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| Writings from the Philokalia: On Prayer of the Heart | 
 enlarge | Creators: E. Kadloubovsky, G.e.h. Palmer
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.83
You Save: $8.12 (41%)
New (4) Used (5) from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 366563
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 420
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0571163939
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4819
EAN: 9780571163939
ASIN: 0571163939
Publication Date: July 30, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 | | NEXT » |
 A truly wonderful book, filled with the Spirit of God March 29, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is an English translation of excerpts from the Philokalia, one of the spiritual classics of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It focuses on the Prayer of the Heart, a short Orthodox prayer somewhat akin to the Rosary. It is not dedicated to Mary, but it is intended for daily use by the ordinary believer.
The way that this book is written is very odd to those of us in the West. It pays no attention to chronology. It weaves together pieces of writing, written literally a thousand years apart. It has no chronlogical logic. Instead, the whole presentation is of the timeless truths of the tradition.
I highly recommend the book for two reasons. First, it is filled with wonderful mediations and prayers. It is a very useful book for a believer. While reading it, I often found myself transported by a sense of wonder and grandeur. The Spirit is very much present in these writings.
Second, most of us in the West are entirely ignorant about our fellow Christians in the East, and this is a great pity because the Eastern Church has a wonderfully profound approach to Christian belief. The Eastern Church has a great deal to teach us. This book is a marvelous introduction to that teaching.
Wonderful, just wonderful. June 12, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This little book of readings gives a taste of the book that informed the Russian Pilgrim's prayer life and shed light on the Scriptures for him. It is a joy to share some of the readings referred to in Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way.
 A Beautiful Timeless Text April 27, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is truly the authoritive guide to anyone wanting to enter into the journey of contemplative Christian prayer via the Jesus Prayer..
The text's language can at times be archaic due to when it was written, but the consciousness, the heart and the spirit of this powerful spiritual practice leaps out at you from the pages..
These excerpts from the Philokalia will be a true guide and teacher to anyone who decides to enter this form of Prayer Life..
As one of the writers in the text advises..Sit in your room ..the (Jesus)Prayer will teach you everything..These writing will help you listen to the lessons of the prayer..
Excellent!!
Love of Beatiful Things, and Real Life of Prayer August 8, 2004
Definitions:
a. Philokalia (Greek: 'Love of the Good, the Beautiful'), is an anthology of Christian monastic texts in Greek, that became part of a movement for spiritual renewal in mount Athos monastic life. Compiled by the monk Nikodimos and bishop Makarios, of Corinth, the Philokalia was published in 1782.
b. Jesus prayer: in Eastern Orthodoxy, and recently readopted by Catholics, is a mental invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, alleged to be the most effective mystical method, when repeated continuously. The traditional form of the prayer is 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner', reflects the biblical teaching by the Lord Himself in the Pharisee and the publican parable. The firm Judeo Christian belief that the name of God is so sacred, that its invocation implies a direct meeting with the divine, is at the core of this practice.
c. The Hesychast movement, which has the Prayer of the Heart as its basic 'technique,' was started there by St. Gregory Palamas in the 14th century. The Jesus Prayer (of the Heart) was considered 'unorthodox' when it first showed up on Mt. Athos, but later the Greek Curia were to adopt this Hesycast practice.
PhiloKalia on Prayer:
The Byzantine Canon of spirituality, according to Fr. A. Schmemann, integrated into one vision the writings of the fathers, with the monastic experience of prayer, that sprung from an ascetic way of life, whose summa is the Philokalia.
The selection of texts in the philokalia, in bishop K. Ware's words, 'was no doubt made in part for programmatic reasons. Nevertheless the book as a whole, without being systematic, presents a specific and coherent view of the Christian life.' Relying on both 'Abbas', it is evident that the following issues started in spirit but yielded eventually to blessed rituals;
a. Although the sayings of the desert fathers, following Macarius the great on the arrow prayer in thrice invocations of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Byzantine disciples changed it to the mechanical repetition of Jesus name, based on a dyophysite dogma, for use in defense against the Miaphysite Trisagion.
b. Accordingly, it became more effective to edit the writings of the philokalia, whose text was no doubt, adapted from the sayings of the desert fathers initially intended for their monastic disciples, to a book for all Eastern Orthodox, laity and monks alike, although the necessity of a spiritual counselor is repeatedly emphasized.
c. The evident drawback which became characteristic of Byzantine liturgy in general, was the intentional inclusion of dogma and closely linking it to spirituality. Setting the life of prayer firmly in context of Trinitarian theology and Christology, misperceived the intentions of its great defender, Cyril of Alexandria,from doctrine into daily practice.
d. The philokalia, for obvious dogmatic reasons, shied from the Macarian writings by paraphrasing them, but directly quoting two of his disciples on prayer; Evagrius Ponticus, and St. Basil, and some later students in the desert fathers' school of prayer, Denis Areopagite, G.Palamas, Symeon the New theologian, and Maximus the Confessor.
e. Now, ascetic rules were imposed, as an outward observation, contradicting a main central theme of inner spiritual way. The key concepts became attentiveness, vigilance, to stillness if it ever matures this way, but the continuos remembrance of the Lord stayed there.
Conclusion:
In spite of any drawbacks, due to dogmatic intrusions, the Philokalia stays a collection of beautiful sayings, apart from if its overall theme is clear, and how can you apply them.
To achieve its goal, you need to have the guidance of an experienced elder, from the Macrian tradition of the unceasing prayer. Examine and compare an update of the original tradition of ecumenical Alexandrian Orthodoxy when you study and apply;
+ Orthodox prayer life, The interior way+, By the Abbot of St Macarius, in Skete, Mattew the Poor.
The Place to Start the Philokalia October 10, 2003
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Philokalia is a collection of Patristics from Eastern Orthodox Monasticism. Starting from the 2nd to 3rd century to just after the historical break between the Western Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox, the many writings were arranged by St Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain (Mt. Athos) & Theophan the Recluse in the 19th century. A few years ago when I was buying this series, there were 4 books with a 5th being published. This book, "Prayer of the Heart" is but an edition from the 4 books about the Jesus Prayer or Prayer of Attention. The prayer came into BEING during the early Egyptian Monastic period of the 3rd or 4th century when the Catholic Church became legal in the Roman Empire, but was in a state of BECOMING until the finished prayer was defended by St. Gregory Palamas in the 14th century. The highlight for me was the writings from St. Symeon the New Theologian, about the 4 methods of prayer (Using Images, Fighting Thoughts, Silence, & Discipline under an Abbot) which helped me remove imagination during prayer. These are not the 4 methods as in bodily prayer, attentive prayer, prayer of the feelings, or spiritual prayer, which are explained by other Church Fathers within this fine book. An introduction or easier book to read about this subject mater is "The Way of the Pilgrim" which is also sold by Amazon.com.
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