Praise for Be Still and Know

Now Featured in the Patheos Book Club
Be Still and Know
God's Presence in Silence
By Norris J. Chumley

What People are Saying

"In Be Still and Know, Norris J. Chumley invites readers behind the curtain to experience ascetic practices and practitioners seldom seen. Focusing on the ancient practice of hesychia (silence)—as experienced in monasteries in Egypt, Greece, and Romania—Chumley skillfully examines the objective of this monastic practice identified as internal stillness as precursor to a direct spiritual experience and union with God. A timely read in a technological world afflicted by a perpetual state of internal static."
—David A. Sánchez, Loyola Marymount University

"The Jesus Prayer, a central discipline among the Hesychast monks of Byzantium, has come to be practised very widely throughout the West. Often there is little knowledge of the background and meaning of the prayer. Be Still and Know, drawing as much on modern spiritual elders, as on the saints of the past, fulfils a very urgent need."
—Andrew Louth, Durham University

"Having followed the development of Be Still and Know from beginning to end, I can attest to its genuine and caring incentive. Having witnessed the increasing lack of silence and stillness in our world, I can also attest to the importance of Norris J. Chumley's contribution."

—John Chryssavgis, author of In the Heart of the Desert

"Norris J. Chumley's book is timely—the academic study of spirituality is on the rise and silence is increasingly hard to come by in the developed world. Be Still and Know offers a survey of the theology behind the Hesychast tradition, provides a lens on how monastics practice Hesychasm today, and hints as to what this ancient practice might offer contemporary spirituality in the West."
—Eileen M. Daily, Loyola University Chicago