The Eye of the Needle, a gaping hole in the Devil’s Chair on the Stiperstones, points to remembrance of God, opening the eye of the heart to bright stillness. Holy Hesychia is the stillness that finds the narrow way, the eye of the needle that opens to God’s glory through God in God. It is with holy attention that the heart turns and sees God in the midst, awakening the heart’s single eye, revealing the narrow way. Poor in spirit but blessed beyond all reckoning is purity of heart that sustains pure prayer of the Spirit in the heart, opening wisdom to glory unveiled by the Name. The Name of glory dwells in the midst of each and all, God’s holy oneness that unites each with all, radiant with the glory of Apostolic stillness.
Christ still reveals his Holy Name in uncreated light, illumining desert stillness, as when Archimandrite Sophrony awoke to the uncreated light of Christ on Mount Athos. Christ is always present in his Name when hearts turn and see. His presence is the presence of glory revealed to the eye of wisdom whenever uncreated light shines forth in the heart, unveiling the unveiled Face of the Name. Christ’s love is his transfigured radiance answering his ascent as light within the mysteries of his descending glory. Holy Stillness beholds God in love’s glory that makes peace when enmity arises and prays for enemies so enemies remain friends. The Hesychast prays for an orthodox persecutor of Hesychasm as for himself because Christ is in the midst, God in persecutor and the persecuted. The eye of the needle is very narrow but those who find it discover Great Peace.
HESYCHIA is what Saint Denys called ‘dazzling darkness’ in his ‘Mystical Theology,’ in which the eye of holy love turns and sees the light of glory which is God’s Kingdom come. The Lord’s Prayer sees this as the revelation of the Holy Name and links it with obedience to God’s Holy Will. This unveils the enlightened intent of wisdom whose scope of transfiguring openness is revelatory. It lives the glory of the age to come as ever present in the midst, because it sees with God’s eye, which is the eye of boundless love. The word Orthodox means right-glorification of God in his Name and so it always involves doxology, ascribing all glory to God when God glorifies unselfish love. The holy injunction to turn and see opens the heart to the mysteries of glorification, called THEOSIS by Saint Clement and the Hesychasts. THEOSIS is what God does when pure attention turns and sees. The eye of the needle points us home to where God is at centre where all centres coincide, present as light of glory glorifying elders and saints, present as uncreated light opening wisdom to unending glory.