The “god” of soccer and Jesus Prayer - Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpatkos

Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpatkos, pictured here (on the right) many years ago with Elder Sophrony Sakharov

The month of June was marked by the world cup in soccer held in Japan-Korea. Many people watched the games between the national teams for several hours a day and knew a lot about these games.

What impressed me was a “prayer” written by an anglican “priest” called Fletcher on the eve of the crucial match between England and Brazil. The prayer was broadcast by the BBC According to the “Eleftherotypia” newspaper (22 June 2002), the prayer is the following: “Rise up o Lord and prevent Brazil from dominating over us. Spread terror over them, Lord. Rise up and extend Your hand to suppress the force of Rivaldo and Ronaldo. 

Plunge Ronaldinio to confusion and, Allmighty Lord, if this does not work either, at least grant us a goal in the last minute, even if from an offside position. Help us, Lord, reach the final, even if it will be held on a Sunday and no one will go to church!” According to “Eleftheros Typos” (21 June 2002) the prayer also contained the phrase “make their goalposts look like … an airport runway and their goalkeeper small like an ant”. And the newspaper commented: “Mercy!”.

At first sight, the content of this prayer brings laughter and creates the impression that one should not take these things seriously. However, the subject has also some very interesting aspects.

For many people, soccer is a religion, a worship. Several expressions used are taken from religion. Spectators sit in the stands and their “gods”, the soccer players, contest as another twelve/eleven gods in the field for Victory. Since soccer is considered by many as a new worship, there is certainly their own god, the god of soccer. They pray to this non-existing god. In fact, there are phrases like “the law of soccer”, “the ball punishes”, “a magician player”. We read in “Kathimerini”: “So we witnessed this year the enlightened of the West break easily the superstition record – one (the coach of Italy) drops ritually some holy water given to him in a bottle by his nun sister; the other (the coach of Spain) kisses passionately, but secretly (so that he is not captured by the eagerly waiting blasphemous cameras) a small icon kept in his purse, probably of San Jose Goleador. 

But the first prize for superstition goes to the English, who for many years now have been worshipping Beckham as the thirteenth Apostle, and this is why they built him a huge statue in Trafalgar Square, to worship in his shadow and pray”. “The fans of all teams respect the customs of superstition -- they cross themselves, they murmur hocus-pocus, they tie their fingers, they pray to Allah. 

But whatever their religion or their soccer god, after all they remain faithful to the doctrine of self-idolatry” (30-6-2002, p.4). After Brazil’s victory they wrote: the German Bild: “God is Brazilian”. The French “Equipe”: “Brazil to eternity”. The “Washington Post”: “A divine carnival of victory. The conquest of the World Cup by Brazil was an opportunity for the glorification of the religion of soccer” (Eleftherotypia, Tuesday 2-7-2002).

Returning to the prayer of the anglican “priest”, let me point out that this shows another reality too, that unfortunately we have spoiled even the holiest moments in our life. Prayer is the most holy communication with God, it is an “intercourse between man and God”. But we pervert even this holy case. We make similar prayers when we ask God to help us in lowly aims and in our worse human passions, to succeed professionally, to gain something, to attract attention or interest, to multiply our money, to see someone punished, to satisfy unlawful and illegal pleasures and ambitions.

We have to understand that prayer is done mostly for the therapy of our soul. We cannot use the name of God for futile matters. Otherwise, we fool not God but ourselves.

Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos on the Jesus Prayer

Here is an interesting post on the Jesus Prayer by the Orthodox Metropolitan (and prolific writer) Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpatkos. It was sent to me by my Facebook friend Fr. John Brian Paprock, an Indian Orthodox priest in Madison, Wisconsin.

Five Stages In Contemplative Prayer

The Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Be Merciful"

We have mainly five stages. This is, roughly, the course of the development of the Jesus Prayer. Each stage has its own grace.


+ Firstly. The reciting of the Jesus Prayer VOCALLY. We repeat the Jesus Prayer with our lips while trying at the same time to focus our attention on the words of the prayer.


+ Secondly. Then the nous takes the Jesus Prayer and says it noetically [WITHIN, MENTALLY OR SPIRITUALLY]. Our whole attention is found again in the words but it is concentrated on the nous [the soul's attention, the Eye of the soul]. When the nous gets tired then we start again to vocalize the prayer with the lips. After the nous has been rested we start again to concentrate our attention there.
St. Neilos advises: Always remember God and your nous will become heaven.


+ Thirdly. The Jesus Prayer then comes down into THE HEART. Nous and heart are now united and combined with each other. Attention is centered in the heart and it is immersed again into the words of the Jesus Prayer which has an invisible depth.


+ Fourthly. The Prayer becomes now self-activating [PRAYER WITHOUT CEASING]. It is done while the ascetic is working or eating or discussing or while he is in church or even while he is sleeping. "I sleep but by heart waketh" is said in the Holy Scriptures (Song of Songs 5:2).


+ Fifthly. Then one feels a divine soft flame within his soul burning it and making it joyful [LOVE, DEVOTION, WARMTH AND VISIONS OF DIVINE LIGHT]. The grace of Christ lives in the heart. The Holy Trinity is established. "We become the habitation of God, when He lives within us, established in the memory. Thus we become the temple of God when Remembrance of His is not disturbed by earthly cares, and mind is not distracted by unexpected thoughts. Fleeing all that, the Friend of God withdraws into Him, chasing away the passions which invite intemperate thoughts, and occupying himself in a way which leads to virtue." (Saint Basil the Great) Thus he feels the Divine Presence within himself and this grace passes through the body which becomes dead to the world and is crucified [THE NOUS RISES ABOVE BODY-CONSCIOUSNESS DURING CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE]. And this is the extremist stage which is sometimes connected with the Vision of the Uncreated Light of the Holy Trinity.


Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos
"A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain"