In-depth reflections on the Jesus Prayer, Philokalia wisdom, and finding inner peace in the modern world.
A complete step-by-step practical guide to practicing Hesychasm and the Jesus Prayer based on The Way of a Pilgrim and the Philokalia: 7 progressive…
The reader has now become acquainted with one of the most significant books of the Eastern Church, which, ever since it first appeared, has remained the
Many Greeks and many Jews attempted the pursuit of wisdom, but only the disciples of Christ attained true wisdom. For they alone had Wisdom itself as their
A discourse full of great profit.
When the flame of unclean passions was burning me, you cooled my intellect — which was fainting under the most shameful thoughts — with the touch
Among these writings I composed a Word on the common life, and in this Word, relying on your prayers, I have ventured to write about the eight sinful
On the Venerable Cassian. Our venerable father Cassian the Roman lived during the reign of Theodosius the Younger in the year 433 after the Birth of Christ.
692 Part Four
FLOWER-GATHERING Advice of Zealous Lovers of Wisdom. Elias, the most humble presbyter who is called the Ekdikos, loved wisdom and compiled them. When you read
Contemplative Chapters by the Same Author. The mind, raised to the height of contemplation, is enlightened after reading these words, and when it falls into
We do not know whether this divine father Elias, who is also called the Ekdikos (defender), was that Elias of Crete who studied the Words of Gregory the
A contemplative discourse of our venerable father Theodore. It is a great struggle to break these strong bonds and to free oneself from servitude to earthly
1. Since by the grace of the good God we have turned away from Satan and his wicked works and have come to Christ through the font of baptism, and since we
It was related of Abba Philemon the anchorite that he withdrew into a cave called Romeou, not far from the Lavra, and there laboured in the struggle of
1. Every living creature that is brought to birth finds one and the same rest and delight in the activity that is best suited to its nature; in that activity
1. God is a dispassionate Intellect, a Light beyond every intellect and every dispassion, and the Source of good light; He is Wisdom, Word and Knowledge, and
1. The beginning of the love of God is contempt for visible and human things; the middle is the purification of the heart and of the intellect, through which
Of blessed Diadochos, bishop of Photiki in Epirus: one hundred practical texts on spiritual knowledge and discernment — on what knowledge must be
1. I think there are four causes that move us to write about things that save the soul. The first is freedom, that is, the soul's dispassion, which through
Блаженного Діадоха, єпископа Ілірика Фотікійського, Слово подвижницьке із 100 глав, а перед ними подано 10 границь. Перша границя віри Безпристрасні думки про
Blessed John of Carpathia, to the monks from India who asked him about this. Never wish to glorify a layman above a monk — one who has a wife and children and
When petitioners come before earthly kings and bring them flowers, they are not turned away but even receive some gift in return. And I, having received your
This is the first Discourse and the letter «alpha», which contains spiritual wisdom. This letter is the beginning of all letters in every
The beginning of this book, with God, of our venerable and God-bearing father, the hieromartyr Peter of Damascus.
Of Saint Isaiah the Solitary
1. Of the enemies who oppose the art of the ascetic life, the first to come out to battle are those entrusted with the appetites of man, and those who plant
The same, from the chapters on sobriety
The Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah: “Do not take a wife, and do not have sons or daughters in this place… they shall die a grievous death” (Jer.
A method and rule, accomplished with God's help and attested by the saints: concerning those who wish to live the monastic life in stillness; concerning their
The same, briefly, on prayer. Unceasing prayer consists in always calling upon the Name of God: whether a person is speaking, or eating, or doing anything
In the body of an ascetic who is attentive in prayer there arise, as it were, certain movements beneath the skin; some regard these as delusion. Warmth also
By the Same Theoleptos of Philadelphia
Chapters on Prayer by the Blessed Kallistos, Patriarch
The monastic order – is a tree with abundant leaves and fruits, and its root is estrangement from everything bodily, the branches are the passionlessness of
A discourse full of great profit for you who desire to obtain the beautiful divine revelation of our Saviour Jesus Christ; for all who wish to receive
1. There is within us a noetic warfare more grievous than the warfare of the senses. He who works at piety must therefore go forward and press on noetically
1. Watchfulness is a spiritual art; practised long and attentively, with God's help it delivers a man from passionate thoughts, words and evil deeds. It
The monk Theophanes, when he was in compunction, composed the Ladder of Divine Gifts, which the God-bearing fathers know from experience
1. Sometimes, because of the hardship of the labour, it is right to sit on a stool, and sometimes for a while on your bed, so as to rest. You must sit
The divine Gregory the Sinaite came to Saint Maximus and, conversing with him, said to him among other things: “I beg you, my holy father, tell me: do you
There are two ways of communion with God, or two entrances into the state of prayer, which the Holy Spirit sets in motion in the heart. According to these
Other chapters by the same author
Famous reflections on stillness and prayer by the same author, and also on the signs of grace and delusion, on the difference between fervor and energy, and
Chapters of our holy father Gregory of Sinai, arranged in the Greek text as an acrostic; most profitable various texts on the commandments, doctrines,
By the same father of ours, Symeon the New Theologian, Discourse on the Three Methods of Prayer: three methods of attention and prayer, by which the soul is
Of the same venerable father of ours, Symeon the New Theologian, a Discourse on Faith, and Instruction for Those Who Say That It Is Impossible for Those Who
Beloved son Nicolas, some time ago you told us about yourself: how you grieved over your salvation and were full of many concerns, living for God; with what
Of Our Venerable Father Symeon the New Theologian
1. The error of those who believe only in outward appearance will be exposed in what follows by those who believe firmly and have come to know the truth.
Of Our Holy and God-Bearing Father Mark the Ascetic on the Spiritual Law
Instructions of Our Holy Father Anthony the Great in 170 Chapters on Human Character and a Virtuous Life
All chapters of the book «Philokalia» systematically grouped by author for convenient reading:
By the grace of God I am a Christian man, in my deeds a great sinner, by calling a homeless wanderer of the humblest station, roaming from place to place. My
Hesychasm is the ancient Christian contemplative tradition of sacred stillness and prayer of the heart. Discover how patristic mindfulness transforms anxiety into divine peace.
The Philokalia can appear intimidating, but "The Way of a Pilgrim" offers a direct key. Here is how modern seekers can unlock timeless patristic contemplative wisdom.
