HeyJaredThe Pragmatic Mystic: An Orthodox Miscellany
The Substack page of Addison Hodges Hart. A page primarily concerned with the interior and ascetical life of the Orthodox (and classical) Christian Tradition.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 14
- Latest publication
- Sep 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Aug 1, 2026
Latest issues
From the margins (1): Attrait, Baron von Hügel, the Grail, and Joseph Campbell (opens the original)
Read excerpt
There are four “yogas” that are essential aspects of Vedanta (the word yoga literally refers to a “yoke,” and by extension, a “yoga” is a practice that fosters “union” with the divine). All four are “branches” of a single religious “tree,” but each of the four, as Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902) described them in his book Raja Yoga (1896), appeals to different human temperaments. Karma Yoga, the way of selfless or non-egocentric service, appeals to the active, hands-on type; Bhakti Yoga, the way
Evagrius of Pontus: Three videos, two websites (opens the original)
Read excerpt
The influence of Evagrius of Pontus in the history of Christian ascetic thought, both in the East and in the West, is incalculable. Like many others, I believe the condemnation of his writings (along with those of Origen and Didymus the Blind) by the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553 — 154 years (!) after his death — was immensely unjust (to say the least). Regardless of that fact, however, the contemporary scholarly English translation of The Philokalia includes four titles under his name, and ma
Work, monks, acedia, salvation, and us (opens the original)
Read excerpt
One of the more charming letters of St. Jerome (and, yes, as irascible as he could be, he could also be charming) is that addressed to Rusticus, a young man trying to decide between embarking on the life of a hermit or remaining in a monastic community (this “Rusticus,” by the way, is not to be confused with another, quite different man of the same name, with whom Jerome also corresponded; the letter I cite here is his Letter CXXV). Jerome wisely cautions Rusticus against going to live in the ho
“Unceasing Prayer”: ten retreat conferences with Fr. Cassian Folsom (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Back in August, I published a post that included audio recordings from a retreat given in 2013 for the monks of St. Benedict Abbey in Still River, Massachusetts. In retrospect, I believe I should have provided links to all ten parts of the series. The theme of the retreat was “unceasing prayer.” The presenter was Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., whose biographical information, as found on the <a href="https://adoremus.org/author/father-
Simon of Cyrene (opens the original)
Read excerpt
The short reflection below is an adaptation – very much reworked – of a chapter taken from my book, Silent Rosary (Wipf & Stock, 2021), which was written in collaboration with my wife, Solrunn Nes. The celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross occurs this coming Monday (September 14), and a “Cross-related” post seemed to me to be especially appropriate for the occasion. I will be back later in the week with an entirely new essay and another “gratis post,” as well. <a href="https://addisonh
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.
See coverage about The Pragmatic Mystic: An Orthodox Miscellany