St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite 1749-1809
Compunction and tears are engendered by the outwards postures of the
body; that is, when one prays with head uncovered; when he has the
attitude of a condemned man standing before the judge; when he smites
his breast like the Publican; when he keeps his eyes inclined downwards;
when he gathers his thoughts in his heart; when he stands upright in
his Stasidion. Indeed, Stasidia were designed for this
very purpose, to support the arms of Christians and to maintain them in
the posture of one praying throughout the time that they are standing
in Church. This would be impossible if there were no Stasidia,
since the arms of those at prayer would become weary if held up to God
for a long period of time. That lifting the hands in prayer was a custom
of the Prophets and Apostles is attested, on the one hand, by the
Divine David, who says, “Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as
incense, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice,” (Ps. 140:2) and,
on the other hand, by the great Paul, who says, “I desire therefore
that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
disputing” (1 Tim. 2:8). To put it briefly, Stasidia sustain
Christians in Church in the form of one crucified, and through such a
form of the Cross Christians overcome the passions and the demons,
invoking the help of the crucified Savior. In this way, Moses, held up
by Hur and Aaron in the form of a Cross, overcame the Amalekites (Exo. 17:11-12).
These outward and venerable postures, I say, give rise to compunction
and tears in prayer. For the soul within conforms to the outward
postures of the body, according to St. John the Ladder, who says: “The
soul imitates the activities of the body, is molded in accordance with
what the whole body does, and is made to conform thereto” (Ladder, 25). (Christian Morality pg. 492)
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