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The Philokalia (Gk. f????a??a "love of the beautiful/good") is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast
Hesychasm

Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast ....
 tradition
Tradition

The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
, writing from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries on the disciplines of Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 prayer
Prayer

Prayer is the act of communicating with a deity or spirit in worship. Specific forms of this may include praise, requesting divine providence, confessing sins, as an act of reparation or an expression of one's emotional expression....
 and a life dedicated to God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. The work was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth.

In the introduction of G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrard

Philip Sherrard was a British poet, translator, literary scholar, philosopher and author whose works covered metaphysics, theology, art and aesthetics....
 and Kallistos Ware's translation of the texts into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, Philokalia is defined as the "love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent, understood as the transcendent source of life and the revelation of Truth." The original authors were mostly monks
Monasticism

Monasticism is the religion practice in which one renounces world pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work. The origin of the word is from Ancient Greek, and the idea was originally related to Christian monks....
, whose striving for purification of the heart and spiritual perfection are recurring themes in the Philokalia.

Although these works were widely known before their initial publication in the Greek language
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 in 1782, they have since been published in this collection in many language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s, including a seven-volume translation into Russian (Dobrotolyubie) by St. Theophan the Recluse
Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse, also known as "Theophan Zatvornik" , is a well-known saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born George Vasilievich Govorov, in the village of Chernavsk....
 in the nineteenth century.






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The Philokalia (Gk. f????a??a "love of the beautiful/good") is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast
Hesychasm

Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast ....
 tradition
Tradition

The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
, writing from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries on the disciplines of Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 prayer
Prayer

Prayer is the act of communicating with a deity or spirit in worship. Specific forms of this may include praise, requesting divine providence, confessing sins, as an act of reparation or an expression of one's emotional expression....
 and a life dedicated to God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. The work was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth.

In the introduction of G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrard

Philip Sherrard was a British poet, translator, literary scholar, philosopher and author whose works covered metaphysics, theology, art and aesthetics....
 and Kallistos Ware's translation of the texts into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, Philokalia is defined as the "love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent, understood as the transcendent source of life and the revelation of Truth." The original authors were mostly monks
Monasticism

Monasticism is the religion practice in which one renounces world pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work. The origin of the word is from Ancient Greek, and the idea was originally related to Christian monks....
, whose striving for purification of the heart and spiritual perfection are recurring themes in the Philokalia.

Although these works were widely known before their initial publication in the Greek language
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 in 1782, they have since been published in this collection in many language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s, including a seven-volume translation into Russian (Dobrotolyubie) by St. Theophan the Recluse
Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse, also known as "Theophan Zatvornik" , is a well-known saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born George Vasilievich Govorov, in the village of Chernavsk....
 in the nineteenth century. Other than the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 and a handful of writings by early Christian Father
Apostolic Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers are a small number of Early Christianity authors who lived and wrote in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century....
s, the Philokalia is by far the most influential and widely admired example of Eastern Orthodox piety in print today. It is also featured prominently in a well-known short book called The Way of a Pilgrim
The Way of a Pilgrim

The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of a 19th century Anonymity Russian work, detailing the narrator's journey across the country while discovering practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia....
, in which a Russian traveler learns to pray from various people he meets on his travels and by reading the Philokalia.

Texts


  • Saint Isaiah the Solitary
    • On Guarding the Intellect: Twenty-Seven Texts


  • Evagrios the Solitary
    Evagrius Ponticus

    Evagrius Ponticus, or Evagrius the Solitary was a Christian monk and ascetic. One of the rising stars in the late fourth century church, he was well-known as a keen thinker, a polished speaker, and a gifted writer....
    • Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life
    • Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts
    • Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness
    • On Prayer: 153 Texts
  • Saint John Cassian
    John Cassian

    Saint John Cassian , John the Ascetic, or John Cassian the Roman, is a Christian theology celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches for his mystical writings....
    • On the Eight Vices
    • On the Holy Fathers of Sketis and on Discrimination
  • Saint Mark the Ascetic
    • On the Spiritual Law: 200 Texts
    • On Those who Think that They are Made Righteous by Works: 226 Texts
    • Letter to Nicolas the Solitary
  • Saint Hesychios the Priest
    • On Watchfulness and Holiness
  • Saint Neilos the Ascetic
    • Ascetic Discourse
  • Saint Diadochos of Photiki
    Diadochos of Photiki

    Saint Diadochos of Photiki was a fifth century ascetic whose work is included in the Philokalia.Scholars have acknowledged his great influence on later Byzantine saints such as Maximos the Confessor, John Climacus, Symeon the New Theologian, and in general the Hesychasm movement of the 14th century....
    • On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: 100 Texts
  • Saint John of Karpathos
    • For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him: 100 Texts
    • Ascetic Discourse Sent at the Request of the Same Monks in India


  • Saint Theodoros the Great Ascetic
    • A Century of Spiritual Texts
    • Theoretikon


  • Saint Maximus the Confessor
    • Four Hundred Texts on Love (Foreword to Elpidios the Presbyter)
    • Two Hundred Texts on Theology and the Incarnate Dispensation of the Son of God, Written for Thalassios
    • Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice
    • On the Lord's Prayer
      Lord's Prayer

      The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages in houses of worship of all shapes and size...


  • Thalassios the Libyan
    • On Love, Self Control, and Life in accordance with the Intellect (written for Paul the Presbyter)


  • Saint John of Damascus
    • On the Virtues and the Vices


  • A Discourse on Abba Philemon
    • Discourse


  • Saint Theognostos
    • On the Practice of the Virtues, Contemplation and the Priesthood


  • Saint Philotheos of Sinai
    • Forty Texts on Watchfulness


  • Ilias the Presbyter
    • A Gnomic Anthology


  • Theoretikon


  • Theophanis the Monk (Theophan the Monk)
    • The Ladder of Divine Graces


  • Saint Peter of Damascus (Peter Damascene)
    • Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge
    • Book II: Twenty-Four Discourses


  • Saint Symeon Metaphrastes
    Symeon Metaphrastes

    Saint Symeon Metaphrastes was the most renowned of the Byzantine Empire hagiographers. Scholars have been very much divided as to the period in which he lived, dates ranging from the 9th century to the 14th having been suggested; but it is now generally agreed that he flourished in the second half of the 10th century....
    : Paraphrases of the Homilies of Saint Macarius of Egypt
    Macarius of Egypt

    Macarius of Egypt was an Egyptian Christianity monasticism and hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder, Macarius the Great and The Lamp of the Desert....
    • I. Spiritual Perfection
    • II. Prayer
    • III. Patient Endurance and Discrimination
    • IV. The Raising of the Intellect
    • V. Love
    • VI. The Freedom of the Intellect


  • Saint Symeon the New Theologian
    Symeon the New Theologian

    Symeon the New Theologian is the latest of three saints of the Eastern Orthodox church to have been given the title of Theologian thus, although his title of "new" was likely to distinguish him from another contemporary Symeon ....
    • On Faith
    • 153 Practical and Theological Texts
    • The Three Methods of Prayer (Attributed to Saint Symeon)


  • Nikitas Stithatos
    Nikitas Stithatos

    Niketas Stethatos born c. 1000 died c. 1090...
     (Nikitas Stethatos)
    • On the Practice of the Virtues: One Hundred Texts
    • On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect: One Hundred Texts
    • On Spiritual Knowledge, Love and the Perfection of Living: One Hundred Texts


  • Theoliptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia
    • On Inner Work in Christ and the Monastic Profession
    • Texts


  • Nikiphoros the Monk
    • On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart


  • Saint Gregory of Sinai
    • On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues, and also on Stillness and Prayer: 137 Texts
    • Further Texts
    • On the Signs of Grace and Delusion, Written for the Confessor Longinos: Ten Texts
    • On Stillness: Fifteen Texts
    • On Prayer: Seven Texts


  • Saint Gregory Palamas
    • To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia
    • A New Testament Decalogue
    • In Defence of Those who Devoutly Practise a Life of Stillness
    • Three Texts on Prayer and Purity of Heart
    • Topics of Natural and Theological Science and on the Moral and Ascetic Life: 150 Texts
    • The Declaration of the Holy Mountain in Defence of Those who Devoutly Practice a Life of Stillness


See also

  • Hesychasm
    Hesychasm

    Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast ....
  • Jesus Prayer
    Jesus Prayer

    The Jesus Prayer or "The Prayer" , also called the Prayer of the Heart and "Prayer of the Mind " , is a short, formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly....
  • Poustinia
    Poustinia

    A poustinia is a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where one goes to Prayer in Christianity and Fasting#Roman Catholicism alone in the presence of Trinity....
  • Hermit
    Hermit

    A hermit is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in solitude and/or isolation from society.In Christianity the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Catholic spirituality#Desert spirituality of the Old Testament ....
  • St Paisius Velichovsky
  • The World
    World (theology)

    World is a key concept in theology....


Translations

  • Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy). The Philokalia, Vol. 1 ISBN 0-571-11377-X , ISBN 0-571-13013-5
  • Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy). The Philokalia, Vol. 2 ISBN 0-571-15466-2
  • Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy). The Philokalia, Vol. 3 ISBN 0-571-17525-2
  • Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy). The Philokalia, Vol. 4 ISBN 0-571-19382-X
  • Smith, Allyne. The Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts -- Selections Annotated and Explained (SkyLight Paths, 2006) ISBN 1594731039. This contains selections from the Palmer/Sherrard/Ware translation, with facing commentary.


Popular culture

The Philokalia is featured prominently in a much shorter and well-known book called The Way of a Pilgrim
The Way of a Pilgrim

The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of a 19th century Anonymity Russian work, detailing the narrator's journey across the country while discovering practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia....
. In this book a Russian traveler learns to pray from various people he meets on his travels and by reading the Philokalia.

External links