Hesychasm

Hesychasm refers to the Orthodox tradition of inner stillness, watchful prayer, repentance, and attention to God. It is closely associated with the Jesus Prayer and with the wider ascetic tradition of guarding the heart.

The topic should be taught carefully. It is not a generic meditation method detached from doctrine. In Orthodox theology it belongs to the life of the Church, the sacraments, humility, and guidance.

The hesychasm page should connect to the Jesus Prayer, theosis, icons, monastic history, and later Byzantine theological debates. It should also connect to patristic warnings about pride, delusion, and prayer without repentance.

Hesychasm belongs to the wider Orthodox account of theosis: participation in God's life by grace. That is why the goal is not secret knowledge or altered states, but purification of the heart and communion with God.

For the app, the safest and clearest way to explain hesychasm is to connect it to repentance, the Eucharist, the Jesus Prayer, and the life of the Church.