Philokalia Quotes

“Derived from two Greek words, “love” and “beauty,” the word Philokalia means “love of the beautiful, the exalted, the good.”
― Anthony M. Coniaris, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Our purpose in life in life, that is, life according to the Fathers of the Philokalia, is to keep tending the inner flame of the Holy Spirit which burns before the image (icon) of God in the chapel of our heart. Whenever we feel that the warmth is fading, we need to make an effort to re-kindle it through prayer, inner attention, repentance, ascesis, hesychia, Scripture reading, the Eucharist, almsgiving, acts of charity, etc.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Whether it be your heart that cries or your eyes, let your tears be not tears of despair, not tears of self-pity, not tears of hurt pride, but tears of repentance that lead to salvation.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“In the end Father Silouan made up his mind to say to him, “Before you light up a cigarette, pray and repeat one “Our Father...” To this the shopkeeper replied, “Praying before having a smoke somehow doesn’t work.” To this Silouan observed, “So better not start anything which cannot be preceded by untroubled prayer.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“St. John Chrysostom said, “It is not enough to leave Egypt (sin and death), one must also enter the Promised Land (theosis). Between Egypt and the Promised Land lies a desert.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Learn to perform everything you do in such a way that it warms the heart instead of cooling it. Whether reading or praying, working or talking with others, you should hold fast to this one aim—not to let your heart grow cool. Keep your inner stove always hot by reciting a short prayer, and watch over your feelings in case they dissipate this warmth.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Evagrius, a Desert Father: May the sun, on rising, find you with a Bible in your hand.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“We are not masters of our fate, but neither are we victims of it. We are, indeed, co-creators and cooperators with God and His grace.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Thomas Huxley wrote, “The rung of the ladder was not meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Being an acorn is to have a taste for being an oak tree,” wrote Thomas Merton.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“Once they asked Abba Silouan, “What asceticism do you practice, Father, to receive this wisdom?” And he answered, “I never left a thought in my heart that might anger God.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality

“This is what the Church is all about. It is a redemptive fellowship of forgiven sinners who are in the slow, difficult process of being transformed into saints by the grace of God.”
― Stanley S. Harakas, Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality