What is "hesychasm"

Hesychasm (, hesychasmos, from , esychía, "stillness, rest, quiet, silence") is a mystical tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Gk: , esycházo: "to keep stillness") by the Hesychast (Gr. , hesychastes).

Based on Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew that "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray", hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order to achieve an experiential knowledge of God (see theoria).