Philokalia

Part of a series on
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity portal
History
Orthodox Church History Byzantine Empire Ecumenical council Christianization of Bulgaria Christianization of Kievan Rus' East-West Schism Specific regions: Asian Christianity Coptic Egypt · Ukraine
Traditions
Orthodox Church Others: Oriental Orthodoxy Ethiopian Tewahedo Church Coptic Church Church of the East Eastern Catholic Churches Syriac Christianity
Liturgy and worship
Sign of the cross Divine Liturgy Iconography Asceticism Omophorion
Theology
Hesychasm · Icon Apophaticism Filioque clause Miaphysitism Monophysitism Diophysitism Nestorianism Theosis · Theoria Phronema · Philokalia Praxis · Theotokos Hypostasis · Ousia Essence vs. Energies Metousiosis

The Philokalia (Gk. φιλοκαλία, "love of the beautiful") is a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters of the Eastern Orthodox hesychast tradition. They were originally written for the guidance and instruction of monks in "the practise of the contemplative life". The collection was compiled in the eighteenth-century by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St.Makarios of Corinth.

Although these works were individually known in the monastic culture of Greek Orthodox Christianity before their inclusion in The Philokalia, their presence in this collection resulted in a much wider readership due to its translation into several languages, including a seven-volume translation into Russian (Dobrotolyubie) by St. Theophan the Recluse in the nineteenth-century, and subsequent Romanian, Italian and French translations.

The book is a "principal spiritual text" for all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the publishers of the current English translation state that "The Philokalia has exercised an influence far greater than that of any book other than the Bible in the recent history of the Orthodox Church".

Philocalia is also the name given to an anthology of the writings of Origen compiled by Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzus.

History and teaching

The Philokalia was first published in Venice in 1782.

The collection's title is The Philokalia of the Niptic Fathers, or more fully The Philokalia of the Neptic Saints gathered from our Holy Theophoric Father, through which, by means of the philosophy of ascetic practice and contemplation, the intellect is purified, illumined, and made perfect. Niptic is an adjective derived from the Greek Nipsis (or Nepsis) referring to contemplative prayer and meaning "watchfulness". Watchfulness in this context includes close attention to one's thoughts, intentions, and emotions, with the aim of resisting temptations and vain and egoistic thoughts, and trying to maintain a constant state of remembrance of God. There are connections between this ancient practice and modern concepts of cognitive psychology and 'mindfulness'.

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." In contemplative prayer the mind becomes absorbed in the awareness of God as a living presence as the source of being of all creatures and sensible forms. According to the authors of the English translation, Kallistos Ware, G. E. H. Palmer, and Philip Sherrard, the writings of The Philokalia have been chosen above others because they:

...show the way to awaken and develop attention and consciousness, to attain that state of watchfulness which is the hallmark of sanctity. They describe the conditions most effective for learning what their authors call the art of arts and the science of sciences, a learning which is not a matter of information or agility of mind but of a radical change of will and heart leading man towards the highest possibilities open to him, shaping and nourishing the unseen part of his being, and helping him to spiritual fulfilment and union with God."

Nikodemos and Makarios were monks at Mt. Athos, a mountain in northern Greece historically considered the geographical center of Orthodox spirituality and home to many monasteries. The Greek edition was first published in Venice in 1782, with a Church Slavonic edition coming out around the same time, produced by the Ukrainian hieromonk Paisius Velichkovsky. The 19th century saw the publishing of vernacular editions in Russian and several other languages.

The Philokalia is rooted in hesychasm ("quietness"), an inner spiritual tradition with a long history dating back to the Desert Fathers. The practices include contemplative prayer, quiet sitting, and recitation of the Jesus Prayer. While traditionally taught and practiced in monasteries, hesychasm teachings have spread over the years to include laymen. Nikodemos, in his introduction, described the collected texts as "a mystical school of inward prayer" which could be used to cultivate the inner life and to "attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." While the monastic life makes this easier, Nikodemos himself stressed that "unceasing prayer" should be practiced by all.

The full title of the book refers to the original authors as the "Neptic Saints", emphasizing one of the common practices in hesychasm of nepsis or "watchfulness". It refers to much more than general spiritual alertness and vigilance, but includes the practice of watching all of one's thoughts and fantasies, keeping 'guard' over the heart and mind. It has also been compared to "mindfulness" as used in other spiritual traditions.

The hesychasm teachings in the Philokalia, though they may be perceived as bearing a resemblance to Eastern spiritual practises, are viewed by Orthodox Christians as inseparable from the sacraments and liturgy of the Orthodox Church, and are given by and for those who are already living within the framework of the Church. A common theme is the need for a spiritual father or guide.

Contents

This listing of texts is based on the English translation of four volumes by Bishop Kallistos Ware, G.E.H. Palmer, and Philip Sherrard. The fifth volume has yet to be published in English. Some works in the Philokalia are also found in the Patrologia Graecae and Patrologia Latina of J. P. Migne.^{[citation needed]}

Volume 1

• St. Isaiah the Solitary

1. On Guarding the Intellect: 27 Texts

• Evagrius the Solitary

1. Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary.
2. Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts.
3. Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness
4. On Prayer: 153 Texts.

• St. John Cassian

1. On the Eight Vices.
2. On the Holy Fathers of Sketis and on Discrimination.

• St. Mark the Ascetic

1. On the Spiritual Law: 200 Texts.
2. On Those who Think that They are Made Righteous by Works: 226 Texts.

1. Letter to Nicolas the Solitary.

• St. Hesychios the Priest

1. On Watchfulness and Holiness.

• St. Neilos the Ascetic.

1. Ascetic Discourse.

• St. Diadochos of Photiki.

1. On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: 100 Texts.

• St. John of Karpathos

1. For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him: 100 Texts.
2. Ascetic Discourse Sent at the Request of the Same Monks in India.

• St. Antony the Great

1. "On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: 170 Texts."

This piece by Anthony was changed to an appendix in the English translation by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware (1979, p. 327), because of their view that the language and the general idea is not explicitly Christian and may not have been written by Antony.

Volume 2

• St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic (Theodore of Edessa)

1. A Century of Spiritual Texts
2. Theoretikon

• St. Maximos the Confessor

1. Four Hundred Texts on Love, with a foreword to Elpidios the Presbyter
2. Two Hundred Texts on Theology and the Incarnate Dispensation of the Son of God (written for Thalassios)
3. Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice
4. On the Lord's Prayer

• Thalassios the Libyan

1. On Love, Self Control, and Life in accordance with the Intellect (written for Paul the Presbyter)

• St. John of Damascus

1. On the Virtues and the Vices

• A Discourse on Abba Philemon
• St. Theognostos

1. On the Practice of the Virtues, Contemplation and the Priesthood

Volume 3

• St. Philotheos of Sinai
• Forty Texts on Watchfulness
• Ilias the Presbyter

1. A Gnomic Anthology: Part I
2. A Gnomic Anthology: Part II
3. A Gnomic Anthology: Part III
4. A Gnomic Anthology: Part IV

• Theophanis the Monk

1. The Ladder of Divine Graces

• St. Peter of Damascus

1. Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge
2. Book II: Twenty-Four Discourses

• St. Symeon the Metaphrast: Paraphrases of the Homilies of St. Macarius of Egypt

1. Spiritual Perfection
2. Prayer
3. Patient Endurance and Discrimination
4. The Raising of the Intellect
5. Love
6. The Freedom of the Intellect

Volume 4

• St. Symeon the New Theologian

1. On Faith
2. 153 Practical and Theological Texts
3. The Three Methods of Prayer [attributed to him]

• Nikitas Stithatos

1. On the Practice of the Virtues: One Hundred Texts
2. On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect: One Hundred Texts
3. On Spiritual Knowledge, Love and the Perfection of Living: One Hundred Texts

• Theoliptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia

1. On Inner Work in Christ and the Monastic Profession
2. Texts

• Nikiphoros the Monk

1. On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart

• St. Gregory of Sinai

1. On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues, and also on Stillness and Prayer: 137 Texts
2. Further Texts
3. On the Signs of Grace and Delusion, Written for the Confessor Longinos: Ten Texts
4. On Stillness: Fifteen Texts
5. On Prayer: Seven Texts

• St. Gregory Palamas

1. To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia
2. A New Testament Decalogue
3. In Defence of Those who Devoutly Practise a Life of Stillness
4. Three Texts on Prayer and Purity of Heart
5. Topics of Natural and Theological Science and on the Moral and Ascetic Life: 150 Texts
6. The Declaration of the Holy Mountain in Defence of Those who Devoutly Practice a Life of Stillness

Volume 5

This volume has not yet been published in English translation. These are the contents of the modern Greek translation.

• Kallistos and Ignatios the Xanthopouloses

1. Method and precise cannon for those who choose the hesichastic and monastic life: 100 chapters

• Kalistos Angelikoudis

1. Kefalaia (Chapters): 81 chapters

• Kalistos Tilikoudis (presumed the same as Kalistos Angelikoudis)

1. On Hesichastic Practice

• Kalistos Katafygiotis (presumed the same as Kalistos Angelikoudis)

1. On union with God, and Life of Theoria

• Saint Simeon Archbishop of Thessaloniki

1. Chapters on the Sacred and Deifying prayer

• Saint Mark the Gentle

1. On the Words that are Contained in the Sacred Prayer

• Anonymous

1. Interpretation of "Kyrie Eleyson" (Lord Have Mercy)

• Saint Simeon the New Theologian

1. Discourse on Faith and teaching for those who say that it is not possible for those who find themselves in the worries of the world to reach the perfection of the virtues, and narration that is beneficial at the beginning.
2. On the Three Ways of Prayer

• St. Gregory of Sinai
• Excerpts from the life of St. Maximos Kapsokalivis
• All Christians Must Pray Uninterruptedly
• Indices

See also

• Hesychasm
• Jesus Prayer
• Poustinia
• Hermit
• St Paisius Velichkovsky
• The World
• Nepsis

Translations

• Palmer, G. E. H.; Ware, Kallistos; Sherrard, Philip (1979). The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume 1. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 057111377X. 
• Palmer, G. E. H.; Ware, Kallistos; Sherrard, Philip (1982). The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume 2. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-15466-2. 
• Palmer, G. E. H.; Ware, Kallistos; Sherrard, Philip (1986). The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume 3. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571175252. 
• Palmer, G. E. H.; Ware, Kallistos; Sherrard, Philip (1999). The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume 4. Faber and Faber. ISBN 057119382X. 
• Cavarnos, Constantine (2007). The Philokalia: Love of the Beautiful. Institute for Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies. ISBN 1-884729-79-7. 
• Cavarnos, Constantine (2009). The Philokalia: A Second Volume of Selected Readings (Selected Readings from the Philokalia, Volume 2). Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. ISBN 1-884729-91-6. 

Studies

• Paschalis M. Kitromilides, "Philokalia's first journey?" in Idem, An Orthodox Commonwealth: Symbolic Legacies and Cultural Encounters in Southeastern Europe (Aldershot, 2007) (Variorum Collected Studies Series: CS891),