Nepsis () is a concept in Orthodox Christian theology. It means ''wakefulness'' or ''watchfulness'' and constitutes a condition of sobriety acquired following a period of

catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...

. St. Hesychios the Priest defines nepsis as "a continual fixing and halting of thought at the entrance to the heart."

Etymology

The term comes from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

First Epistle of Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from "Babylon", which may be a reference to Rome. The ...

(5:8, νήψατε, γρηγορήσατε. ὁ ἀντίδικος ὑμῶν διάβολος ὡς λέων ὠρυόμενος περιπατεῖ ζητῶν τινα καταπιεῖν — NIV: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour). There ''nepsis'' appears in a verb form, in the

imperative mood The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. They are sometimes called ' ...

, as an urgent command to vigilance and awakeness: "be alert and awake".

Context

Perhaps most associated with

Orthodox monasticism The degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk or nun is intentionally slow, as the monastic v ...

, innumerable references to nepsis are made in ''The

Philokalia The ''Philokalia'' (, 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 tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were or ...

'' (the full title of ''The Philokalia'' being ''The Philokalia of the Neptic Fathers''). Parallels have been drawn between nepsis and Jewish ''

devekut Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus (; traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when perform ...

''.

Relation to asceticism

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, the struggle against the corruption of the passions is conducted through ascetic effort to purify the soul (

asceticism 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 Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

from Greek: ''askesis'' "exercise"). At the advanced stages this involves "bringing the mind into the heart" ("mind" is a substitution for the tricky-to-translate Greek ''

nous ''Nous'' (, ), from , is a concept from classical philosophy, sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, for the cognitive skill, faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is truth, true or reality, real. Alternative Eng ...

'' (νοῦς), which here indicates that faculty of the soul by which man enters into communion with God).Vladimir Lossky, "The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church", St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, New York, 1976, p. 127 Purification of the soul, which is achieved only through the help of divine grace, is pursued through one's efforts to fulfill the commandments of Christ, participation in the Holy Mysteries of the Christian Orthodox Church, private prayer including devotion to the Jesus Prayer, fasting according to the Church calendar, study of Holy Scripture and the lives of the saints, and vigilant watchfulness over the thoughts to prevent sinful thoughts from becoming sinful actions, and then passions. As the Christian becomes purified, in time he reaches the stage of

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 ...

or illumination. At this point, the contemplative life begins. All ascetic practice must be understood as simply the means by which the goal of Christian life is pursued. This is the acquisition of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, which is called theosis, meaning the "deification" of man. According to St. Athanasius and others, "God became man so that man can become god."

References

{{Eastern Christianity footer Christian terminology Eastern Orthodox theology Greek words and phrases

Etymology

Context

Relation to asceticism

See also

References