The Philokalia

by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

The first stage, according to St Dorotheos, is knowledge of the tribulations and trials of this life. This fills us with grief for all the damage done to human nature through sin. The second is knowledge of our own faults and of God's bounty, as St John Klimakos, St Isaac and many other fathers express it. The third is knowledge of the terrible things that await us before and after death, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. The fourth is deep understanding of the life led by our Lord Jesus Christ in this world, and of the words and actions of His disciples and the other saints, the martyrs and the holy fathers. The fifth is knowledge of the nature and flux of things, as St Gregory and St John of Damaskos put it. The sixth is contemplation of created beings, that is to say, knowledge and understanding of God's visible creation. The seventh is understanding of God's spiritual creation. The eighth is knowledge -concerning God, or what we call 'theology'.