Hillsdale College Department of Philosophy and Religion

Philokalia

A brief background by James Kiefer, via
[Gregory of Nazianzus] and Basil compiled an anthology, called the Philokalia, of the works of the great (but somewhat erratic) Alexandrian theologian, philosopher, and scholar of the previous century, Origen.

The Greek Philokalia that one hears about generally or finds under that title in a bookstore is not the anthology of Origen's works but a collection of the writings of the Fathers. It was compiled in the 18th Century by Macarius of Corinth and Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain. Later, Bishop Theophan the Recluse translated it into Russian. English translations are most often taken from the Russian.

It is referred to in the popular book, The Way of a Pilgrim. It is this later book I would direct people to read first ... to get an introduction to the Jesus Prayer. Besides being good spiritual food, it's a good (true) story and not so ponderous a reading as the Philokalia. Once one's appetite is thereby whetted, there is more chance of actually persevering through a reading of the Philokalia. (Great writings are useless unless we actually read them ... with our goal being to feed our hunger for God's presence.) As one encounters the examples of how prayer transformed these lives, an appetite is sometimes engendered within ourselves for practicing and persevering at this humble prayer taken from Jesus' example of the man who left the temple justified.

According to the forward in the popular subset of that collection called Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, the Philokalia "shows the way to awaken attention and consciousness, and to develop them; it provides the means for acquiring the quickest and most effective conditions for training in what the Fathers, who reached the highest levels, called the art of arts and the science of sciences, leading a man towards the highest perfection open to him."

"The most effective form of that art of arts and science of sciences is manifested as the practice of the Prayer of Jesus, to use its traditional name."

"The primordial condition and absolute necessity is to know oneself. To gain this knowledge the beginner must learn to be alive to the many-sided possibilities of the ego; and he must eliminate all obstacles, personal as well as external, to acquire the best conditions for success. Silence and quiet are indispensable for concentration."

"Practice of the Jesus Prayer is the traditional fulfillment of the injunction of the Apostle Paul to 'pray always'; it has nothing to do with the mysticism which is the heritage of pagan ancestry. This latter appeared in the first two centuries in the Gnostic movement, but was readily rejected by the clear insight of the Fathers, and had no further significant development in Eastern Christianity."

Put in my own terms, an important dimension of the Philokalia bears witness to the Prayer of the Heart practiced by the Fathers of the Church. Perseverance at the mindful repetition of this prayer is for the practice of obedience and pursuit of poverty of spirit. It is not to develop occult powers such as astral traveling or other prideful imaginings. You have heard it said, "desire the fruits of the Spirit" but the way to these is not direct. Nobody obtains humility by seeking humility. Rather, you seek your heart's true desire which is our Lord ... and by grace you respond to God's love with love and a result is humility. Seek God's presence for the spiritual gifts are thereby enlivened. Seek God's Kingdom, for when His law is established in your heart, the fruits of His Spirit will be manifested.

Pax, John +++

See also

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