The Philokalia
Various Fathers (compiled by Sts. Nikodemos & Makarios)
Summary
A vast anthology of ascetical and mystical writings by over thirty Church Fathers, focused on inner prayer, watchfulness (nepsis), and the purification of the heart.
Who Should Read This
Experienced practitioners of the Jesus Prayer, monastics, those under the guidance of a spiritual father seeking deeper inner stillness.
Key Excerpts
"The mind should be in the heart. Keep your mind there, trying by every possible means to find the place where the heart is."
— St. Nikephoros the Hesychast
"Watchfulness is a continual fixing and halting of thought at the entrance to the heart."
— St. Hesychios the Priest
Editorial Commentary
The Philokalia ('love of the beautiful') is the great treasury of Orthodox hesychast spirituality. It is not meant to be read cover-to-cover but consulted like a reference work under the guidance of a spiritual father. Beginners should start with the shorter texts by Evagrius, Mark the Ascetic, or St. Hesychios. The five-volume English translation by Palmer, Sherrard, and Ware is the standard edition.