The Philokalia: The Complete Text

416 Pages·1982·3.8 MB·English

by  Philip Sherrard, ed.)

The
Philokalia

THE COMPLETE TEXT

rompiled by

St Nikodimos of the

Holy Mountain
and

St Makarios of Corinth

VOLUME TWO

Translatedfrom the Greek

rmd edited by

G.E.H Palmer, Philip Sherrard

Kallistos Ware

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foberandfober

?'he Philokalia is a collection of texts wriuen

between the fourth and the fifteemh centuries by

spiriwal masters of the Orthodox Christian

tradition. First published in Greek in

1782,translated imo Slavonic and later into

Russian, The Philoka/ia has exercised an influence

far greater than that of any book other than the

Bible in the recem history of the Orthodox

Church. It is concerned with themes of universal

importance: how man may develop his inner

powers and awake from illusion; how he mav

overcome fragmentation and achieve spiriwal

wholeness; how he may auain the life of

contemplative stillness and union with God.

Only a selection of texts from The Phi/okalia has

been available hitherto in English. The present

rendering, which is a completely new translation,

is designed to appear in five volumes. The first of

these was published by Faber and f.'aber in 1979.

The second volume consists mainly of writings

from the seventh cenwry, in particular by St

Maximus the Confessor, the greater part of which

has never before been translated into English. As

in the first volume, the edirors have provided

introductory notes to each of the writers, a glossary

of key terms, and a detailed index.

£8.'39

ISBN 0-571-15466-2

9 780571 154661

NET

'5
The Philokalia

VOLUME I I
THE PHILO KALlA

THE COMPLETE TEXT

compiled by

ST NIKODIMOS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

and

ST MAKARIOS OF CORINTH

translatedfrom the Greek
and edited by

G . E . H . PAL M E R
P H I L I P S H E R RA R D
KAL L I ST O S WARE

with the assistance <j

THE H O LY T R A N S F I G U RATI O N M O N AS T E R Y
(BRO O K L I N E)
C O N ST A N T I N E CAVA R N O S
B A S I L O S B O R N E
N O R M A N RUS S E L L

VOLUME II

ti

faberandfober
First published in I 98 I

by Faber and Faber Limited

3 Queen Square London WCIN JAU

Reprinted 1984

This paperback edition first published in I 990

Printed in Great Britain by

Richard Clay Ltd Bungay SuiTolk

All rights reserved

© The Eling Trust I98 I

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall

not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired

out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior

consent in any form of binding or cover other than that

in which it is published and without a similar condition

including this condition being imposed on the

subsequent purchaser.

A CIP record for this book is available

from the British Library

ISBN 0-57I-15466-2
C O N T E N T S

I N T R O D U CT O R Y N O T E

p age

N OT E O N B I B L I C A L QU OTATI O N S A N D R E F E R E N C E S

ST T H E O D O R O S T H E G REAT AS C E T I C
Introductory Note
A Century of Spiritual Texts
Theoretikon

9

I I

ST M A X I M O S T H E C O N FE S S O R
Introductory Note
Four Hundred Texts on Love
Foreword to Elp idios the· Presbyter
First Century
Second Century
Third Century
Fourth Century I OO
Two Hundred Texts on Theology and the Incarnate
Dispensation of the Son of God. Written for
Thalassios
First Century
Second Century I I 4
I 3 7
Various Texts on Theology , the Divine Econom y , and
Virtue and Vice
First Century
Second Century
Third Century
Fourth Century
Fifth Century I 64
I 8 8
2 I o
2 3t;
2 6 I
On the Lord's Prayer 2 8t;
8

C ONTENTS

ST T H A LASS I O S T H E L I B Y AN
Introductory Note
On Love, Self-control, and Life in accordance with
the Intellect. Written for Paul the Presby ter
First Century
Second Century
Third Century
Fourth Century page 306
S T J O H N O F D A M A S K O S
Introductory Note
On the Virtues and the Vices 3 3 3
A D I S C O U R S E ON A B B A P H I LI M O N
Introductory Note
Discourse 343

ST T H E O GN O S T O S
Introductory Note
On the Practice of the Virtues, Contemplation and
the Priesthood

G L O S S A R Y

A P P EN D I X
The Various Texts attributed to S t Maximos the

Confessor

I N D E X
Persons and Sources
Subjects

3 9 I

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