Proseuche

Proseuche is the tradition's broadest word for prayer — encompassing the entire spectrum from spoken words to the silence beyond all words. The Philokalia describes many forms:

Vocal prayer — prayer spoken aloud, including the psalms and liturgical prayers that structure the monastic day. Mental prayer — prayer repeated silently in the mind, the stage at which the Jesus Prayer is most commonly practiced. Prayer of the heart — prayer that has descended from the mind into the kardia and continues there without conscious effort, like the heartbeat. Pure prayer — Evagrius' term for prayer beyond all images and concepts, in which the nous stands naked before God. Unceasing prayer — the continuous awareness of God's presence that persists through all activities, which Paul commanded ("pray without ceasing," 1 Thessalonians 5:17) and which the entire Philokalia teaches as the ultimate goal.

The Jesus Prayer is the tradition's primary vehicle for moving through these stages — but proseuche encompasses more than any single formula. It is, at its deepest, not something you do but something you become: a person whose entire existence is oriented toward and held within the presence of God.