It downgrades
14 September 2021
The most effective means of illumining the mind and the best generator of prayer is to keep vigil. The numbing effect of sleepiness immediately lowers the clarity of the mind. It reduces the intellectual capacity of rational nature to compare, distinguish, select and apply what legitimate ascetic practice demands. As a vehicle for the industry so beloved by the Fathers, keeping vigil always preceded their ascetic labors. The vast efforts of the Fathers regarding the vigil is well known. They insisted on the many and varied benefits of this virtue, since it contributed most excellently to the working of the nous, on which everything depends.
Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos
