Philokalia—The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts: Selections Annotated & Explained

By Allyne Smith

The Eastern Christian “Love of the Beautiful” can
be a companion on your own spiritual journey

A collection of writings by monks from the fourth to fifteenth centuries, the Philokalia more than any other text reflects the Eastern Church’s interpretation of the Bible’s meaning. Simply translated, the title means “love of the beautiful,” which reflects the text’s emphasis on mystical and contemplative practices to engage all of our senses in the acts of worship and prayer.

This introduction to the wisdom of the Philokalia illuminates a text that until now has intimidated the general reader in its scholarly translations from Greek and Russian. Allyne Smith focuses his thoughtful selection on seven themes that recur throughout the five-volume work—repentance, the heart, prayer, the Jesus Prayer, the passions, stillness, and theosis. Smith’s enlightening, accessible facing-page commentary fills in the historical and spiritual context, clarifies core teachings, including the Eastern understanding of salvation, and draws connections to modern-day practices, such as contemplative prayer.

Now you can experience the spiritual wisdom of the Philokalia even if you have no previous knowledge of Eastern Christianity. This SkyLight Illuminations edition takes you on a journey through this beloved text, showing you how the teachings of Eastern monks can help you become by grace what God is by nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Oct 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781594733215

Allyne Smith

Allyne Smith is an Orthodox priest who writes and lectures on Orthodox theology, ethics, liturgy and spirituality, both in the U.S. and abroad. He teaches theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Book preview

1 | Repentance

Be attentive to yourself, so that nothing destructive can separate you from the love of God. Guard your heart, and do not grow listless and say: How shall I guard it, since I am a sinner? For when a man abandons his sins and returns to God, his repentance regenerates him and renews him entirely.¹

St. Isaiah the Solitary

I, On Guarding the Intellect, sec. 22

Until a man is completely changed by repentance, he will be wise always to remember his sins with sorrow and to recall the eternal fire that they justly deserve.²

Evagrios the Solitary

I, On Prayer, sec. 144

There is a sin that is always unto death: the sin for which we do not repent. For this sin even a saint’s prayers will not be heard.³

St. Mark the Ascetic

I, On Those Who Think that They Are Made Righteous by Works, sec. 41

He who repents rightly does not imagine that it is his own effort that cancels his former sins; but through this effort he makes his peace with God.⁴

St. Mark the Ascetic

I, On Those Who Think that They Are Made Righteous by Works, sec. 42

Each hour of the day we should note and weigh our actions and in the evening we should do what we can to free ourselves of the burden of them by means of repentance—if, that is, we wish, with God’s help, to overcome wickedness. We should also make sure that we perform all our outward tasks in a manner that accords with God’s will, before God and for God alone, so that we are not mindlessly seduced by the senses.⁵

St. Hesychios the Priest

I, On Watchfulness and Holiness, sec. 124

In the biblical story Elisha then threw a stick into the Jordan and brought to the surface the axe-head his disciple had lost (cf. 2 Kings 6:6); that is to say, he revealed a thought that his disciple believed to be hidden deep within him and he exposed it to the view of those present. Here the Jordan signifies speaking about repentance, for it was in the Jordan that John performed the baptism of repentance. Now if someone does not speak accurately about repentance, but makes his listeners despise it by failing to communicate its hidden power, he lets the axe-head fall into the Jordan. But then a stick—and this signifies the cross—brings the axe-head up from the depths to the surface. For prior to the cross the full meaning of repentance was hidden, and anyone who tried to say something about it could easily be convicted of speaking rashly and inadequately. After the Crucifixion, however, the meaning of repentance became clear to all, for it had been revealed at the appointed time through the wood of the cross.

St. Neilos the Ascetic

⁶

I, Ascetic Discourse

The moon as it waxes and wanes illustrates the condition of man: sometimes he does what is right, sometimes he sins and then through repentance returns to a holy life. The intellect of one who sins is not destroyed (as some of you think), just as the physical size of the moon does not diminish, but only its light. Through repentance a man regains his true splendor, just as the moon after the period of waning clothes itself once more in its full light. If a man believes in Christ, Even though he dies, he shall live (John 11:25); he shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and will do it (Ezekiel 17:24, LXX).⁷

St. John of Karpathos

I, For the Encouragement of the Monks in India Who Had Written to Him, sec. 4

Observe, with reference to this passage from Jonah (3:1–9), how the king represents the natural law. The throne is an impassioned disposition in alliance with the senses. The robe is the display of self-esteem. Sackcloth is the grief of repentance. Ashes are humility. Men are those who sin in relation to intelligence; beasts those who sin in relation to desire; cattle those who sin in relation to their incensive power; and sheep those who sin in relation to the contemplation of visible things.⁸

St. Maximos the Confessor

II, Fourth Century of Various Texts, sec. 95

We will not be punished or condemned in the age to be because we have sinned, since we were given a mutable and unstable nature. But we will be punished if, after sinning, we did not repent and turn from our evil ways to the Lord; for we have been given the power to repent, as well as the time in which to do so. Only through repentance shall we receive God’s mercy, and not its opposite, his passionate anger. Not that God is angry with us: he is angry with evil. Indeed, the Divine is beyond passion and vengefulness, though we speak of it as reflecting, like a mirror, our actions and dispositions, giving to each of us whatever we deserve.⁹

St. Theognostos

¹⁰

II, On the Practice of the Virtues, sec. 47

When you fall from a higher state, do not become panic-stricken, but through remorse, grief, rigorous self-reproach, and, above all, through copious tears shed in a contrite spirit, correct yourself and return quickly to your former condition. Rising up again after your fall, you will enter the joyous valley of salvation, taking care so far as possible not to anger your Judge again, so as not to need atoning tears and sorrow in the future. But if you show no such repentance in this present life, you will certainly be punished in the age to

Reviews for Philokalia—The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts

[Krankle32 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Worth to be read and meditate upon such wise words, and not only for Christians (wisdom is not a patrimony of a single religious tradition)