Prelest

Key takeaways

Prelest belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Prelest to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Prelest from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Prelest, also known as spiritual delusion, spiritual deception, or spiritual illusion, is an Eastern Orthodox Christian term for a spiritual state of false holiness or deluded self-righteousness, believing in one's own spiritual superiority. Prelest should not be confused with mental illness, but is a spiritual illness caused by vainglory, pride, and demonic suggestion. It is said to be cured by humility and the Holy Sacraments under the guidance of one's spiritual father. In a broad interpretation, prelest afflicts everyone, as everyone has wrong thoughts, without fully understanding the meaning of life and the gravity of their sins. In a narrow sense, it refers to a person initially on the path of a pious Christian life, instead becomes proud and conceited about his or her own sanctity and triumph over sin. In Eastern Orthodox thought, the closer people are to God, the more they see their failings, and all true saints see the foulest sins not in others, but in their own hearts and actions. The opposite state to prelest is spiritual sobriety; its opposite virtue is spiritual discernment.

Overview Ignatius Brianchaninov defines prelest as "a wounding of human nature by falsehood". The most thorough explanation of prelest is found in the writings of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, based on the traditions of the Holy Fathers of the first centuries. His writings were compiled in the book On prelest, which details different forms of delusion (wrong ways of prayer, trusting dreams, excessive zeal, false humility etc.), and recounts recent cases. St. Ignatius defines prelest as "wounding of human nature with falsehood" and "man's assimilation of falsehood which he accepts as truth". Some modern ascetics such as elder Joseph the Hesychast, elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain, and Elder Daniel Katounakiotis also wrote about prelest. The concept is very important in Orthodox spirituality and asceticism. It is considered one of the main dangers for a Christian (especially monastic) when beginning the Jesus prayer, or more generally in the first years as an Orthodox Christian. Identifying the manifestations of prelest is called discernment of spirits. The virtue of discrimination "is greater than any other virtue; and is the queen and crown of all the virtues". According to Orthodox Holy Fathers, it corresponds to a very high degree of spiritual maturity and requires three renunciations (Evagrius, St. John Cassian, St. John Climacus): separation from the world, inner struggle with passions, and acquisition of prayerful spiritual knowledge. Discrimination comes after a long experience of fighting the passions, flowing from the action of Divine grace and the practice of humility. Professor N.E. Pestov writes that the safest spiritual path to avoid prelest is to habitually submit to an experienced and holy elder, or at least to respect the advice of others. The fastest way to prelest is to trust one's own thoughts above others' advice.

General prelest and prelest proper According to Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, "Spiritual deception is the state of all men without exception, and it has been made possible by the fall of our original parents. All of us are subject to spiritual deception. Awareness of this fact is the greatest protection against it. Likewise, the greatest spiritual deception of all is to consider oneself free from it". Theophan, the Archbishop of Poltava, comments on this statement of St. Ignatius briefly by setting apart "general prelest" and prelest in its "proper sense" of the word. On the bases of all the above-mentioned he gives the following definition: "Briefly, the difference between 'general prelest' and prelest in the particular sense of the word can, on the basis of the above, be expressed thus. General prelest is forgetting and not noticing one's sinfulness. That which we call prelest proper is attributing to oneself righteousness when it does not actually exist. If a man thinks he is righteous, then his righteousness is not divine, but diabolical, foreign to the grace of God and to humility. One should recall the famous saying of Abba Poemen the Great: 'I prefer a man who sins and repents to one who does not sin and does not repent. The first has good thoughts, for he admits that he is sinful. But the second has false, soul-destroying thoughts, for he imagines himself to be righteous' (Bp. Ignatius, Patericon, 75)".

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Prelest

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Prelest claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Prelest before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Prelest ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Prelest

In research: Prelest appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Prelest in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Prelest is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Eastern Orthodox theology, Illusions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Prelest outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Prelest in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Prelest means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Prelest out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Prelest in simple terms?

Prelest, also known as spiritual delusion, spiritual deception, or spiritual illusion, is an Eastern Orthodox Christian term for a spiritual state of false holiness or deluded self-righteousness, believing in one's own spiritual superiority. Prelest should not be confused with mental illness, but i…

Why does Prelest matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Prelest?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Prelest.