Author Topic: The Philokalia (Read 3272 times)

Vladimir · « **on:** September 07, 2011, 10:28:39 PM »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philokalia

Is this a good investment to buy? Realize that the later volumes contain the writings of schismatics, but the first few volumes contain much of the writings of the Desert Fathers which are near impossible to find in English translation. And this really is a treasure.

Caraffa · « **Reply #1 on:** September 07, 2011, 11:18:58 PM »

I have read a bit of the Philokalia and liked it. However I did stay away from Gregory Palamas (whether he is a saint or not I cannot say, there are a number of post-1054 Eastern saints that are on liturgical calendars) since the Church had problems with his teachings on hesychasm, which came to be known as Palamism. Further in regards to the schism, it depends on the date that one gives for the Great Schism. AD 1054 may have been when the cracks started to appear, but the schism wasn't final until after the Council of Florence and the period in between those dates is complex.

Vladimir · « **Reply #2 on:** September 08, 2011, 07:48:49 AM »

That was the main thing I'm worried about (material written by schismatics).

The content must be amazing. The short snippets and references in The Way of the Pilgrim was enough to make me want to buy this book.

I think any Catholic should be safe buying and reading volumes 1&2.

But for further discussion, are there any authors listed below that are undeniably schismatic and need to be avoided?

Quote from: Wikipedia

Volume 1
St. Isaiah the Solitary
1.On Guarding the Intellect: 27 Texts
Evagrius the Solitary
1.Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary.
2.Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts.
3.Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness
4.On Prayer: 153 Texts.
St. John Cassian
1.On the Eight Vices.
2.On the Holy Fathers of Sketis and on Discrimination.
St. Mark the Ascetic
1.On the Spiritual Law: 200 Texts.
2.On Those who Think that They are Made Righteous by Works: 226 Texts.
1.Letter to Nicolas the Solitary.
St. Hesychios the Priest
1.On Watchfulness and Holiness.
St. Neilos the Ascetic.
1.Ascetic Discourse.
St. Diadochos of Photiki.
1.On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: 100 Texts.
St. John of Karpathos
1.For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him: 100 Texts.
2.Ascetic Discourse Sent at the Request of the Same Monks in India.
St. Antony the Great
1."On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: 170 Texts."
This piece by Anthony was changed to an appendix in the English translation by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware (1979, p. 327), because of their view that the language and the general idea is not explicitly Christian and may not have been written by Antony.

Volume 2
St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic (Theodore of Edessa)
1.A Century of Spiritual Texts
2.Theoretikon
St. Maximos the Confessor
1.Four Hundred Texts on Love, with a foreword to Elpidios the Presbyter
2.Two Hundred Texts on Theology and the Incarnate Dispensation of the Son of God (written for Thalassios)
3.Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice
4.On the Lord's Prayer
Thalassios the Libyan
1.On Love, Self Control, and Life in accordance with the Intellect (written for Paul the Presbyter)
St. John of Damascus
1.On the Virtues and the Vices
A Discourse on Abba Philemon
St. Theognostos
1.On the Practice of the Virtues, Contemplation and the Priesthood
Volume 3
St. Philotheos of Sinai
Forty Texts on Watchfulness
Ilias the Presbyter
1.A Gnomic Anthology: Part I
2.A Gnomic Anthology: Part II
3.A Gnomic Anthology: Part III
4.A Gnomic Anthology: Part IV
Theophanis the Monk
1.The Ladder of Divine Graces
St. Peter of Damascus
1.Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge
2.Book II: Twenty-Four Discourses
St. Symeon the Metaphrast: Paraphrases of the Homilies of St. Macarius of Egypt
1.Spiritual Perfection
2.Prayer
3.Patient Endurance and Discrimination
4.The Raising of the Intellect
5.Love
6.The Freedom of the Intellect
Volume 4
St. Symeon the New Theologian
1.On Faith
2.153 Practical and Theological Texts
3.The Three Methods of Prayer [attributed to him]
Nikitas Stithatos
1.On the Practice of the Virtues: One Hundred Texts
2.On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect: One Hundred Texts
3.On Spiritual Knowledge, Love and the Perfection of Living: One Hundred Texts
Theoliptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia
1.On Inner Work in Christ and the Monastic Profession
2.Texts
Nikiphoros the Monk
1.On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart
St. Gregory of Sinai
1.On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues, and also on Stillness and Prayer: 137 Texts
2.Further Texts
3.On the Signs of Grace and Delusion, Written for the Confessor Longinos: Ten Texts
4.On Stillness: Fifteen Texts
5.On Prayer: Seven Texts
St. Gregory Palamas
1.To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia
2.A New Testament Decalogue
3.In Defence of Those who Devoutly Practise a Life of Stillness
4.Three Texts on Prayer and Purity of Heart
5.Topics of Natural and Theological Science and on the Moral and Ascetic Life: 150 Texts
6.The Declaration of the Holy Mountain in Defence of Those who Devoutly Practice a Life of Stillness
Volume 5
This volume has not yet been published in English translation. These are the contents of the modern Greek translation.[12]

Kallistos and Ignatios the Xanthopouloses
1.Method and precise cannon for those who choose the hesichastic and monastic life: 100 chapters
Kalistos Angelikoudis
1.Kefalaia (Chapters): 81 chapters
Kalistos Tilikoudis (presumed the same as Kalistos Angelikoudis)
1.On Hesichastic Practice
Kalistos Katafygiotis (presumed the same as Kalistos Angelikoudis)
1.On union with God, and Life of Theoria[13]
Saint Simeon Archbishop of Thessaloniki
1.Chapters on the Sacred and Deifying prayer
Saint Mark the Gentle
1.On the Words that are Contained in the Sacred Prayer
Anonymous
1.Interpretation of "Kyrie Eleyson" (Lord Have Mercy)
Saint Simeon the New Theologian
1.Discourse on Faith and teaching for those who say that it is not possible for those who find themselves in the worries of the world to reach the perfection of the virtues, and naration that is benefitial at the beginning.
2.On the Three Ways of Prayer
St. Gregory of Sinai
Excerpts from the life of St. Maximos Kapsokalivis
All Christians Must Pray Uninterruptedly
Indices

Hobbledehoy · « **Reply #3 on:** September 08, 2011, 08:08:30 AM »

I have not read these works, but my personal advice for you is to be well grounded on the principles of ascetic and mystical theology according to the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross, before you read the works of the Eastern mystics and ascetics of the post-Patristic ages.

If you do buy an edition of the Philokalia, you may wish to see if the text comes from a scholarly source (a University, etc.) because then the text would theoretically be integral, but you may want to avoid the prefatory matter and annotations from scholars who are either schismatic or naturalistic. Even professed theists can be corrupted by the errors of academia.

I personally would focus on reading such works as those by Father Garrigou-Lagrange before reading venturing on to the pristine sources of Eastern asceticism and mysticism, but then again this betrays my bias in favor of the good ol' Rev. Father Reginald.

:reading:

Graham · « **Reply #4 on:** September 08, 2011, 10:57:11 AM »

Volume 1 of the Philokalia is excellent and will widen anyone's spiritual horizons.

Vladimir · « **Reply #5 on:** September 08, 2011, 11:32:21 AM »

Quote from: Graham

Volume 1 of the Philokalia is excellent and will widen anyone's spiritual horizons.

Indeed. That is what I suspected.

I don't intend on delving deep into the Philokalia or Eastern mysticism in general. Just maybe the first few volumes of the former.

I've yet to read the books by Garrigrou-Lagrange, but I do not do well with overly scholarly/academic works. The direct nature of writers such as Marcus Eremetia are more suited to my level of intellect.

Graham · « **Reply #6 on:** September 08, 2011, 12:05:28 PM »

Quote from: Vladimir

Quote from: Graham
Volume 1 of the Philokalia is excellent and will widen anyone's spiritual horizons.

Indeed. That is what I suspected.

I don't intend on delving deep into the Philokalia or Eastern mysticism in general. Just maybe the first few volumes of the former.

I've yet to read the books by Garrigrou-Lagrange, but I do not do well with overly scholarly/academic works. The direct nature of writers such as Marcus Eremetia are more suited to my level of intellect.

To my surprise I learned the other day that novice Benedictines generally find the Desert Fathers 'dry' (:rolleyes:), and prefer the middle ages. In my limited experience I've found just the opposite. Interestingly, the Desert Fathers understand theology to mean direct or experiential knowledge of god, something like the etymological meaning of 'theosophia', while with the scholastics and afterward theology has come to be more academic.

The Philokalia might really challenge you. These men were serious ascetics.

Vladimir · « **Reply #7 on:** September 08, 2011, 03:08:55 PM »

Quote from: Hobbledehoy

I have not read these works, but my personal advice for you is to be well grounded on the principles of ascetic and mystical theology according to the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross, before you read the works of the Eastern mystics and ascetics of the post-Patristic ages.

If you do buy an edition of the Philokalia, you may wish to see if the text comes from a scholarly source (a University, etc.) because then the text would theoretically be integral, but you may want to avoid the prefatory matter and annotations from scholars who are either schismatic or naturalistic. Even professed theists can be corrupted by the errors of academia.

I personally would focus on reading such works as those by Father Garrigou-Lagrange before reading venturing on to the pristine sources of Eastern asceticism and mysticism, but then again this betrays my bias in favor of the good ol' Rev. Father Reginald.

:reading:

Thanks for the input.

Is Lagrange "accessible" to the person of average intellect? His book on Predestination seems to be attractive (due to the topic) but I'm afraid of spending money to buy a book I cannot comprehend. This hesitation translates into the topic of asceticism, etc as well...

Pyrrhos · « **Reply #8 on:** September 09, 2011, 12:58:57 AM »

Garrigou-Lagrange writes for the average intellect. His books are not something for graduates of the Angelicuм only :wink: As a matter of fact, most of them were written for all ranks of the Catholic flock.

But the more knowledge you already have, and the further advanced you are in the spiritual life, the better will be your comprehension. That is why you can read it over and over again and still gain new fruits.

Vladimir · « **Reply #9 on:** September 09, 2011, 03:10:58 PM »

Quote from: Pyrrhos

Garrigou-Lagrange writes for the average intellect. His books are not something for graduates of the Angelicuм only :wink: As a matter of fact, most of them were written for all ranks of the Catholic flock.

But the more knowledge you already have, and the further advanced you are in the spiritual life, the better will be your comprehension. That is why you can read it over and over again and still gain new fruits.

OK Thanks for that information. Some authors, while their subject may be fascinating, seem to escape the bounds of my understanding.

N.B. I was recently reminded that the mystical theology within the Philokalia may not be appropriate, or useful, reading material for a great number of Catholics - this is true, and I want to clarify that my intent in seeking to purchase the first volume or two of the English translation of this work is to acquire the otherwise rare, if not impossible, works of some of the desert Fathers, such as St. Mark the Ascetic - whose spiritual maxims are greatly edifying and of practical use for a wide range of Catholics.

Graham · « **Reply #10 on:** September 09, 2011, 05:04:21 PM »

Quote from: Vladimir

This hesitation translates into the topic of asceticism, etc as well...

Some of the Desert Fathers in the Philokalia address the connection between ascetic practices and the development of temperance, and the ways that temperance subsequently opens to the other virtues. Laymen should realize that asceticism, of a degree, is essential for every Christian, not just monks.

Sigismund · « **Reply #11 on:** September 09, 2011, 08:16:50 PM »

The Philokalia is a wonderful book, but much of it is Orthodox.

Gregory I · « **Reply #12 on:** September 11, 2011, 01:20:11 PM »

Isn't it weird that such a sentiment can traslate as a warning? lol.

"It's great, but much of it is Orthodox."

If only we could decapitalize that "O."

But I guess then we would sound like Novus Ordites: "Look out, this work is orthodox!"

Roland Deschain · « **Reply #13 on:** September 11, 2011, 06:06:41 PM »

Quote from: Sigismund

The Philokalia is a wonderful book, but much of it is Orthodox.

I would tend to say rather that it is Eastern.

The writings of the pre-schism East are the treasure of the entire Church. I am reading Volume 3 and love it. Although written for monks I believe any seriously minded Catholic can glean some spiritual pearls from the text.

Sigismund · « **Reply #14 on:** September 12, 2011, 09:09:03 PM »

It really depends on where you draw the line. Although the date 1054 is given as the beginning to the schism, in reality communion was maintained by some people in some places longer than that. For example, The Orthodox regard St Sava of Serbia as indisputably Orthodox, not Catholic, and he was post 1054, but Catholics regard him as a saint too. Gregory Palamas was 13 century, but people who know more about it that I say there is nothing objectionable in his writing. My son, who is a Byzantine priest, disagrees.