THERAPEUTIC
PSALMODY
in
EARLY
CHRISTIAN
MONASTICISM
David sings “Ashre,” Medieval illum.
Jewish Psalter
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Fr. Luke Dysinger, OSB, “Healing Enchantments: Therapeutic
Psalmody in Early Christian Monasticism”
Robin Darling Young, “Sources for the Early Christian
Understanding of Prayer and the Mind”
Fr. Damaskinos Olkinuora, “The Renaissance of Contemplative
Prayer on Mount Athos in the 20th century”
Fr. Chrysostomos Koutloumousianos, “Contemplative Life and the
Last Things in the Monastic Environment”
David Elliot, “The Western and Eastern Sources of Aquinas’
Asceticism”
Fr. Steven Payne, “Contemplative Prayer in the Carmelite
Tradition: Ancient Roots and Contemporary Practice”
Nathan Tilley, “Contemplative Prayer as Therapy for
Self-Knowledge in Isaac of Nineveh and his East Syriac Sources”
Jennifer Herdt, “Beyond the Therapeutic Mindset: Charting a Path
for Empirical Study of Christian Contemplative Practices”
Brother Theophan Miskovic, “Theōsis in Light of Modern Neurobiology”
Fr. Stephen Muse, “Reflections on the Convergence of Ascetical
Theology, Neurobiological Advances and Trauma Therapy in Clinical Practice”
Carrie Frederick
Frost, “From the Monastery to the Living Room: A Cautionary Tale of the
Laicization of Contemplative Practices”
1. Hippocratic Mdicine
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11.
HIPPOCRATIC
MEDICINE
in
EARLY
CHRISTIAN
MONASTICISM
Hippocrates
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from
“THE
EPIDEMICS”
of HIPPOCRATES:
THE
Art is threefold:
The
patient,
the
disease,
and the
physician
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Ἡ τέχνη διὰ τριῶν,
τὸ
νούσημα,
ὁ
νοσέων,
καὶ ὁ ἰητρός·
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The physician is
the servant of the art,
and the patient must
battle the disease [together] with
the physician |
ὁ
ἰητρὸς, ὑπηρέτης τῆς τέχνης·
ὑπεναντιοῦσθαι
τῷ νουσήματι τὸν νοσεῦντα μετὰ τοῦ ἰητροῦ χρή. |
from
“THE
DISCIPLES
of EVAGRIUS”
203.
There are three concerns:
the
physician,
the
medications,
[and]
the patient. [...] |
(203)
Τρία [γε μὴν]
εἰσὶ πράγματα,
ὁ
ἰατρός,
τὰ
φάρμακα
ὁ
πάσχων·
[...] |
The physician of
souls applies [medication] that is
appropriate [to each],
and his commands
are adapted to the passions [...] |
ὁ δὲ τῶν ψυχῶν
ἰατρὸς καταλλήλως προστάσσει,
καὶ τοῖς
πάθεσιν αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ
[...] |
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2_MONASTIC_PSALMODY_THERAPEUTIC_RHYTHM
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2.
THE
THERAPEUTIC
RHYTHM
of
MONASTIC
PSALMODY
Monastic
Schola, Med'l Illum. MS.
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AN
alternating rhythm of chanted psalmody and silent prayer
PSALMODY
vocal
chant
stand /
sit |
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PRAYER
silent
listen
prostrate |
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3_PSALMODY_as_ANTIDOTE
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3.
PSALMODY
as
SPIRITUAL
ANTIDOTE
Charles
Martel in Battle
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MEDICINAL
REMEDY;
COUNTER-MEASURE
REFUTATION;
CONTRADICTION
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4_PSaLMODY_HOMEOSTASIS_KRASIS
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4.
PSALMODY
and
RESTORATION
of
“HOMEOSTASIS”
(Krasis
/κρᾶσις)
Hippocrates
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BLENDING;
MIXTURE;
TEMPERAMENT;
INNER
ATTUNEMENT
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5_PSALMMODY_and_TRANSFORMAION_KRISIS
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5.
PSALMODY
and
TRANSFORMATION
(Krisis
/
κρίσις)
Christ
Heals a Leper
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“CRITICAL
TIME”
Turning Point (of
DISEASE)
CHANGE /
TRANSFORMATION
for BETTER
or WORSE
[~DECISION,
JUDGMENT]
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6_EVAGRIAN_PSALMODY
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6.
PSALMODY
in THE
WRITINGS
of
EVAGRIUS
PONTICUS
Desert
Monk
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from
“THE
CHAPTERS
on PRAYER”
by EVAGRIUS:
82.
Pray gently and undisturbed ,
sing
psalms with understanding and good rhythm;
then you
will be like the young eagle that soars in the heights. |
82.
Προσεύχου ἐπιεικῶς καὶ ἀταράχως
και ψάλλε συνετῶς καὶ εὐρύθμως,
ἔσῃ ὡς νεοσσὸς ἀετοῦ ἐν ὕψει αἰρόμενος. |
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83.
Psalmody calms the passions and puts to rest
the body’s disharmony;
prayer arouses the nous to activate its own proper activity. |
83.Ἡ
μὲν ψαλμῳδία τὰ πάθη κατευνάζει καὶ τὴν ἀκρασίαν τοῦ σώματος ἠρεμεῖν
ἀπεργάζεται·
ἡ δὲ προσευχὴ ἐνεργεῖν παρασκευάζει τὸν νοῦν τὴν ἰδίαν ἐνέργειαν. |
84.
Prayer is the power befitting the dignity of the nous;
it is the nous’
highest and purest power and function. |
84.
Προσευχὴ ἐστὶ πρέπουσα ἐνέργεια τῇ ἀξίᾳ τοῦ νου,͂
ἤτοι ἡ κρείττων καὶ εἰλικρινὴς ἐνέργεια αὐτου καὶ χρῆσις. |
85.
Psalmody pertains to “richly varied wisdom;”
(Eph 3:10);
prayer is the prelude to immaterial and uniform knowledge
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85.Ἡ
μὲν ψαλμῳδία τῆς ποικίλης σοφίας ἐστὶν,
ἡ
δὲ προσευχὴ προοίμιόν ἐστι τῆς ἀΰλου, καὶ ἀποικίλου γνώσεως
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from
“ON
THOUGHTS”
by EVAGRIUS
17. AND
if, weary from our toil, a certain acedia overtakes us |
Εἰ δέ τίς ἐκ
τοῦ καμάτου καὶ ἀκηδία ἡμῖν προσγένηται, |
we should climb up a little onto the rock of knowledge |
μικρὸν ἀναδραμόντες ἐπὶ τὴν τῆς γνώσεως
πέτραν |
and converse with the psalter
(cf. Ps 48:5), |
τῷ ψαλτηρίῳ προσομιλήσωμεν, |
plucking with the virtues the strings of knowledge: |
πλήσσοντες διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν τῆς γνώσεως τὰς
χορδὰς· |
LET
us again tend our sheep as they pasture below Mount Sinai, |
βοσκήσωμεν δὲ πάλιν ὑπὸ τὸ Σιναῖον ὄρος τὰ πρόβατα, |
so that the God of our fathers may also call to us out of the bush (cf. Exod. 3:1-6) |
ἵνα ὁ θεὸς τῶν
πατέρων ἡμῶν καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς βάτου καλέσῃ, |
and grant us the logoi
of the signs and the wonders (cf. Exod.
7:9, 11:9-10). |
καὶ τοὺς λόγους
τῶν σημείων, καὶ τῶν τεράτων καὶ ἡμῖν χαρίσηται. |
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7_CONCLUSION_PSALMODY_MEDITATION_MEDICAL_RESEARCH
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7.
CONCLUSION:
PSALMODY,
MEDITATION,
and MEDICAL
RESEARCH
Hippocrates
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MONASTIC
Psalmody and Contemplative prayer exist in a dynamic rhythm in which each
activity nourishes and sustains the other. Psalmody
enables the practitioner to perceive the divine meanings
(logoi) present
in all creation, and especially present in each human person.
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