Cassian and the Conferences

There are various types of prayer that can be used to connect with one’s beliefs and a higher power. These types of prayers allow people a variety of ways to worship and feel unified with God. Cassian in his work (Conferences), expounds on prayer and connecting via the highest form of prayer. Evagrius in a similar fashion has the same kind of desire to explain what such a prayer would entail and does so not just by verbalizing it, but by living it. This essay will briefly reflect on the various types of prayer and how the highest form of prayer can be performed according to Evagrius.
The first type of prayer is blessing and adoration or what some call worship. This kind of prayer is about acknowledging one’s dependence on God and exalting God. Another kind of prayer is prayer of petition. This is where people ask God for help and guidance attempting to gain some of the ‘essential knowledge’ God naturally possesses.
The third prayer is intercession, which is similar to petition except one is asking God to help someone else. This form of prayer shows how humans can connect with God through selflessness and thinking of others. The last type to briefly cover is prayers of praise. This kind of prayer acknowledges God’s power and love. Cassian speaks of this in Chapter V. of his Conferences. “For, for this we do and endure all things, for this we make light of our kinsfolk, our country, honours, riches, the delights of this world…in order that we may retain a lasting purity of heart”[footnoteRef:1] The goal is to honor God and remain pure of heart because God is the ultimate form of purity and light. [1: John Chrysostom Augustine, Philip Schaff, and Henry Wallace, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series (2007), 297.]

An example of the highest prayer can be seen with Evagrius’ cosmic vision. “The fundamental element of Evagrius’ cosmic vision is the doctrine of the primordial creation of all rational creatures, the logikoi. In this creation, there was a unity between God and all logikoi, and among the logikoi themselves there was a common purpose, the contemplation of the Trinity, ‘essential knowledge’” [footnoteRef:2] Such evocation of the spirit and such unity with God gives the image of the highest form of prayer. What is the ultimate form of enlightenment if not unity with God and an understanding of ‘essential knowledge’? When a person reaches a zenith if enlightenment and is aware of the knowledge that is known by the Divine, that is a form of highest prayer. The cosmic vision of Evagrius shows this and provides an important example of what can be conceptualized as a connection with God. [2: Columba Stewart, "Imageless Prayer and the Theological Vision of Evagrius Ponticus," Journal of Early Christian Studies 9, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 176, doi:10.1353/earl.2001.0035.]

‘Essential knowledge’ is what can be read and learned in the Bible. Evagrius had a daily routine that allowed him to absorb and become well versed in essential knowledge. “His work and other exercise was accompanied by the recitation of biblical texts. When copying he would have meditated on the text he was writing: when doing other kinds of manual labor, he could recite from memory” [footnoteRef:3] This kind of routine can be seen as the highest form of prayer because it is putting into practice the idea of becoming one with God. If becoming one with God is absorbing the ‘essential knowledge’ and one performs such a task each day, that is the physical and literal representation of prayer. [3: Columba Stewart, "Imageless Prayer and the Theological Vision of Evagrius Ponticus," Journal of Early Christian Studies 9, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 185, doi:10.1353/earl.2001.0035.]

In conclusion, prayer is a powerful means of connecting with God. There are various ways to pray to God. Some of which can be considered the highest form of prayer because one is gaining the ‘essential knowledge’ to connect with God.