Writings from the Philokalia : On Prayer of the Heart

Rating:
Summary: Love of Beatiful Things, and Real Life of Prayer
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Standard Source
Review: If you have any interest in the Philokalia at all, you should start with this book. It is not the entire text, by a long shot - the complete text of the Philokalia in English is still being produced, although I believe that most of it has been published. This book deals with those portions of the Philokalia that discuss the Jesus Prayer.

If your interest is in the Prayer, this book belongs on your book shelf. As it is also a representative sample, this book will also help you decide if you want to tackle the entire Philokalia. The book was first published quite a few years ago, and it has been quoted in so many sources that if you're interested in the subject at all you will probably find that you have already read sizable portions of it.

Rating:
Summary: The Standard Source
Review: If you have any interest in the Philokalia at all, you should start with this book. It is not the entire text, by a long shot - the complete text of the Philokalia in English is still being produced, although I believe that most of it has been published. This book deals with those portions of the Philokalia that discuss the Jesus Prayer.

If your interest is in the Prayer, this book belongs on your book shelf. As it is also a representative sample, this book will also help you decide if you want to tackle the entire Philokalia. The book was first published quite a few years ago, and it has been quoted in so many sources that if you're interested in the subject at all you will probably find that you have already read sizable portions of it.

Rating:
Summary: The Pilgrim's Philokalia
Review: The four volumes (soon to be five) of the Philokalia in English have been justly hailed as a great publishing event, making widely available the greatest and most profound compendium of spiritual writings in the Orthodox Christian Tradition. This volume, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, was published early in the Fifties, and is undoubtedly the spark that set off the whole Philokalia enterprise. Also a translation from the Philokalia, only from the seven volume Russian tranlation of the renowned starets, Theophan the Recluse, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart is a one-volume compilation from the much larger collection, and this can be said to be its chief virtue: the selections were clearly chosen with an eye to texts that are of the most immediate and practical use by the reader. There is every indication that the selection may have been made by a wise spiritual elder for one of his disciples, creating a "portable" Philokalia, as it were. Readers of the Philokalia are probably all acquainted with the wonderful little book, The Way of the Pilgrim, which tells an outwardly charming but deeply serious story of the search by an unnamed Russian pilgrim for a method of prayer that will fulfill the Scriptural command to pray without ceasing. A volume like this one, possibly even the very same texts as contained herein, is said to be the Philokalia that the Pilgrim himself carried on his travels through 19th Century Russia. As such, for all those with an insatiable spiritual hunger for communion with God, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, will be a spiritual treasure to return to again and again.

Rating:
Summary: The Place to Start the Philokalia
Review: 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. An introduction or easier book to read about this subject mater is "The Way of the Pilgrim" which is also sold by Amazon.com.

Rating:
Summary: The Place to Start the Philokalia
Review: 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. An introduction or easier book to read about this subject mater is "The Way of the Pilgrim" which is also sold by Amazon.com.

Rating:
Summary: The Prayer of the Heart
Review: This excellent selection of writings from 'Dobrotolubiuye' (St. Theophan's Russian translation of the Philokalia) was made by the translators and first published in 1951 in English. E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer were both students of P. D. Ouspensky, known for his presentation of G. I. Gurdjieff's early teachings in Russia. The connection is interesting, because Gurdjieff is known to have been a very 'unorthodox' teacher.

The Prayer of the Heart was 'unorthodox' when it first came to Mt. Athos. 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. Those who practised the prayer were known as 'naval gazers'. After some time the Church authorities accepted the practice of the prayer and kicked those who opposed it out of the church.

A description of the four stages of the Prayer of the Heart:

1. bodily prayer - reading, standing and prostrations
2. attentive prayer - collecting thoughts saying the words with awareness
3. prayer of the feelings - thought with attention becomes feeling of the heart
4. spiritual prayer - ceaseless prayer without words

The advice in the book is to seek a guide to learn the Prayer of the Heart so that your prayer does not become just 'talking to the wind'. That does not mean that to start practising the prayer should be put off until to-morrow!