Maronite Meditation 89: Aphrahat on Pure Prayer

We are going to work through some of Sebastian Brock’s invaluable book The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and theSpiritual Life. It is an anthology of materials from Syriac writers,beginning at the very start with Aphrahat, although not including the Odes of Solomon . Little is known of Aphrahat, “the Persian Sage,” who: “… was evidently a prominent figure inthe Christian Church in the Persian Empire …” Aphrahat wrote 23 homilies known as the Demonstrations. Number 4 of these is the earliest surviving Christian text on prayer, other than those which deal with the Our Father. His writings were influential in the later Syriac tradition, and even translated into Armenian. The Demonstration on prayer opens powerfully: "Purity of heart constitutes prayer more than do all the prayers that are uttered out aloud, and silence united to a mind that is sincere is better than the loud voice of someone crying out."            Purity of heart constitutes prayer more than do all the prayers that are uttered out aloud, and silence united to a mind that is sincere is better than the loud voice of someone crying out.