Only in the fourteenth century do we observe a new flowering of hesychastic mysticism. It is associated with the names of Gregory the Sinaite (1346), Nicholas Cabasilas (f 1371) and Gregory Palamas (t 1359).

St. Gregory the Sinaite considers the study of God to be the main goal of hesychasm. Mental prayer occupies the most important place in contemplation. A century after Gregory's death, his teaching on mental prayer was accepted by Nil of Sorsky and planted in the virgin forests of northern Russia.

Gregory the Sinaite is an outstanding personality in the mystical life of the eldership. He has the merit of reviving old and half-forgotten traditions. As a result, life was revived according to them. If St. Simeon in his hymns conveyed mainly personal experiences, then Gregory of Sinaite created a general teaching on hesychasm, no less important for the mystical life than the "Ladder" of John Climacus.

When Gregory the Sinaite came to Cyprus for the second time, he found there in a cave an elder named Arsenius. They talked with each other about ascetic exercises, and Gregory told about his solitary life on Sinai, about his separation from the world, about struggle and patience. Then Arsenius explained that all this was only work, and the real ascetic life consisted in contemplation. When Gregory heard this, he fell down on his face before the elder and asked him to teach him contemplation. Arsenius fulfilled his request, especially with regard to mental prayer, silence and guarding the spirit. Gregory, taught by the elder, took up spiritual work himself and later wrote three works, which tell about this in detail. These works, which contain a practical guide for ascetics and complement each other, have the following titles: "Instructions to the Silent",

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"On Silence and Prayer", "On Commandments, Dogmas, etc." They played a great role in the revival and development of ascetic and mystical views of the inhabitants of Athos. The historical event on the Holy Mountain, the so-called "hesychastic dispute", is connected with the activities of Gregory the Sinaite. We must not forget that Gregory Palamas, who took part in these disputes as a representative of the Orthodox trend, was his disciple. Thus, the victory of the "Palamites" greatly helped to spread the teachings of Gregory the Sinaite. This teaching can be summarized as follows.

A monk who wishes to renounce the world must first live in solitude and possess the following five virtues: silence, abstinence, vigilance, humility and patience. His time should be divided between the following three activities: singing psalms, praying, and reading the Holy Scriptures. A monk begins his day with the thought of the 1st><me, with prayer and gathering of the soul. The first hour he must pray patiently, and the second hour read, the third hour sing prayers, the fourth hour omni pray, the fifth read, the sixth sing, the seventh pray, the eighth read, the ninth sing, the tenth can eat, the eleventh is deaf (if necessary), the twelfth sing vespers. And at night he must remain awake as long as possible, singing and praying; beginner – to a lesser extent than successful.

St. Gregory the Sinaite emphasizes that obedience and prayer are at the center of ascetic activity. Through obedience, one can free oneself from many spiritual weaknesses and passions. "The prayer of a beginner," he writes, "is like a fire beating out of the heart; the prayer of the successful bend to the quiet light that comes from within and spreads a beautiful fragrance. In other words, prayer is the preaching of the apostles, the act of faith, or, to put it that way, faith itself, the fulfillment of all hopes, the manifestation of love, acceptance. Prayer is God, who is present in all, because whoever does all things in the name of Jesus Christ, he has one power with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The highest work of the hesycps is the repeated pronunciation of mental (spiritual) prayer. St. Gregory of Sinaite says: "The beginning of mental prayer is a purifying action and "either of the Holy Spirit and a mysterious sacred action of the mind, as the beginning of silence – the renunciation and liberation from all cares; its middle is the enlightening power (of that Spirit; its end is tenderness and the complete conversion of the mind to God."

In St. Gregory we find the following wonderful advice to those who pray mentally: "Whoever wants to offer his prayer to God must sit down on a small bench or even lie down, until the fatigue passes and you feel the return of your strength... Early in the morning, sit down on an unpaved seat, bring your mind from your head down to your heart, and hold it tightly there. Bend down until you feel pain and tension in your chest, shoulders, and throat, and constantly cry out with your mind from the depths of your soul: "I iir go, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!" Pronouncing this a lot of rya", do not change the words often, because even plants that are often transplanted are reluctant to form roots. Dominate also your breathing, so that you do not

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breathe when you don't need to, don't breathe boldly, because it darkens the mind and allows thoughts to wander their own ways. If you see with your own mind the impurity of evil spirits, which is called temptation, do not be afraid; And if any pictures appear before your imagination, pay no attention to them. Hold your mind as fast as you can, keep it in your heart, and exercise yourself to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus prayerfully and without interruption. And so, in the name of God, you will inflict invisible wounds on your temptations and destroy them completely."

Further, in Gregory's work "Instruction to the Silent" it is said: "The Fathers teach that some manage to pronounce the prayer in full: 'Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,' others only half: 'Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me'; So let everyone do according to his abilities. But you should not change the words of the prayer too often. The prayer should be pronounced slowly, stretching the words. Some teach to pronounce words orally, others only with the mind. But I suppose both, since the mind may become weary, the lips may lose strength, whereby one may fall into despondency; Therefore, one should pray as much as possible: with the mind and lips, but always quietly and calmly, so as not to distract attention and not interrupt the prayer. And so it is necessary to rush forward until the mind is prepared for spiritual work and receives strength from the Spirit and the prayer does not proceed properly. Then there will no longer be a need to pronounce words with the lips, and indeed it is impossible, because the one who has achieved this is satisfied with the completely intelligent practice of prayer and has no desire to lag behind it."

In another place, St. Gregory of Sinaite writes about mental prayer: "Spiritual wisdom is the power of intelligent, pure, and angelic prayer, the sign of which is that the mind of the worshippers is completely cleansed of external objects and does not pay attention for a moment either to itself or to anything else, for it is completely removed from the world of sin by the light acting in it. Then his spirit is freed and becomes one with the Spirit of God, which is ineffable. He is freed from matter and becomes incorporeal and luminous."

This briefly expounded teaching of Gregory the Sinaite on mental prayer, his mystical theology, in later times received wide recognition among the ascetics and mystics of the Eastern Church. Already in the second half of the fourteenth century, the works of Gregory the Sinaite were very widespread. Nilus of Sorsky finds in the Sinaite "the deepest spirit of the Eastern Church."