The Light

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5)

Many contemplatives and saints, across many centuries, have spoken of a light, which can be perceived by anyone through faith, prayer, stillness, and dispassion. This is what St. Gregory Palamas, in the 14th century, calls the "uncreated light" and the energy (Greek energeia, ἐνέργεια) of God. He moreover calls it the "light of grace", a term used also by St. Diadochos of Photiki in the 5th century.

St. Seraphim of Sarov in the 19th century calls this light the "grace of the Holy Spirit". Grace is there, invisible to those who close their eyes to it, but available to all. In Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, grace is energy from God, and such energy is light. 

Just like light comes from the sun and shines on all things, so that "He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good" (Matthew 5:45), so is grace offered as a free gift to all. Grace is not something that anyone earns or is "worthy" of. It is only up to a human being to accept or refuse it, and to cooperate with it. This cooperation is called synergy (Greek συνεργία).

The Bible speaks of grace, and also speaks of such a light, many times. For at the very beginning, God says "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), and the light of grace is the uncreated energies of God which have been present in creation since the start. And the Apostle St. John says "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

The Holy Spirit, the Breath of God, is present in the world. God breathes; He exists and is very much alive. The Spirit shines light into the heart of a person, revealing deep truths to that person. This is what St. Maximos the Confessor in the 7th century and St. Peter of Damaskos in the 12th century call the light of spiritual knowledge (Greek gnōsis, γνῶσις). 

But such truth is hidden from those who trust in worldly knowledge and only consider visible things; it is hidden for those who are blinded by passions or who are caught up in the worries of the world, without stillness (Greek hēsychia, ἡσυχία). "And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:5) People with darkened hearts go about saying that God does not exist, or that God is evil. But those who have seen the light know that "in [God] is no darkness at all".

Blessed are all those who have seen this light. Blessed is anyone who has walked by this light through dark places.

This is the light that Jesus Christ, the Savior, revealed to the world. He is the Light. The darkness sought to keep human beings in darkness, and the light exposed its dark works; therefore the darkness hated the light. Thus the darkness devised a way to kill Christ, that it might silence Him. But death could not keep the Savior. Nor can death keep us if we walk by His light.

The Light went down to Hades, down to those who dwelt in the grave. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." (Isaiah 9:2) He freed the prisoners who were in darkness, and raised them to life. 

If a person walks by this light, grace will energize that person, uniting that person to the divine by grace. This is the goal of Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, and of the contemplative life. The aim of such life is to become like Christ and to fully receive the Holy Spirit; it is a mystical marriage with God. 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8), says the Apostle St. Paul. Faith (Greek pistis, πίστις) is the means by which a person perceives the light of grace. With faith, the eye of the heart is open, "the eyes of your heart being enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18); this eye is called the intellect (Greek nous, νοῦς). Energized by grace, a person does the works of God. It is no longer the saint who works, but grace which works in that saint. "I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10) "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do" (Philippians 2:13).

To see the light is called illumination (Greek theōria, θεωρία). To become united to this light and to God, becoming oneself a lamp which shines light upon others, is called divinization or deification (Greek theōsis, θέωσις). 

Now I have called this blog Ancient Light, though this light is more than ancient; it is eternal and uncreated like God. But moreover it is the ancient voices of the Church Fathers, contemplatives, and saints, which bear witness to this light.

This is a blog dedicated to Christian mysticism and contemplation, to prayer, to the ancient Church, to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and also Christian apologetics and theodicy. For "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" and "God is love" (1 John 4:16). I hope that my words may be helpful to someone. 

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)