07 — Prelest
Greek πλάνη (plane) and Russian прелесть (prelest) name spiritual delusion: the acceptance of a false spiritual state as a true one. The two words are not simple equivalents — the Russian carries a connotation of charm that the Greek lacks, and the difference is worth having exactly. This section defines the terms, then sets out the marks by which delusion is recognized and the safeguards the tradition prescribes against it.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (with a distinct Russian development)
Prelest is, after “the passions”, the most frequently used and least defined term of this vocabulary in English-speaking Orthodoxy. It is also the term most often misused — deployed to dismiss another person’s spiritual life, which is a use the tradition that coined it would not recognize.
What Plane and Prelest Name treats the words: πλάνη from πλανάω, “to wander” — the same root that gives the planets their name as the wandering stars; and Slavonic and Russian прелесть, built on a root meaning flattery and guile, which in ordinary modern Russian means “charm, loveliness, delight”. The term therefore names, in Russian, a deception that attracts, and this is exactly the phenomenon it describes. The file also fixes the boundaries: delusion is not the same as error of fact, not the same as heresy, and not the same as mental illness.
The Marks of Delusion and the Safeguards treats the diagnosis and the remedy: St. Ignatius Brianchaninov’s two classical forms — delusion of the imagination, and mnenie, “opinion” — the observable marks of each, and the safeguards the tradition prescribes: imageless prayer, repentance as the sole aim, disclosure of thoughts, obedience, the sacramental life, the ordinary duties, and the refusal of self-appointed spiritual autonomy.
| File | Contents |
|---|---|
| What Plane and Prelest Name | The Greek and Slavonic etymologies and why they differ; the scriptural vocabulary of plane; what delusion is and is not; the general and the particular senses; the word’s disproportionate career in English |
| The Marks of Delusion and the Safeguards | The two forms in Brianchaninov; the marks of each; the safeguards; the guardrail that no one may assess his own attainment; the proportion in which the warnings should be held; and the misuse of the term against others |
See Also
- Diakrisis — the same subject seen from the side of the judgment that averts it
- The Jesus Prayer: Prelest and the Need for Guidance — the treatment this section agrees with
- St. Ignatius Brianchaninov — the tradition’s great diagnostician
- Cautions for the Modern Reader — the guardrails on the whole vocabulary