Is noetic prayer deemed crucial for salvation? Do the teachings from our saints and theologians express it's necessity for us in our journey towards Theosis?
Please familiarize yourself with what noetic prayer is before reading this post.
We believe that noetic prayer is the most important means for the salvation of man.
— Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, Orthodox Psychotherapy
We should first establish that illumination assumes one has noetic prayer:
As we said earlier, these stages are purification, illumination, and theosis. The state of total illumination comes when unceasing noetic prayer becomes active within the human heart. Then, a person literally becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit.
— Fr. John Romanides, Patristic Theology
We then have an important question: Can we be saved without achieving illumination?
"....without purification and illumination, salvation does not exist. This is salvation: purification and illumination."
— Fr. John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics [pg. 111]
Onward children, to cultivate the Prayer! It has filled Paradise with so many holy people. There is no other way of purification and sanctification than noetic prayer.
— St. Amphilochios of Patmos (https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/.../on-noetic-prayer-st...)
No noetic prayer, no purification, thus no sanctification, thus no salvation.
This is also confirmed in the very introduction of the Philokalia:
(note: the introduction was omitted in the Palmer & Ware version, but present in the original Greek, and in the superb translation by Constantine Cavarnos)
And because they are deprived of this weapon, albeit each one fighting according to his ability his own battle and undergoing labors for virtue, they do not bear a single fruit, because it is impossible for anyone to bear fruit without the unceasing remembrance of the Lord and complete purity of heart and nous from every evil thought: 'Without me,' He says, 'you can do nothing,' and somewhere else: 'Whoever abides in me bears much fruit' — Jn. 15:5
From this fact I conclude that there is no other reason why there was such a shortage in those that should have shone forth in holiness, both during their life and after their death, and why there has been such a great decline in those that can be saved in our time; that is, because we have neglected that work which raises one up to deification. And without the deification of the nous, someone said, not only can man not be sanctified, but he cannot even be saved. For this alone to be heard is most fearful, because sanctification and salvation is one, according to the explanation given by the wise.
— St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, The Philokalia
We are clearly being told that there is no way to purification and illumination other than noetic prayer (deification of the nous, complete purity of heart), and without reaching these states, we cannot even be saved.
Anyone who does not have noetic prayer is automatically in error. Why? Because his nous is in a state of error, regardless of whether he is Orthodox. His nous is in error. It only rejects error when it is in the state of noetic prayer.
— Fr John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics Vol 2 [pg 159-160]
Without noetic prayer (illumination), we are automatically in error. And without illumination, we will interpret dogma logically, which is how heresy, and thus heretics, are born:
The key [to interpreting Holy Scripture]... is the Tradition of the Church... Now if you want to interpret the way you want, due to your satanic pride, then you will most certainly fail. You will become a heretic, and heresy is nothing other than the logical interpretation of dogma.
— Elder Athanasius Mitilinaios
If we know how important purification and illumination are for the church, then why do most people in the church not even know what it is? And why are so few actually illumined?
So, what makes normal Orthodox Christians different from the rest of the Orthodox? Is it dogma? Of course not. Take the Orthodox in general. They all share the same dogma, the same tradition, and the same common worship. A church sanctuary, for example, might hold three hundred Orthodox Christians. Of that number, however, only five are in a state of illumination, while the rest of them are not. The rest of them have not even the slightest idea what purification is. So this raises the question: How many among them are normal Orthodox Christians? Unfortunately, out of three hundred only five are.
— Fr. John Romanides, Patristic Theology
(note: Fr. John Romanides reposed 22 years ago, and things have undoubtedly declined further).
If we combine what St. Nicodemos, St. Amphilochios, and what Fr. John Romanides say, then only five out of three hundred in a parish in a have met the criteria for sanctification, and thus, salvation.
Do you see the peril we are in? So why then is the church organization practically silent on these matters?
You might ask: well, what if one becomes Orthodox, goes to church, and partakes of Holy Communion regularly? This surely is of value, right?
First, we cannot rest on the label of simply being Orthodox:
I am a Christian,", you say, and you settle and rest on this. Here is the first flattery — transferring to yourself the privileges and promises of a Christian without taking care to root yourself in true Christianity; or appropriating the name of what can only be sustained by force and by inner dignity. Explain to yourself that hoping for the name is deceptive; that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham and at any time He can revoke His promises, as soon as the conditions for partaking in them are not fulfilled. The main thing is this: make clear to yourself what it means to be a Christian, carefully compare yourself to this ideal. Then you will see just how well-grounded is this support of your blinded state.
— St. Theophan the Recluse, Turning the Heart to God
And if we don't have a certain quality of prayer, God will say to us "I never knew you" even if we are involved in the church and sacramentally active:
If there is no worship and no Holy Communion, there can be no prayer. Any prayer uttered apart from them is false. If on the one hand there is worship divorced from intense spiritual prayer, internal, powerful prayer which cries out, you can be certain that our worship and our Holy Communion is in vain. An attempt to deceive God by throwing mud in His eyes. Pretending that we love Him, when in fact we have no relationship with Him whatsoever. One day He will say to us, "I do not know you." (Matthew 25:12) These things go together.
— Elder Aimilianos of Siminopetra, The Church at Prayer
Both these explanations are quite clear. Simply being Orthodox and going through the motions isn't enough to achieve salvation. Even being a baptized Orthodox Christian who partakes of Holy Communion every Sunday achieves nothing, without correct prayer, intense spiritual internal, powerful prayer, which would clearly be noetic prayer. (Elder Aimilianos also talked much about this type of prayer in his other lectures and books).
What if we don't achieve illumination? God is merciful, right?
Why did Christ curse the fig tree? To teach us that we should tremble when we hear about it… We should not be deceived by the thought that our Lord is infinitely merciful and good and will surely forgive our sins. Many, many deceive themselves with this hope, and in this parable, and above all through the cursing of the fig tree, we learn that the Lord is not always infinitely merciful.
— St. Luke of Crimea, https://orthochristian.com/159888.html
The idea that our hope in God's mercy covers any and every one of our failings, is simply not scriptural. We will be judged by our fruits.
We need to bear fruit as Orthodox Christians, which patristically has been done through purification & reaching illumination. Simply being an Orthodox Christian in name only, means nothing.
Here are more quotes from Fr. John Romanides to get a sense of the vast importance of illumination compared to anything else we may focus on or prioritize:
What is the criterion of Orthodoxy? It is the teaching that correctly diagnoses man’s state, applies the correct treatment and leads him from purification to illumination, and from illumination to glorification.
— Fr. John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics
What is the criterion for Orthodox theology? Success. Of what use is Orthodox dogma to us, if it does not lead anyone to purification and illumination?
— Fr. John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics
For this reason, certain devout souls think that they receive an injection of divinity by communing of the Immaculate Mysteries. And since they have received their dosage of divinity, they also have their ticket to heaven securely in their pocket.
— Fr. John Romanides, Patristic Theology
Consider first someone who follows, or rather thinks that he follows the teachings of Christ, simply by going to Church every Sunday, communing at regular intervals, and having the priest bless him with water, anoint him with oil and so on, without examining these things very closely. Does this person who remains at the letter of the law, but does not enter into the spirit of the law, stand to gain anything of any account from Orthodoxy?
— Fr. John Romanides, Patristic Theology
He is clear: anyone not progressing towards their illumination, no matter if they are Orthodox, or coming to church, stands to gain absolutely nothing. In short, simply "being" Orthodox is not the measure of success. Being illumined is.
This revelation may disturb us. Especially for us who thought simply being Orthodox was enough. That coming to church is enough:
It is not enough to say that the young people are going to church. We need to ask what they are getting in church, what they are taking away from church, and, if they are not making Orthodoxy a part of their whole life, then it really is not sufficient to say that they are going to church.
— Fr. Seraphim Rose
(It's important to note that Fr. Seraphim Rose himself practiced noetic prayer in the footsteps of St. Paisius Velichkovsky & St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, both of whom who he venerated highly)
If we care about the witness of our saints and theologians, we must ask ourselves this question: without purification & illumination, is there any salvation?
Will we continue to believe that God's mercy justifies us in not following the path of our saints? Or will we dismiss these clear patristic teachings and rely solely on the idea that "God is loving"?
Will we continue to tempt God, citing his love as the condition to brazenly ignore the saints he sent to us? Or will we continue to be the fig tree, bearing no fruit?
So if I walk along them for a thousand years, and do not reach the light, which is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, and through the Son enlightens every man who comes, yet if at my departure from this life I am found to be still in the darkness, what have I gained? Of course you will answer, ‘Nothing.’
— St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Epistles of St Symeon the New Theologian
But what other greater and more surpassing thing, do you wish than to be always together with God mentally, as we have said, and to converse unceasingly with Him? Without this no man can ever be blessed either here or in the other life.
— St. Gregory Palamas, The Philokalia, The Life of St. Gregory Palamas
In order for someone to acquire the experience of illumination and glorification, his nous, with the help of his spiritual father, must be purified of thoughts (logismoi), images and fantasies, and noetic prayer must develop, which is also called single-thought' prayer, because there should be only one word in the heart: prayer with the name of Christ.
Fr. John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.