A member of a movement dedicated to contemplation, originating among the Orthodox monks of Mount Athos in the 14th century.
More example sentences
- Symbolic actions are crucial to Eastern Christian liturgy and private prayer, most evident in the so-called ‘physical method’ of prayer taught by the Byzantine Hesychasts.
- Seeking the ways of development of the spiritual heart, Hesychasts invented the method called Jesus prayer.
- These links were forged long before the coming of Plethon to Mistra, but Plethon's neoplatonism was clearly related to the Hesychasts of Mt. Athos.
mid 19th century: from late Greek hēsukhastēs 'hermit', from hēsukhazein 'be still', from hēsukhos 'still'.
Definition of Hesychast in:
- The British & World English dictionary