Looking carefully at the l liturgical wealth of our Orthodox Church, we note endless points in which watch- fulness is mentioned or commented on: in the daily sacred
services (Midnight Office, Orthros, Hours, Vespers. Compline), in the prayers of the Divine Liturgy, in the Great Canon, in the hymnology of the Octoechos, the Tri. odion and the Menaia.
The worship of our Orthodox Church is a profoundly contrite worship, a worship of returning into our true, deeper self. In other words, our worship is a neptic wor- ship.
In the service of the Midnight Office, after Psalm 119,24 there is a sublime troparion which is also chanted contritely during Holy Week:
Behold, the Bridegrοom comes in the middle of the night; and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, but unworthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness. Beware, then, O my soul, and be not overcome by sleep, lest thou be given over to death and shut out from the kingdom. But return to soberness and cry aloud: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, O God: through the Theotokos have mercy upon us.
Immediately after this follows a Doxasticon, also in spired by the parable of the ten virgins:
Keep in mind the fearful day and be vigilant, my soul. Kindle thy lamp and cause it to burn brightly with the oil of compassion. For thou dost not know when thou shalt hear the cry, “Behold, thy Bridegroom!” Be watchful, then, my soul, and do not slumber, lest thou be left outside knocking at the door like the five virgins, but continue wake- ful, and so with the rich oil of mercy in thy lamp go out to meet Christ thy God; and may He grant to thee the divine bridal chamber of His glory.
In a special service of the Midnight Office we ask of the Lord, after the evening rest and beginning of the new day, to cleanse us, to make us temples of the Holy Spirit, and to grant us a vigilant heart and a sober mind, so that, no longer asleep in the soul, but awake and alert, we may work His commandments and taste the joy of His divine bridal chamber:
Almighty Lord… grant us to pass the night of the whole present life with a wakeful heart and sο ber thought…
In the third of the twelve mystical prayers of the Orthros service the priest prays on behalf of all the faithful…¨¨ Enlighten the eyes of our intelli- gence that we may never fall asleep unto death in sin ¨¨
In the prayer of the bowing of heads during Vespers the priest prays that the Lord keep us “…from every ene my, from every adverse operation of the devil, and from vain thoughts and evil imaginations”
In the prayer: “O Thou Who in all times and places..”, which we read during the service of the Midnight Office Hours, Compline, etc., there is a neptic aspect to the phrases, “set our minds aright, cleanse our thoughts”.
In the daily evening prayer of the Compline we be seech the Lord for a watchful mind, a sober heart”, in oth er words, alert, filled with vigilance in the spiritual battle with filthy satanic thoughts, which often have their reperc cussion in our dreams at night.
Additionally, there are many neptic expressions in the Great Compline. We quote two:
«Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God, lest I sleep to death; lest my enemies say: “I prevailed over him”>.
We beseech Christ to enlighten the eyes of our soul be- cause a great danger always lies in wait for all fighters: the sleep of death. If he finds us sleeping, the enemy will say maliciously about each one of us: I prevailed over him- l beat him, I defeated him”. And the enemy is vigilant, as an- other prayer from the Compline states:
“O Lord, Thou knowest well the alertness of mine invisible enemies and the weakness of mine own wretched body, for Thou Thyself hast fash- ioned me. Wherefore I entrust my soul to Thine hands, cover me with the wings of Thy bounty lest I sleep to death; enlighten my spirit with the de- light of Thy divine word; awaken me at the time of Thy glory, for Thou alone art a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind”.
All the “Hymns of Light” (Photagogica) which are re- cited during Great Lent are known for their neptic con- tent.
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There are many and varied degrees and a great varie- ty of pointing ways to watchfulness. We see this also in the Hymns of Repentance in the Octoechos and the Trio- dion, in which this many-faceted and proper cultivation of neptic life is offered. We note a few to demonstrate this:
Because of all my wicked thoughts and deeds I stand condemned: put into my heart, O God, my Saviour, the thought of turning back to Thee, that I may cry: Save me, loving Benefactor, and have mercy on me.
Searching my guilty conscience, I bow before Thy fearful Court, O Lord, for my works allow no salvation; but Thou, O Christ God, having a wealth of compassion, have mercy on me and save me.
Penintential Hymnology constitutes a safe road of re- turn to our lost inner world and always shows us man’s only outlet from the immense labyrinths into which he falls, proceeding from searching to anxiety and from anxiety to despair. The only outlet is that of the return of the prodigal. Because, as J. Kornarakis writes, whoever goes far away from himself multiplies the inner ruptures and surrenders mercilessly to a disgraceful impasse.” The oppo site is true, for the one who agrees to enter into his closet, to return to himself, discovers the secret footpath of one ness and harmony of soul and spirit. Furthermore, he views unfathomable and indescribable mysteries, because knowledge of all things is given to him who knows himself; for knowing oneself is the fullness of the knowledge of all things
Here are a few more penitential hymns representative of neptic self-knowledge:
When I call to mind the many evils I have done and I think upon the fearful day of judgment, seized with trembling I flee to Thee for refuge, O God Who lovest mankind. Turn not away from me, I beseech Thee, Who alone art free from sin; but before the end comes, grant conpunction to my humbled soul and save me,
Gather together my scattered mind O Lord, and purify my dry and barren heart, giving me like Peter repentance, like the Publican a sigh of sor- row, and like the harlot tears, that I may cry witn a loud voice unto Thee: Save me, O God, for Thou only art compassionate and lovest mankind .
Often when I offer praise to God, I am found to be committing sin; for while I sing the hymns with my tongue, in my soul I ponder evil thoughts. But through repentarnce, Christ my God, set right my tongue and soul, and have mercy upon me.
In the third Prayer of Preparation for Holy Communion, we beseech the Lord to come and abide in us in His immaculate Mysteries. We tell Him: *…Enter and enlighten my darkened thought”, In the Thanksgiving Prayers after Holy Communion we again read: “I thank Thee that Thou hast granted me, unworthy as I am… grant that these may be even to me… for the enlighten- ment of the eyes of my heart… that being kept by them in Thy holiness I may never live for myself but for Thee, our Lord and Benefactor.. ” In the thanksgiving prayer to the Theotokos: “… But do thou who didst bear the true Light enlighten the spiritual eyes of my heart… and give me… the recall of my reasoning powers from their captivity”.
After the consecration in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, this prayer follows: “that they may be unto watchfulness of soul, unto forgiveness of sins… “.
Not only before but also after Holy Communion we have need of watchfulness and vigilance toward ourselves.. Ac- cording to St. John Chrysostom, watchfulness of the soul is the first blessed fruit of Holy Communion.
In the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, in the prayer of the second Antiphon, the priest prays : “.. en. lighten the eyes of our hearts unto the knowledge of Thy, truth”. The enlightenment of the eyes of our heart, in other words. the watchfulness which is given as a divine gift guides us to the thorough knowledge of Divine Truth. The first prayer of the faithful, after a little while, says: “O God. great and praiseworthy, Who by the life-creating death of Thy Christ hast translated us from corruption to incorrup- tion, do Thou free all our senses from deadly passions, set- ting over them as a good guide the understanding that is within us. And let our eyes abstain from evil sight, our hearing be inaccessible to idle words, and our tongue be purged of unseemly speech. Make clean our lips which is well-pleasing to Thee, fortifying our members and minds by Thy grace”.
In that most beautiful, deeply neptic prayer we see that all our sensory members and our intellect are secured by the Grace of God: they acquire that spiritual freedom, since this “understanding that is within us” becomes set in our hearts as a “good guide” that attracts Divine Grace and protects the senses.
The second prayer of the faithful next says: “that through them our mental sight may be illumined and we may become children of the light and of the day”. With the eye of the mind enlightened by the Immaculate Mysteries, we become children of the light and of the day.
St. Hesychios the Presbyter makes clear the relation- ship between Holy Communion and watchfulness by writ- ing:
When in fear, trembling and unworthiness we are yet permitted to receive the divine, undefiled Mysteries of Christ, our King and our God, we should then display even greater watchfulness, strictness and guard over our hearts. so that the divine fire, the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, may consume our sins and stains, great and small. For when that fire enters into us, it at once drives the evil spir- its from our heart and remits the sins we have previously committed, leaving the intellect free from the turbulence of wicked thoughts. And if after this, standing at the en- trance to our heart, we keep strict watch over the intel- lect, when we are again permitted to receive those Mys- teries the divine Body will illuminate our intellect still more and make it shine like a star”
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The great penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete conceals within it great neptic wealth. Let’s bring to mind some of its precious gems:
Instead of the visible Eve, I have the Eve of the mind: the passionate thought in my flesh, show- ing me what seems sweet; yet whenever I taste from it, I find it bitter.
Thou hast heard- O my soul, be watchful!-how Ishmael was driven out as the child of a bond- woman. Take heed, lest the same thing happen to thee because of thy lust
Awake, my soul, consider the actions which. thou hast done; set them before thine eyes, and let the drops of thy tears fall. With boldness tell Christ of thy deeds and thoughts, and so be justified
Be watchful, O my soul, be full of courage like Jacob the great Patriarch, that thou mayest acquire action with knowledge, and be named “Israel”. “the mind that sees God:” so shalt thou reach by contemplation the innermost darkness, and gain great profit
Rise up and make war against the passions of the flesh, as Joshua against Amalek, ever gaining the victory over the Gibeonites, thy deceitful thoughts.
Christ was being tempted; the devil tempted Him, showing Him the stones that they might be made bread. He led Him up into a mountain, to see in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. O my soul, look with fear on what happened; watch and pray every hour to God
Compunction and watchfulness are united. Whenever there is compunction there is watchfulness also, and whenever the latter is cultivated, the former also blos- soms. The watchful soul, the soul that is full of compunc- tion and humility, the soul that “prays to God at all times”. unceasingly, becomes “a mind that sees God”
It’s worthwhile still to cite the sticheron of Wednes- day before Palm Sunday, which is a rare neptic painting:
Rich in passions, dressed in the deceptive at- tire of hypocrisy, I delight in the evils of debauch- ery and immeasurable cruelty by overlooking my intellect, lying like another Lazarus before the gate of repentance, starving from lack of anything good and ailing because of inattentiveness. But do Thou, O Lord, make me a Lazarus poor in sins, lest I ever fail to obtain the finger that will cool my tongue suffering in the unquenchable fire; but encamp me in the bosom of the Patriarch Abraham, for Thou lovest Mankind.
Many times the agony and the fighting spirit of the watchful fighter become a cry, a sign of alert, a dynamic reveille because “the end draws near”. The kontakion of the Great Canon renders in a most eloquent way the in- tensity of the neptic being in the watchful sentry of the in- tellect and heart:
My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The end draws near, and soon thou shalt be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ thy God may spare thee, for He is everywhere present and fills all things,
By Archim. Ioannikios Kotsonis
Publications of the holy Monastery of St Gregory Palamas
Koufalia – Thessaloniki
