th ...

taught Evagrius Ponticus to say with each breath "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. I bless you, my Lord Jesus", or when he is distressed, "My Lord Jesus, help me". Early forms of the Jesus prayer are also mentioned in the context of Gazan monasticism; Saints Barsanuphius and John the Prophet recommended several formulae, including "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". Their chief disciple, Dorotheus of Gaza, later taught his disciple Dositheus to preserve the "remembrance of God" by saying continuously "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" and then at intervals "Son of God, help me". What may be the earliest explicit reference to the Jesus Prayer in a form that is similar to that used today is in ''Discourse on Abba Philimon'' from the . Philimon lived around AD 600. The version cited by Philimon is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me", which is apparently the earliest source to cite this standard version. While the prayer itself was in use by that time, John S. Romanides writes that "We are still searching the Fathers for the term 'Jesus prayer'." A similar idea is recommended in the '' Ladder of Divine Ascent'' of John Climacus (circa 523–606), who recommends the regular practice of a , or one-worded "Jesus Prayer". The use of the Jesus Prayer according to the tradition of the is the subject of the 19th century anonymous Russian spiritual classic '' The Way of a Pilgrim'', also in the original form, without the addition of the words "a sinner".

Eastern Orthodoxy

The hesychastic practice of the Jesus Prayer is founded on the biblical view by which God's name is conceived as the place of his presence. Vasile Răducă, ''Ghidul creştinului ortodox de azi'' (''Guide for the contemporary Eastern Orthodox Christian''), second edition, Humanitas Ed.,

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, 2006, p. 81, . Orthodox mysticism has no images or representations. The mystical practice (the prayer and the meditation) doesn't lead to perceiving representations of God (see below Palamism). Thus, the most important means of a life consecrated to praying is the invoked ''name of God'', as it is emphasized since the 5th century by the

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nome (Egypt), nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos, Egypt, Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximit ...

anchorites, or by the later Athonite hesychasts. For the Orthodox the power of the Jesus Prayer comes not only from its content, but from the very invocation of Jesus' name.

Scriptural roots

The Jesus Prayer combines three Bible verses: the

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

hymn of the Pauline epistle Philippians (verse 11: "Jesus Christ is Lord"), the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

of Luke (verse 35: "Son of God"), and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican of Luke , in which the Pharisee demonstrates the improper way to pray (verse 11: "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican"), whereas the Publican prays correctly in humility (verse 13: "God be merciful to me a sinner").

Palamism, the underlying theology

Apophatism (negative theology) is the main characteristic of the Eastern theological tradition. Incognoscibility is not conceived as

agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer t ...

or refusal to know God, because the Eastern theology is not concerned with abstract concepts; it is contemplative, with a discourse on things above rational understanding. Therefore, dogmas are often expressed antinomically. This form of contemplation is experience of God, illumination, called the vision of God or, in Greek,

theoria Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative pr ...

. For the Eastern Orthodox the knowledge or of the uncreated energies is usually linked to apophatism.

Repentance in Eastern Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church holds a non-juridical view of sin, by contrast to the satisfaction view of

atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

for sin as articulated in the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, firstly by

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

(as debt of honor) and

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

(as a moral debt). The terms used in the East are less legalistic (''grace'', ''punishment''), and more medical (''sickness'', ''healing'') with less exacting precision. Sin, therefore, does not carry with it the guilt for breaking a rule, but rather the impetus to become something more than what men usually are. One repents not because one is or is not virtuous, but because human nature can change. Repentance (, '' metanoia'', "changing one's mind") is not remorse, justification, or punishment, but a continual enactment of one's freedom, deriving from renewed choice and leading to restoration (the return to man's original state).John Chryssavgis
"Repentance and Confession - Introduction"
.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOArch; ), headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current Primate (bishop), primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The Greek Orthodox ...

. Retrieved 21 March 2008. This is reflected in the Mystery of

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

for which, not being limited to a mere confession of sins and presupposing recommendations or penalties, it is primarily that the priest acts in his capacity of spiritual father."An Online Orthodox Catechism"

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. Retrieved 21 March 2008. The Mystery of Confession is linked to the spiritual development of the individual, and relates to the practice of choosing an elder to trust as his or her spiritual guide, turning to him for advice on the personal spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice. As stated at the local Council of Constantinople in 1157, Christ brought his redemptive sacrifice not to the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

alone, but to the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

as a whole. In the Eastern Orthodox theology redemption is not seen as ''ransom''. It is the ''reconciliation'' of God with man, the manifestation of God's love for humanity. Thus, it is not the anger of God the Father but His love that lies behind the sacrificial death of his son on the cross. The redemption of man is not considered to have taken place only in the past, but continues to this day through theosis. The initiative belongs to God, but presupposes man's active acceptance (not an action only, but an attitude), which is a way of perpetually receiving God.

Distinctiveness from analogues in other religions

The practice of contemplative or meditative chanting is known in several religions including

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(e.g. japa,

zikr (; ; ) is a form of Islam, Islamic ibadah, worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God in Islam, God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi tariqa, order typically adopts a specific ...

). The form of internal contemplation involving profound inner transformations affecting all the levels of the self is common to the traditions that posit the ontological value of personhood. Although some aspects of the Jesus Prayer may resemble some aspects of other traditions, its Christian character is central rather than mere "local color". The aim of the Christian practicing it is not limited to attaining humility, love, or purification of sinful thoughts, but rather it is becoming holy and seeking union with God (''theosis''), which subsumes all the aforementioned virtues. Thus, for the Eastern Orthodox: Hristofor Panaghiotis, ''Rugăciunea lui Iisus. Unirea minţii cu inima şi a omului cu Dumnezeu'' (''Jesus prayer. Uniting the mind with the heart and man with God by Panagiotis K. Christou''), translation from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, second edition, Panaghia Ed., Rarău Monastery,

Vatra Dornei Vatra Dornei (; ; ; ) is a city in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Vatra Dornei is the fifth largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 12,578 inhabitants, according to ...

, pp. 6, 12–15, 130, . :* The Jesus Prayer is, first of all, a prayer addressed to God. It is not a means of self-deifying or self-deliverance, but a counterexample to Adam's pride, repairing the breach it produced between man and God. :* The aim is not to be dissolved or absorbed into nothingness or into God, or reach another state of mind, but to (re)unite with God (which by itself is a process) while remaining a distinct person. :* It is an invocation of Jesus' name, because Christian anthropology and

soteriology Soteriology (; ' "salvation" from wikt:σωτήρ, σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and wikt:λόγος, λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of Doctrine, religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special sign ...

are strongly linked to

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

in Orthodox monasticism. :* In a modern context the continuing repetition is regarded by some as a form of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, the prayer functioning as a kind of

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

. However, Orthodox users of the Jesus Prayer emphasize the ''invocation'' of the name of Jesus Christ that Hesychios describes in ''Pros Theodoulon'' which would be

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the Divinity, divine which Transcendence (religion), transcends the intellect, often in accordance with religious practices such as meditation or contemplative pr ...

on the Triune God rather than simply emptying the mind. :* Acknowledging "a sinner" is to lead firstly to a state of humbleness and repentance, recognizing one's own sinfulness. :* Practicing the Jesus Prayer is strongly linked to mastering passions of both soul and body, e.g. by

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

. For the Eastern Orthodox it is not the body that is wicked, but "the bodily way of thinking"; therefore

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

also regards the body. :* Unlike " seed syllables" in particular traditions of chanting

s, the Jesus Prayer may be translated into whatever language the pray-er customarily uses. The emphasis is on the meaning, not on the mere utterance of certain sounds. :* There is no emphasis on the psychosomatic techniques, which are merely seen as helpers for uniting the mind with the heart, not as prerequisites. A magistral way of meeting God for the Orthodox, ''Puterea Numelui sau despre Rugăciunea lui Iisus'' (''The Power of the Name. The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality'') in

Kallistos Ware Metropolitan Kallistos (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia (), later made a titu ...

, ''Rugăciune şi tăcere în spiritualitatea ortodoxă'' (''Prayer and silence in the Orthodox spirituality''), translation from English, Christiana Ed.,

, 2003, pp. 23, 26, . the Jesus Prayer does not harbor any secrets in itself, nor does its practice reveal any esoteric truths. Instead, as a hesychastic practice, it demands setting the mind apart from rational activities and ignoring the physical senses for the experiential knowledge of God. It stands along with the regular expected actions of the believer (prayer, almsgiving, repentance, fasting etc.) as the response of the Orthodox Tradition to

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

's challenge to "pray without ceasing" ().

Practice

Techniques

There are no fixed rules for those who pray, "the way there is no mechanical, physical or mental technique which can force God to show his presence" ( Metropolitan

). In '' The Way of a Pilgrim'', the pilgrim advises, "as you draw your breath in, say, or imagine yourself saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ,' and as you breathe again, 'have mercy on me. The Jesus Prayer can be used for a kind of "psychological" self-analysis. According to the ''Way of the Pilgrim'' account and Mount Athos practitioners of the Jesus Prayer, "one can have some insight on his or her current psychological situation by observing the intonation of the words of the prayer, as they are recited. Which word is stressed most. This self-analysis could reveal to the praying person things about their inner state and feelings, maybe not yet realised, of their unconsciousness." Also, a person might want to consciously stress one of the words of the prayer in particular when one wants to express a conscious feeling of situation. So in times of need stressing the 'have mercy' part can be more comforting or more appropriate. In times of failures, the 'a sinner' part, etc.

Levels of the prayer

Paul Evdokimov, a 20th-century

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and theologian, writes about beginner's way of praying: initially, the prayer is excited because the man is emotive and a flow of psychic contents is expressed. In his view this condition comes, for the modern men, from the separation of the mind from the heart: "The prattle spreads the soul, while the silence is drawing it together." Old fathers condemned elaborate phraseologies, for one word was enough for the publican, and one word saved the thief on the cross. They only uttered Jesus' name by which they were contemplating God. For Evdokimov the acting faith denies any formalism which quickly installs in the external prayer or in the life duties; he quotes

Seraphim of Sarov Seraphim of Sarov (; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) �ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and t ...

: "The prayer is not thorough if the man is self-conscious and he is aware he's praying." "Because prayer is a living reality, a deeply personal encounter with the living God, it is not to be confined to any given classification or rigid analysis", says the

. As general guidelines for the practitioner, different number of levels (3, 7 or 9) in the practice of the prayer are distinguished by Orthodox fathers. They are to be seen as being purely informative, because the practice of the Prayer of the Heart is learned under personal spiritual guidance in Eastern Orthodoxy which emphasizes the perils of temptations when it is done on one's own. Thus, Theophan the Recluse, a 19th-century Russian spiritual writer, talks about three stages: # The oral prayer (the prayer of the lips) is a simple recitation, still external to the practitioner. # The focused prayer, when "the mind is focused upon the words" of the prayer, "speaking them as if they were our own". # The prayer of the heart itself, when the prayer is no longer something we do but who we are. Once this is achieved the Jesus Prayer is said to become "self-active" (). It is repeated automatically and unconsciously by the mind, becoming an internal habit like a (beneficial)

earworm An earworm or brainworm, also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome, is a Catchiness, catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about. In ...

. Body, through the uttering of the prayer, mind, through the mental repetition of the prayer, are thus unified with "the heart" (spirit) and the prayer becomes constant, ceaselessly "playing" in the background of the mind, like a background music, without hindering the normal everyday activities of the person. Others, like Father

Archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

Ilie Cleopa, one of the most representative spiritual fathers of contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic spirituality, talk about nine levels. They are the same path to theosis, more slenderly differentiated: # The prayer of the lips. # The prayer of the mouth. # The prayer of the tongue. # The prayer of the voice. # The prayer of the mind. # The prayer of the heart. # The active prayer. # The all-seeing prayer. # The contemplative prayer.

Variants of repetitive formulas

A number of different repetitive prayer formulas have been attested in the history of Eastern Orthodox monasticism: the Prayer of St. Ioannikios the Great (754–846): "My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my shelter is the Holy Spirit, O Holy Trinity, Glory unto You", the repetitive use of which is described in his ''Life''; or the more recent practice of Nikolaj Velimirović. Similarly to the flexibility of the practice of the Jesus Prayer, there is no imposed standardization of its form. The prayer can be from as short as "Lord, have mercy" ( Kyrie eleison), "Have mercy on me" ("Have mercy upon us"), or even "Jesus", to its longer most common form. It can also contain a call to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

(Virgin Mary), or to the saints. The single essential and invariable element is Jesus' name. * Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. (a very common form) * Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. (a very common form in the Greek tradition) * Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. (common variant on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

) * Jesus, have mercy. * Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. * Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Catholic Church

The Jesus Prayer is widely practiced among the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. Part four of the ''

'', which is dedicated to Christian prayer, devotes paragraphs 2665 to 2669 to prayer to Jesus. Similar methods of prayer in use in the Catholic Church are recitation, as recommended by

John Cassian John Cassian, also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman (, ''Ioannes Cassianus'', or ''Ioannes Massiliensis''; Greek: Ίωάννης Κασσιανός ό Ερημίτης; – ), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated ...

, of "O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me" or other verses of Scripture; repetition of a single monosyllabic word, as suggested by the Cloud of Unknowing; the method used in Centering Prayer; the method used by The World Community for Christian Meditation, based on the Aramaic invocation '' Maranatha''; the use of Lectio Divina; etc.Thomas Keating, ''Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Tradition'' (Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, Bulletin 40, January 1991)
The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' says: