Spirituality

Oversimplified

• The whole life of prayer, ascetic struggle, and grace by which a person is united to God — Orthodoxy's "spirituality" is inseparable from doctrine and the Church.
• Its goal is Theosis: not merely good feelings but real transformation into the likeness of God.

Summary

Orthodox spirituality is the lived path of theosis — purification of the passions (katharsis), illumination by grace, and union with God. It is nourished by the sacraments, the services, fasting, almsgiving, and above all unceasing prayer, classically the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."

Prayer of the heart

The hesychast tradition (see St. Gregory Palamas) seeks to bring the nous into the heart and stand before God in stillness. This is not private mysticism but ecclesial: guided by a spiritual father, grounded in humility, tested by love of neighbor. Feelings and visions are treated with caution; sobriety (nepsis) and repentance are the reliable road.[^1] See Theosis, Nous, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Mysticism and Theology.

[^1]: The Philokalia; St. Seraphim of Sarov; and the hesychast Fathers.