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The Philokalia: The Complete Text - Volume 3
Third volume of Orthodox Church texts, translated from the Russian, which date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
3 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 1984
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September 29, 2019
Emperor Hadrian, who was born before 100 AD and a great initiate himself, was right in saying: when he went out to seek “the Christians” all he found rather were masters of Serapis and just more effective Theurgists (i.e. experiential manifestors of the noumenal). This in comparison to the overly intellectual and verbose Greek so called “Thaumaturges” of spirit wisdom/Serapis.
Nothing gives better testimony to this fact than these works, the “Philokalia” (“Friend of the Good Wisdom”), translated under the direction of Ouspensky, the great initiate and sphinx of our own era. These works show how ascetically emphatic and dedicated the early eclectic were to attain spiritual realities.
So much of all of this is before the Nicene council era of 320 AD when all was co-opted, deadened and reversed that was original Origenist Christianity out in the Thebaid. So much of these writings of the Philokalia retain the scent of such early words even if many were written, too, after 320 as well.
Macarius’ writings are in these collections and he says the word ecclesia is akin in meaning to a magnet that collects all the best of many things (not “church” as it has been wrongly translated in the New Testament translations). This ecclesia was the holy self prescribed name the first groups around Christ called themselves though others labelled them “Christians.” But they were rather People of The Way per their own testimony, as the book of Acts exactly says of their own, not “Christians” per se. What Eclectic Magnate School and Thaumaturgic Way (the first Christian Apologist Justin Martyr said the first Christians were Thaumaturges) were they then?
If you wish so bad to be a literal, fundamentalist servant to the Bible (Acts) you must seek out and find (through writings such as these, the Philokalia) not then fellow “Christians” and “Churches” (for “churches” is, again, a wrong interpretation of the word ecclesia) but eclectic thaumaturgic people of The Way rather - this way largely forgotten.
Early islamic writings get it right noting Christianity is considered by them to be the teaching of “A Way” not of laws, sharia.
Acts also said wandering Seers - heaven forbid - were coming in among the ecclesia! Who could these be if Joshua so many years before said seers ceased to be called such in his day and now were called prophets.
Dura Europos is the earliest Christian church and not far from Pella where even the enemies of the first Church said the early Christians fled to in the Bar Chochba events (not Bar Chochba), and it shows all signs of being highly eclectic and erudite, as though a bunch of librarians were congregating there with all their most ancient writings from every culture to preserve them. Ammonius Saccas - the teacher of our first theologian Origen, Poryphry, Plotinus, Longinus and Clement of Alexandria - said he had come as the first Christians did: “to salvage all the teachings being lost of the great ages and cultures before it’s too late.”
Seeking such an eclectic makes one not just a hearer but a doer. And where do you find out about such humans? These writings, the Philokalia, begin to get you headed more in the right direction finding out what Christ actually taught, which was only for they who have inner ears for it and are the gatherers, the bees, not just about “peace, peace” but “piece by piece.”
In these writings you find what it meant that Joseph - “who was called Serapis by the Egyptians” - was looking “alongside the outskirts of the field” for the right knowledge and other kinds of beings he found through that.
There are many other greatly informative works of the eclectics; including, with a careful nose, many of the gnostic gospels and gnostic texts (removed from the original canons by Jerome/Pseudo-Tertullian government schills before 320 AD, they putting the Donatists to death). But “some” books among this collection, the Philokalia, are a great beginning to the way of esoteric, true, original and almost fully forgotten Christianity.
Nothing gives better testimony to this fact than these works, the “Philokalia” (“Friend of the Good Wisdom”), translated under the direction of Ouspensky, the great initiate and sphinx of our own era. These works show how ascetically emphatic and dedicated the early eclectic were to attain spiritual realities.
So much of all of this is before the Nicene council era of 320 AD when all was co-opted, deadened and reversed that was original Origenist Christianity out in the Thebaid. So much of these writings of the Philokalia retain the scent of such early words even if many were written, too, after 320 as well.
Macarius’ writings are in these collections and he says the word ecclesia is akin in meaning to a magnet that collects all the best of many things (not “church” as it has been wrongly translated in the New Testament translations). This ecclesia was the holy self prescribed name the first groups around Christ called themselves though others labelled them “Christians.” But they were rather People of The Way per their own testimony, as the book of Acts exactly says of their own, not “Christians” per se. What Eclectic Magnate School and Thaumaturgic Way (the first Christian Apologist Justin Martyr said the first Christians were Thaumaturges) were they then?
If you wish so bad to be a literal, fundamentalist servant to the Bible (Acts) you must seek out and find (through writings such as these, the Philokalia) not then fellow “Christians” and “Churches” (for “churches” is, again, a wrong interpretation of the word ecclesia) but eclectic thaumaturgic people of The Way rather - this way largely forgotten.
Early islamic writings get it right noting Christianity is considered by them to be the teaching of “A Way” not of laws, sharia.
Acts also said wandering Seers - heaven forbid - were coming in among the ecclesia! Who could these be if Joshua so many years before said seers ceased to be called such in his day and now were called prophets.
Dura Europos is the earliest Christian church and not far from Pella where even the enemies of the first Church said the early Christians fled to in the Bar Chochba events (not Bar Chochba), and it shows all signs of being highly eclectic and erudite, as though a bunch of librarians were congregating there with all their most ancient writings from every culture to preserve them. Ammonius Saccas - the teacher of our first theologian Origen, Poryphry, Plotinus, Longinus and Clement of Alexandria - said he had come as the first Christians did: “to salvage all the teachings being lost of the great ages and cultures before it’s too late.”
Seeking such an eclectic makes one not just a hearer but a doer. And where do you find out about such humans? These writings, the Philokalia, begin to get you headed more in the right direction finding out what Christ actually taught, which was only for they who have inner ears for it and are the gatherers, the bees, not just about “peace, peace” but “piece by piece.”
In these writings you find what it meant that Joseph - “who was called Serapis by the Egyptians” - was looking “alongside the outskirts of the field” for the right knowledge and other kinds of beings he found through that.
There are many other greatly informative works of the eclectics; including, with a careful nose, many of the gnostic gospels and gnostic texts (removed from the original canons by Jerome/Pseudo-Tertullian government schills before 320 AD, they putting the Donatists to death). But “some” books among this collection, the Philokalia, are a great beginning to the way of esoteric, true, original and almost fully forgotten Christianity.
April 13, 2021
Ok, wow. So. Everyone I know who's read this book (or collection, as it's probably better described) has been slowly going through one volume over the course of at least a year, if not more. I read all four volumes in a little less than 3 months because I'm insane and because the library I borrowed these from wouldn't let me renew them. This is probably not how this book should be read. It's extremely dense and scholarly. It's meant to be slowly digested, not scarfed up and inhaled like I did. So, this is a "do as I say, not as I do" type of review. Lord have mercy on me.
The Philokalia (meaning "love of the beautiful") is a collection of ancient Christian texts written by a plethora of monks over the course of hundreds of years specifically on the ascetic life and inner prayer. It's an Orthodox classic and includes writings from many well known saints such as St. Gregory Palamas, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and St. Maximos the Confessor. It spans five volumes in the original Greek, but this group of three translators only managed to get four volumes into English before two of them died. So. If there's a good English translation of volume 5 out there that's comparable to these, I didn't find it. But if you know of one (a GOOD one, not just any old translation), comment and let me know!
I need to emphasize that this book was written BY monks TO monks. It is NOT a collection on the average Christian life. Though you can certainly glean many applicable things from it for the simple layman, it was not written that way. Therefore, extreme caution should be taken in reading it. If you're Orthodox, don't read this without direction from your spiritual father (*cough* like I did *cough*). It can be misconstrued if you don't have a proper framework for interpreting it. I prayed and asked for saintly intercession every time I picked this up, because I knew it wasn't written for me, that I'm a novice in the faith, and that I could hurt myself reading it without help. If you aren't Orthodox, don't even bother. This work was written within the Orthodox community where aspects of its theology and way of life are assumed. You will only misinterpret it and become very confused. This is why I rated it four stars instead of five (that and because St. Gregory Palamas's science is really outdated, so a lot of that isn't helpful anymore). It's FANTASTIC, but it is NOT for everyone, not for every Christian, not even for every Orthodox Christian. Proceed with caution.
THAT BEING SAID, I learned so much about my own faith reading this. A lot of it is redundant, but when you're reading it quickly, that's a good thing. It helps solidify the major lessons. While I certainly did not understand all of it and while I know I read it too quickly for everything to penetrate my thick skull, I am a big picture person, and the general flow of it did get through. I felt like something clicked in my brain as far the Orthodox mindset is concerned. I "get it" now.
Be prepared for lots of demon talk. Loooooots of demon talk. Volume One is basically demonology 101, and it's fascinating. I've been to charismatic churches before and NO ONE has ever talked about demonology like this book. Holy cow. If you're not mystically-minded, this book is just going to be nonsense to you. However, I've had occultic experiences, so this was not offensive to me, in fact it was extremely informative! There's also lots of talk on the composition of the soul, the definition and consequences of sin, what temptation is, how it works, and how to guard from it, and above all, the way of contemplative prayer as a means of healing the soul from the passions and bringing about unity with God. If you thought "mindfulness" was just a psych term or "meditation" only something for New Age people, THINK AGAIN because these guys endorse an ancient Christian method of meditation and mindfulness based on the Jesus prayer that they find absolutely ESSENTIAL to the Christian life. Their descriptions of the mind and the passions and the inner work of prayer are both mystical and modern. It was amazing!
I must applaud the translators for putting together a solid English version. The introductions to each work were extremely helpful, as were the translation notes and the Glossary at the end of each book. This was a labor of love, and I cannot FATHOM how hard it was to translate a work this dense in a comprehensible way. It didn't feel clunky or strange. I'm only sad that volume 5 was unable to be completed, but I totally understand why. Losing 2/3 of your translation team does make it hard to continue.
Overall, I found the writings of Evagrius, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and St. Gregory of Sinai to be the most impactful and accessible to me, but they were all good, and they all build off of each other. I believe Nikitas (either him or Nikiphoros) had a piece in vol. 3 about how if looking at a beautiful person causes you to lust after them, you shouldn't blame them, because God made them and He made their beauty good. Rather it's your own soul that desires to misuse that beauty which is at fault, and you need to work on seeing others as God intended instead of blaming them for your sin, and I am HERE FOR THIS!! This same idea actually applies to money and food and possessions as well. These things aren't bad in themselves, but it's our desire to misuse them in ways that bring harm to ourselves and others that is sinful. What a message that we desperately need in today's world!
Now that I've read this, I think I'll have a better foundation for the rest of the Orthodox books I read, though I think reading a "Philokalia for the Average Joe" would help me better comprehend how to apply it to my own non-monastic life. But, I still found reading this so helpful in getting me to reorient my definitions of myself, my soul, sin, God's grace, and prayer in ways that are more historically accurate and in line with what the Apostles taught (vs contemporary theology). I've been given lots of direction on how to pray mindfully, how to spot and fight temptation and demonic attack, and how to view myself and my own shortcomings. But I definitely am still a novice, still a sinner, still fall waaaay short of the marks these guys set. Yet, as they each affirm, no one is perfect. It's not perfection but your desire and effort that God wants. He'll do the rest.
The Philokalia (meaning "love of the beautiful") is a collection of ancient Christian texts written by a plethora of monks over the course of hundreds of years specifically on the ascetic life and inner prayer. It's an Orthodox classic and includes writings from many well known saints such as St. Gregory Palamas, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and St. Maximos the Confessor. It spans five volumes in the original Greek, but this group of three translators only managed to get four volumes into English before two of them died. So. If there's a good English translation of volume 5 out there that's comparable to these, I didn't find it. But if you know of one (a GOOD one, not just any old translation), comment and let me know!
I need to emphasize that this book was written BY monks TO monks. It is NOT a collection on the average Christian life. Though you can certainly glean many applicable things from it for the simple layman, it was not written that way. Therefore, extreme caution should be taken in reading it. If you're Orthodox, don't read this without direction from your spiritual father (*cough* like I did *cough*). It can be misconstrued if you don't have a proper framework for interpreting it. I prayed and asked for saintly intercession every time I picked this up, because I knew it wasn't written for me, that I'm a novice in the faith, and that I could hurt myself reading it without help. If you aren't Orthodox, don't even bother. This work was written within the Orthodox community where aspects of its theology and way of life are assumed. You will only misinterpret it and become very confused. This is why I rated it four stars instead of five (that and because St. Gregory Palamas's science is really outdated, so a lot of that isn't helpful anymore). It's FANTASTIC, but it is NOT for everyone, not for every Christian, not even for every Orthodox Christian. Proceed with caution.
THAT BEING SAID, I learned so much about my own faith reading this. A lot of it is redundant, but when you're reading it quickly, that's a good thing. It helps solidify the major lessons. While I certainly did not understand all of it and while I know I read it too quickly for everything to penetrate my thick skull, I am a big picture person, and the general flow of it did get through. I felt like something clicked in my brain as far the Orthodox mindset is concerned. I "get it" now.
Be prepared for lots of demon talk. Loooooots of demon talk. Volume One is basically demonology 101, and it's fascinating. I've been to charismatic churches before and NO ONE has ever talked about demonology like this book. Holy cow. If you're not mystically-minded, this book is just going to be nonsense to you. However, I've had occultic experiences, so this was not offensive to me, in fact it was extremely informative! There's also lots of talk on the composition of the soul, the definition and consequences of sin, what temptation is, how it works, and how to guard from it, and above all, the way of contemplative prayer as a means of healing the soul from the passions and bringing about unity with God. If you thought "mindfulness" was just a psych term or "meditation" only something for New Age people, THINK AGAIN because these guys endorse an ancient Christian method of meditation and mindfulness based on the Jesus prayer that they find absolutely ESSENTIAL to the Christian life. Their descriptions of the mind and the passions and the inner work of prayer are both mystical and modern. It was amazing!
I must applaud the translators for putting together a solid English version. The introductions to each work were extremely helpful, as were the translation notes and the Glossary at the end of each book. This was a labor of love, and I cannot FATHOM how hard it was to translate a work this dense in a comprehensible way. It didn't feel clunky or strange. I'm only sad that volume 5 was unable to be completed, but I totally understand why. Losing 2/3 of your translation team does make it hard to continue.
Overall, I found the writings of Evagrius, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and St. Gregory of Sinai to be the most impactful and accessible to me, but they were all good, and they all build off of each other. I believe Nikitas (either him or Nikiphoros) had a piece in vol. 3 about how if looking at a beautiful person causes you to lust after them, you shouldn't blame them, because God made them and He made their beauty good. Rather it's your own soul that desires to misuse that beauty which is at fault, and you need to work on seeing others as God intended instead of blaming them for your sin, and I am HERE FOR THIS!! This same idea actually applies to money and food and possessions as well. These things aren't bad in themselves, but it's our desire to misuse them in ways that bring harm to ourselves and others that is sinful. What a message that we desperately need in today's world!
Now that I've read this, I think I'll have a better foundation for the rest of the Orthodox books I read, though I think reading a "Philokalia for the Average Joe" would help me better comprehend how to apply it to my own non-monastic life. But, I still found reading this so helpful in getting me to reorient my definitions of myself, my soul, sin, God's grace, and prayer in ways that are more historically accurate and in line with what the Apostles taught (vs contemporary theology). I've been given lots of direction on how to pray mindfully, how to spot and fight temptation and demonic attack, and how to view myself and my own shortcomings. But I definitely am still a novice, still a sinner, still fall waaaay short of the marks these guys set. Yet, as they each affirm, no one is perfect. It's not perfection but your desire and effort that God wants. He'll do the rest.
July 11, 2010
not really finished; will always read
May 3, 2016
Excellent for spiritual growth
This book has brought about a change in my life. So many things I did not know about how to become closer to God. My whole outlook on life has changed. I highly recommend this book. It is for lay people like me, although it was written to other monks mostly. Very beneficial. Do not pass on this one. This is a book I will re-read.
This book has brought about a change in my life. So many things I did not know about how to become closer to God. My whole outlook on life has changed. I highly recommend this book. It is for lay people like me, although it was written to other monks mostly. Very beneficial. Do not pass on this one. This is a book I will re-read.
April 27, 2011
The Philokalia is the masterwork texts of Eastern Orthodox Spirituality and should be read within the context of a monastic life and the church as whole.
September 11, 2012
A greatly insightful collection from the Early Church including the Desert Fathers.
February 15, 2016
Powerful writings from the early church. Not for the faint of heart.
considering
March 30, 2016Los monjes de las Iglesias Orientales, en Grecia y en Rusia, han usado durante siglos un manual de oración llamado Philokalia. Se trata de una antología de citas de los padres monacales de Oriente desde el siglo tercero hasta la Edad Media, todas ellas relacionadas con la "oración del corazón" o la "oración de Jesús".
La Oración Contemplativa Pág.21
La Oración Contemplativa Pág.21
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