|
Texts of the Philokalia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Philokalia (Gk. "To Love the Beautiful") is a collection of texts by masters
of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast tradition, writing from the fourth to the
fifteenth centuries on the disciplines of Christian prayer and a life dedicated
to God.
In the introduction of Palmer, Sherrard, and Ware's translation of the
collection into English, Philokalia is defined as, "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, whose striving for
purification of the mind and spiritual perfection are recurring themes in the
Philokalia.
Although these works were widely known before their initial publication in the
Greek language in 1782, they have since been published in this collection in
many languages, including a seven-volume translation into Russian (Dobrotolyubie)
by St. Theophan the Recluse in the nineteenth century. Other than the Bible, and
a handful of writings by early Christian Fathers, the Philokalia is by far the
most influential and widely admired example of Eastern Orthodox piety in print
today. It is featured prominently in another much shorter well-known book called
The Way of a Pilgrim, in which a Russian traveler learns to pray from various
people he meets on his travels and by reading the Philokalia.
Some Main Ideas from “Philokalia”
(Edition of 1895-1900, Moscow)
The limit or the acme of faith is… immersion of the mind in God.
The limit of freedom from wealth is to desire to be possessionless even as
others desire to possess.
The limit of humbleness is forgetting unfalteringly good deeds of oneself.
The limit of love is enhancing friendly attitude to those who insult and
revile you.
You call yourself sinful, but behave as if you are not.
The one who finds oneself sinful and guilty of many evils never disputes,
quarrels, or feels angry with others, but holds everyone as better and wiser
than himself.
Monk, neither desire meat, nor drink wine, lest your mind coarsen…Be not
addictive to meat and wine-drinking, lest you make your mind incapable of
receiving spiritual gifts.
God created man free, therefore for man are praise and punishment. Let
spiritual seekers receive praise and laurels, and the negligent and criminals —
punishment and pain.
The wandering eye causes much suffering to the one who follows it. Keep your
eyes from wandering lest you find no straight way to chastity.
Wisely avoid adverse meetings to keep yourself in goodness.
If you want to conquer lust for wealth, love selflessness and sparing way of
life.
If you want to conquer anger, develop meekness and generosity.
If you want to conquer lasting grief, mourn nothing transient; and if someone
reviles at you, dishonors or irritates you, do not grieve, but, on contrary, be
glad!
Grieve only if you have committed a sin, but even in this case do not grieve
too much, otherwise you may become desperate.
If you want to conquer conceit, do not desire praise, laurels, nice garments,
respect, favor, but like to be blamed and slandered by people, and reproach
yourself as the most sinful among sinners.
If you want to conquer pride, do not say that your deed was done by your
hands and might; say that with God’s help and guidance it was done, not by my
power and efforts.
Laymen asked me, “How we, living with wives and being encumbered with worldly
duties, can know the perfect Christian life?”
I answered, “Do all good that you can, condemn no one, rob no one, deceive no
one, be haughty with no one, hate no one, do not leave church assemblies, be
merciful to the needy, tempt no one, do not violate the honor of others, be
faithful to your wives. Living thus, you will approach the Heavenly Kingdom.”
Everyone judges about others according to one’s own character… Say, someone
happened to stand in night and three men are passing by him. The first of them,
seen him, thinks: he is waiting for someone to commit fornication; the other
thinks: he must be a thief; the third one: he arranged to go to pray with
someone and is waiting for him.
I heard about a brother who, when visiting someone of the community and
seeing his cell non-swept and non-cleaned, thought to himself: blessed this
brother is, for he set aside the earthly concerns and is so immersed in the
highest matters that has no time to tidy the cell. And if he came to a brother
whose cell was tidy, swept, clean, he thought: as the soul of this brother is
pure, so is his cell, and the order in his cell is in accordance with the state
of his soul.
Do not desire the outcome that you want, but desire it to happen, as it will
happen: thus will you be at peace with everyone.
Believe that dishonor and reproach are the medicine for curing the pride of
your soul. And pray for those reproaching you as for the true healers of your
soul…
In response to false accusations say: forgive me and pray for me! When people
ask you whether it is true, tell the truth and then bow humbly and say again:
forgive me and pray for me!
Never prefer your will to the will of your brother.
(There is) the state that consists in contemplating One God and in ardent
love to Him; in this state the mind, permeated with that love, converses with
God in the most direct way.
If disgrace befell over you, be glad: for if it is unjust, then your reward
will be large; and if it is just, then, having learned from it, you can avoid
the retribution.
There is the highest prayer of the perfect ones… — when by unsaid aspirations
of spirit they approach God, Who sees their open hearts.
The one of lowly mind never stays to look at a crowd, gathering of people,
disorder, turmoil; pays no attention to words, talks, clamors, disturbance of
senses: he seeks not to have much and be constantly busy, but to be free,
without cares.
He is never in hurry or confusion; he has no hot and superficial thoughts;
but he always stays in peace. There is nothing that can make him amazed,
confused, terrified… All his joy and gladness is in that which is pleasing for
his Lord. When he touches his forehead to the ground and directs the sight of
his heart to the Holiest of the Holy,… he dares to pray only thus: whatever is
going to happen to me let happen by Your will!
Desert soothes passions. But man has not just to soothe the passions but also
to root them out, i.e. overcome them… The soothed passions wake up once there is
a reason for them to become active again.
The one who wants to love God has to take care about the purity of the soul,
first of all; this purity is attained through conquering the passions. (The one
who has not conquered the passions cannot enter) chaste and pure region of the
heart.
Do not hate a sinner, for we all are to be responsible.
Only after we rid ourselves of passions and lust and put the desires of flesh
under the control of Spirit, only then we accept the cross and follow Christ.
And “withdrawal from the world” is nothing but destruction of passions and
manifestation of the innermost life in Christ.
http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Hs/Ideas_from%20_Philokalia.html
Texts of the Philokalia
(Incomplete)
-
Evagrios the Solitary
- 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
-
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 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 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
-
Thalassios the Libyan
- On Love, Self Control, and Life in accordance with the Intellect
(written for Paul the Presbyter)
- A Discourse on Abba Philemon
-
Nikitas Stithatos
- 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
-
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 Practice 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 Defense of Those who Devoutly
Practice a Life of Stillness
Articles
|
