Rating: 
Summary: The cure for today's worldly Christians
Review: This collection of writings from the Desert Fathers of the Holy Church is indispensable for those who want grow into the likeness of Christ. The Christianity presented by the Philokalia will seem quite alien to an average American Christian, with it's condemnation of virtually everything that American culture holds dear, but make no mistake, the gospel of the Cross is no different for us than it was for them. I must disagree with another reviewer who said that the entire creed of the Philokalia is "know thyself". By far the central theme and issue is prayer. Not just any prayer per se, but prayer with a purified mind and heart, and so the other crucial theme is the need to purify ourselves and crucify our passions in order to make progress in the Christian life. The Fathers teach not to "know thyself", but to "purify thyself". I have found Philokalia to be extremely helpful, and cannot recommend it highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: precautions
Review: _The Philokalia_ (meaning "love of the beautiful") consists of the compiled wisdom of monks in the Eastern traditions from the fourth to the fifteenth century, covering over a thousand years of Christian wisdom and practical spiritual advice. _The Philokalia_ was first compiled in the eighteenth century by two Eastern monks, Saint Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain of Athos, and Saint Makarios of Corinth. _The Philokalia_ was subsequently translated from Greek into Russian. This edition was translated from the Greek. This wisdom and practical advice has been prominent in the Eastern churches since it was compiled by these two spiritual fathers, as well as being used by the monks of Mount Athos in Greece. The first volume of _The Philokalia_ features the wisdom of such early Eastern Christian monks and desert fathers as Saint Isaiah the Solitary, Evagrios the Solitary, Saint John Cassian, Saint Mark the Ascetic, Saint Hesychios the Priest, Saint Neilos the Ascetic, Saint Diadochos of Photiki, Saint John of Karpathos, and a work attributed to Saint Antony the Great. Much of the material found here includes practical advice for monks on living a life in Christ as well as advice for overcoming spiritual pride and the deceits of demons. Included are ways to avoid the demons of the vices: unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, self-esteem, and pride. The book offers a beautiful account of the struggle of these monks against the flesh in an attempt to live a holy life in Christ free from the constraints of the outer society. This first volume of _The Philokalia_ is a great tribute to the Eastern Christian tradition and to its spiritual achievements in attempting to follow Our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is truly a marvelous volume which gives meaning to a spiritual life.
| 
