Home » Mind & Soul » Eastern Orthodox Church » The Philokalia

The Philokalia

© Steve Hayes

SHOULD I READ THE PHILOKALIA?

The Philokalia is a collection of texts on monastic prayer and life compiled by St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of Corinth. It was published in the late 18th century, though most of the texts are a great deal older. Slavonic and Russian translations were also published, and its publication contributed to the revival of monasticism in the 19th century.

The Philokalia was subsequently popularised in lay circles by a book published in Russia a century later, which has been translated into English with the title "The way of a pilgrim". This book in turn became more widely known in the English-speaking world through J.D. Salinger's novel "Franny and Zooey".

What these books deal with, directly or indirectly, is the hesychast tradition in Orthodoxy. Hesychasm, from the Greek word for "silence" is linked to the ideal of "prayer without ceasing", particularly using the "Jesus prayer" - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

When people first hear about these things, they are sometimes curious, and want to know more. If they start asking, however, they will also often meet with a strange reticence and almost secretiveness, on the part of those who know something about it. Someone may ask where they can get hold of a copy of the Philokalia, and be frustrated because the person they ask changes the subject, or tries in some other way to avoid giving a direct answer. This may lead the questioner to think that there is something very mysterious about it, and that it is part of some esoteric or even occult knowledge.

If the questioner persists, they may be told that the Philokalia is not for beginners, and that saying the Jesus Prayer without a "spiritual father" can be spiritually dangerous.

What is it about this book that makes it so dangerous, and the subject of such warnings?

One of the biggest problems is that many of the Western people who become interested in reading the Philokalia are seeking "spirituality" rather than God. Though Orthodox Christians sometimes use the world "spirituality" it is often much more prosaic and down-to-earth than many Western Christians think, and even more down to earth than many New Age people (who have also shown an interest in the Philokalia) expect. Much of the Philokalia deals with daily living as a Christian in a close-knit monastic community.

A Western Christian, and especially a Protestant, who wants to read the Philokalia would probably do well to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life together" as an introduction. Bonhoeffer was a German Evangelical pastor of the Confessing Church, which opposed the influence of Nazism on Christians. Bonhoeffer helped to establish and lead a seminary. His book is a guide to community living in the seminary.