by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | April 23, 2024
Philokalia ’love of the beautiful’
The Philokalia provides a wealth of wisdom and deep insights which I enjoy daily. This five (5) volume set addresses many questions I have and explores with great care and insight topics that deepen my understanding of the human condition and Christian Orthodoxy. Daily reading of these important writings have helped clear the debris that clouds my nous (eye of the soul). I read volume five first and then jumped to volume one.
As a former artist, it became obvious early on how much easier it was to create amazing monsters and how much more difficult it was to create something truly beautiful and wholesome. I believe this fundamental theorem resonates with much of my life to date. Creating monsters is easy and productive, yet this road does not lead to beauty. Believing I could control my life by my own personal will, intellect and talent would lead to a beautiful, satisfying life proved to be folly. As it has turned out –while I accomplished many personal and financial successes—my self-directed control, fortitude and personal management proved to be in error exposing the limits of my man-made rationalism, reasoning and abstract concepts. My nous had become clouded and I was unable to receive the full energy imitating from God which I once knew and experienced as a child. Reading the Philokalia helped clear my nous and return me to the experience and the eternal wisdom provided by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. -db
AE44: The Philokalia Lectures by Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia – An explanation of a special collection of writings of the Greek Fathers including what they are, who compiled them and why, and an overview of various spiritual themes. 6 disk package.
From the 5th Volume: The Philokalia, which means “the love of the good and beautiful”, was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth and first published in Greek in 1782 as an anthology of classic spiritual texts ranging from the 4th and the 15th century. Its rich assortment of edifying literature provides boundless wisdom and guidance regarding prayer, the soul’s ascent to God through grace by its natural “love for beauty”, and its struggle to overcome its own passions and fragmentation.
Orthodox Wiki: The Philokalia is a collection of writings, mostly centering on practicing the virtues and spiritual living in a monastery. In recent decades it has become an important resource for Orthodox Christians, laity and clergy alike, in personal living and in some ways has achieved status as a major secondary spiritual written resource (after the primary one, Holy Scripture) along with St. John Climacus‘ The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Orthodox Wiki Philokalia: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Philokalia
Where to purchase:
Volumes 1 – 4: The Philokalia Complete 4 Volume Set (Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 and Volume 4) Paperback – January 1, 1979 https://www.amazon.com/Philokalia-Complete-Text-Ser-Three/dp/B000KBLIKA
Volume 5: The Philokalia Vol 5 The Full Text Paperback – March 9, 2023 https://www.amazon.com/Philokalia-Vol-Full-Text/dp/1447804864/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&sr=1-4