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The Spirit is light, life, and peace. If consequently you are illumined by the Spirit your own life is imbued with peace and serenity. Because of this you are filled with the spiritual knowledge of created beings and the wisdom of the Logos; you are granted the intellect of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:16); and you come to know the mysteries of God’s kingdom (cf. Luke 8:10). Thus you penetrate into the depths of the Divine and daily from an untroubled and illumined heart you utter words of life for the benefit of others; for you yourself are full of benediction, since you have within you Goodness itself that utters things new and old (cf. Matthew 13:52).

~Nikitas Stithatos

The mystical and perfective stage pertains to those who have already passed through all things and have come to ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13). It is characterized by the transcending of the sphere of demonic powers and of all sublunar things, by our attaining to the higher celestial ranks, approaching the primordial light and plumbing the depths of God through the Spirit. It involves immersing our contemplative intellect in the inner principles of providence, justice and truth, and also the interpretation of the arcane symbolism, parables and obscure passages in Holy Scripture.

Its final goal is our initiation into the hidden mysteries of God and our being filled with ineffable wisdom through union with the Holy Spirit, so that each becomes a wise theologian in the great Church of God, illuminating others with the inner meaning of theology.

He who has reached this point through the deepest humility and compunction has, like another Paul, been caught up into the third heaven of theology, and has heard indescribable things which he who is still dominated by the sense-world is not permitted to hear (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:4); and he experiences unutterable blessings, such as no eye has seen or ear heard (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:9).

He becomes a steward of God’s mysteries (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1), for he is God’s mouthpiece, and through words he communicates these mysteries to other people; and in this he finds blessed repose. For he is now perfected in the perfect God, united in the company of other theologians with the supreme angelic powers of the Cherubim and Seraphim, in whom dwells the principle of wisdom and spiritual knowledge.

~Nikitas Stithatos

The illuminative state pertains to those who as a result of their struggles have attained the first level of dispassion. It is characterized by the spiritual knowledge of created beings, the contemplation of their inner essences and communion in the Holy Spirit. It involves the intellect’s purification by divine fire, the noetic opening of the eyes of the heart, and the birth of the Logos accompanied by sublime intellections of spiritual knowledge.

Its final goal is the elucidation of the nature of created things by the Logos of Wisdom, insight into divine and human affairs, and the revelation of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Luke 8:10). He who has reached this point through the inner activity of the intellect rides, like another Elijah (cf. 2 Kings 2:11), in a chariot of fire drawn by the quaternity of the virtues; and while still living he is raised to the noetic realm and traverses the heavens, since he has risen above the lowliness of the body.

~Nikitas Stithatos

The purgative stage pertains to those newly engaged in spiritual warfare. It is characterized by the rejection of the materialistic self, liberation from material evil, and investiture with the regenerate self, renewed by the Holy Spirit (cf. Colossians 3:10). It involves hatred of materiality, the attenuation of the flesh, the avoidance of whatever incites the mind to passion, repentance for sins committed, the dissolving with tears of the bitter sediment left by sin, the regulation of our life according to the generosity of the Spirit, and the cleansing through compunction of the inside of the cup (cf. Matthew 23:26)–the intellect–from every defilement of flesh and spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:1), so that it can then be filled with the wine of the Logos that gladdens the heart of the purified (cf. Psalm 104:15), and can be brought to the King of the celestial powers for Him to taste.

Its final goal is that we should be forged in the fire of ascetic struggle, scouring off the rust of sin, and steeled and tempered in the water of compunction, so that sword-like we may effectively cut off the passions and the demons. Reaching this point through long ascetic struggle, we quench the fire within us, muzzle the brute-like passions, become strong in the Spirit instead of weak (cf. Hebrews 11:33-34), and like another Job conquer the tempter through our patient endurance.

~Nikitas Stithatos

There are three stages on the spiritual path: the purgative, the illuminative and finally the mystical, through which we are perfected. The first pertains to beginners, the second to those in the intermediate stage, and the third to the perfect. It is through these three consecutive stages that we ascend, growing in stature according to Christ and attaining ‘mature manhood, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13).

~Nikitas Stithatos

When you become aware of increasing ardency in your inner faith and love for God, then you should know that you are bringing Christ to birth within yourself, and that it is He who exalts your soul above terrestrial and visible things and prepares a dwelling-place for it in heaven.

When you perceive that your heart is replete with joy, and poignantly longs for God’s unutterable blessings, then you should realize that you are activated by the divine Spirit.

And when you sense that your intellect is full of ineffable light and the intellections of supernal Wisdom, then you should recognize that the Paraclete is present in your soul, disclosing the treasures of the kingdom of heaven hidden within you; and you should guard yourself strictly as a palace of God and as a dwelling-place of the Spirit.

~Nikitas Stithatos

We must first purge ourselves of the vicious materiality prompted in us by the demons–this is the stage of purification; then, through the stage of illumination, we must make our spiritual eyes lucid and ever light-filled, and this is accomplished by means of the mystical wisdom hidden in God. In this way we ascend to the cognition of sacred knowledge, which through the intelligence imparts things new and old to those who have ears to hear.

Then we in turn must pass on to others images and intimations of this knowledge, conveying its hidden meaning to the purified while withholding it from the profane, least holy things be given to dogs, or the pearl of the Logos be cast before swine-like souls that would defile it (cf. Matthew 7:6).

~Nikitas Stithatos

Simple and unified, the presence of divine light gathers within itself the souls that participate in it and converts them to itself, uniting them with its own unity, and perfecting them with its own perfection. It leads them to descry the depths of God, so that they contemplate the great mysteries and become initiates and mystagogues. Aspire, then, to be purified utterly through ascetic labor, and you will see these mysteries dear to God–of which I have spoken–actually at work within you.

~Nikitas Stithatos