Hesychasm
Hesychasm (Greek: ἡσυχασμός, hesychasmos, from ἡσυχία, hesychia, "stillness, rest, quiet, silence") is a mystical tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Gk: ἡσυχάζω, hesychazo: "to keep stillness") by the Hesychast (Gr. Ἡσυχαστής, hesychastes).
Based on Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew that "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray", hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order to achieve an experiential knowledge of God (see theoria).
Meanings of the term
Kallistos Ware distinguishes five distinct meanings of the term "hesychasm":
"solitary life", a sense, equivalent to "eremitical life", in which the term is used since the 4th century;
"the practice of inner prayer, aiming at union with God on a level beyond images, concepts and language", a sense in which the term is found in Evagrius Ponticus (345-399), Maximus the Confessor (c. 580 - 662), and Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022);
