Rubén Peretó Rivas: The attention (προσοχή) in Evagrius of Pontus

Basil of Caesarea gave an important place to the attention both as a way to stay faithful to the Lord’s commandment and as a barrier to prevent the assault of the demons through the evil thoughts.Evagrius of Pontus, a disciple of Basil, is well known by his psychological approach to the Christian asceticism in which plays an important role the logismoi or wicked thoughts that are instiled by the demons in the mind. In this paper, I want to discuss the place of the attention in the Evagrius’ teachings, how it is essential for keep the soul free from the demon’s temptations and particularly the psychological meaning that the author assign to this concept.I will specially focus in two of his main works: The Monk. A Treatise on the Practical Life and On Prayer, but taking account the whole of his writings.