The Hidden Man of the Heart (Zacharou 2023)

(1 Peter: 3:4) The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology Each human heart is fashioned ‘in a unique manner’ (Ps. 32:15 LXX) by the Creator. It is the true temple where man can meet God and unite with Him. This is why the heart requires ‘a noetic and divine sensation’. However, man is now fallen, his mind scattered throughout all creation, and his heart in a state of lethargy. His tragedy lies in the fact that he lives, speaks, thinks, and even prays outside his own heart. To be healed, the heart must be awakened, the mind must return to its place, and unite with the heart. The heart must become a ‘tight knot’ that encompasses the entire being of man so that he may turn as one entity toward God and fulfill, as much as possible, the perfection of the two great commandments of love. Then he is ‘precious’ before God (1 Pet. 3:4) and becomes a wondrous likeness of Him. The remembrance of death, the fear of God, the shame of confession are exercises that awaken the hear