The Philokalia (Gk. The Love of Good Things) is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast tradition, writing from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries on the disciplines of Christian prayer and a life dedicated to God. Most of the authors were monks. The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA // – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... Hesychasm (meaning quietness in Greek) is a mystical tradition of experiential prayer in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... In its simplist form, a Christian is a follower of and a believer in Jesus of Nazareth. ... Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos—a solitary person) is the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ...

Although these works were widely known before their initial publication in the Greek language in 1782, they have since been published in this collection in many languages, including a seven-volume translation into Russian by St. Theophan the Recluse in the nineteenth century. Other than the Bible, and a handful of writings by early Christian Fathers, the Philokalia is by far the most influential and widely admired example of Eastern Orthodox piety in print today. It is featured prominently in another much shorter well-known book called The Way of a Pilgrim, in which a Russian traveler learns to pray from various people he meets on his travels and by reading the Philokalia. Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) constitutes its own branch of the Indo-European languages. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Theophan the Recluse, also known as Theophan Zatvornik, is a well-known saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. ... Parts of this article contradict each other. ... The Apostolic Fathers were a small collection of Christian authors who lived and wrote in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries who are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, but whose writings were not included in the collection of Christian scripture, the New Testament Biblical canon. ... The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of an 19th century anonymous Russian work, seemingly autobiographical, likely by an Athonite monk, detailing the narrators journey across the country while practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia. ...

See also

• Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart by some Church Fathers, is a short, simple prayer that has been widely used, taught and discussed throughout the history of Eastern Christianity. ...

External Links

• English Translation of the Philokalia (This is a different Philokalia)