Apatheia is a Greek term used by the ancient Stoics to describe a state of mind where one is not disturbed by the passions. It is translated as dispassion from a – “without,” and pathos – “suffering” or “passion.” In Philosophy, the passions are the instinctive, emotional, base drives of a human being. The Stoics taught to control one’s tendency to react emotionally or egotistically to events that cannot be controlled. The word was later adopted and further expanded upon in an ecclesiastical sense by the Orthodox Christian Church.
In his Discourses & Sayings, Abba Dorotheos of Gaza says, “Sin is one thing but instinctive reaction or passion is another. These are our reactions: pride, anger, sexual indulgence, hate, greed, and so on. The corresponding sins are the gratification of these passions: when a man acts and brings into corporeal reality those works which were suggested to him by his innate desires.”
St. Isaac the Syrian also speaks on the passions: “When we wish to call the passions by a common name, we call them the world. But when we wish to distinguish them by their special names, we call them passions. The passions are the following: love of riches, desire for possessions, bodily pleasure from which comes sexual passion, love of honor which gives rise to envy, lust for power, arrogance and pride of position, the craving to adorn oneself with luxurious clothes and vain ornaments, the itch for human glory which is a source of rancor and resentment, and physical fear.”
So we see that in the Church, the Sinful Passions include but are not limited to:
- Lust – A very strong sexual desire. Both in the mind, and when it leads to fornication or sexual intercourse outside of marriage.
- Gluttony – Overindulgence, or enjoying the pleasure of an action or item in excess.
- Avarice – Extreme greed. The excessive desire to be rich. The excessive desire to have possessions.
- Anger – When negative and uncontrolled, leading to rage or hatred.
- Despondency – A state of low spirits by loss of hope or courage.
- Dejection – A sad and depressed state.
- Envy – Discontented or resentful longing aroused by another’s possessions or qualities.
- Vainglory – Inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements. Arrogance and pride of position. Craving to adorn oneself with luxurious clothes and vain ornaments. An itch for human glory.
Apatheia is not simply a state of mind, it’s the state of one’s heart, the inner man. By leading our lives anchored in the truth of God, we may live unaffected by the Passions that rage against us every day. In his translation of The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus (reposed 649 A.D.), Archimandrite Lazarus Moore gives us insight into the difference in how apatheia is used in the Stoic and Christian worldviews. He says,
“Dispassion: Gk. Apatheia, which is often misunderstood and mistranslated as ‘apathy,’ ‘indifference,’ or ‘insensibility’ in a Stoic sense. In ecclesiastical Greek ‘dispassion’ means freedom from passion through being filled with the Holy Spirit of God as a fruit of divine love. It is a state of soul in which a burning love for God and men leaves no room for selfish and animal passions. How far it is from the cold Stoic conception may be seen from the fact that St. Diadochus can speak of ‘the fire of dispassion.’”
Our modern world makes it challenging to live free from our passions. Every smartphone and computer has an unending supply of temptations through social media, dating apps, time-sink games, pornography, and various other forms of entertainment. We can indulge the Passions, choosing to live spiritually dead lives, or we can fight for the freedom of our souls. St Justin Popovich tells us, “Freedom from the passions is brought about by the crucifying of both the intellect and the flesh. This makes a man capable of contemplating God. The intellect is crucified when unclean thoughts are driven out of it, and the body when the passions are uprooted (Justin, 1997).”
We often get so distracted by issues in our lives that we forget to contemplate God and look to Him for peace and direction. Blinded by our material surroundings, we forget that we are told not to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2). We are called to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, but the sinful passions keep us far from God, on the road to self-destruction. We must strive to live in a state of apatheia. We are granted free-will, and therefore we must make the decision to resist the passions on our own; no one can force us into it. Abba Dorotheos also tells us, “It is impossible to exist without natural desires arising, but not to give way to them is by no means impossible.” When we take the first step at resisting the passions, God will give us the strength to fulfill that resistence. Abba Dorotheos gives a parable to illustrate our struggles against passions:
“A man who gives way to his passions and suffers for it is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, catches the arrow in his hands, and then plunges it into his own heart. A man who is resisting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, and although the arrow hits him, it does not seriously wound him beause he is wearing a breastplate. But the man who is uprooting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, but who strikes the arrow and shatters it or turns it back into his enemy’s heart.”
Every time we fail, and we do often, we must get back up, repent, and keep running the race of life. By reading the scriptures, reading the lives of Saints, prayer, partaking of Grace through the sacraments of the Church, and submission to God’s will in all things, we may live out our days in apatheia. Not only protected by the breastplate of our struggle, but, God willing, becoming victorious against the passions altogether, and shattering the arrows of the enemy.
Sources
Climacus, J. (2019). The Ladder of Divine Ascent. (L. Moore, Trans.). Independent. Pg. 8-9
Justin, P. (1997). Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ. Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek St. Pg. 152
Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses & Sayings. (Eric P. Wheeler, Trans). Collegeville, MN: Order of Saint Benedict, 2008. Pgs. 80, 170-171.