The Philokalia is an important collection of spiritual writings from the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. It was compiled in the 18th century by the monks Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos) and Makarios of Corinth. The texts were originally written by various early Christian and Byzantine authors (including Evagrius Ponticus, John Climacus, and Maximus the Confessor) and span from the 4th to the 15th century.
At the heart of the Philokalia is the practice of inner stillness, especially through the "Prayer of the Heart" ("Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me"), aimed at theosis—the deification of the human being through union with God. The collection emphasizes asceticism, watchfulness (nepsis in Greek), spiritual discernment, and the purification of the heart.
To this day, it is considered a foundational work for Orthodox mysticism and contemplative prayer.
If persistent and pure prayer has freed us from all earthly charms and you regard them all as shadows, and if we have completely focused our spirit on the presence of God, then a covenant partner arises for us in the love of God. The pleading call to prayer causes love for God to bubble up in our soul like a spring, seizing our spirit and allowing it to behold a mysterious land.
The more rain falls, the more it softens the earth. The more often we call on the name of Christ, undisturbed by any thought, the more fruitful he will make the soil of our hearts, making it tremble with joy and delight.
All thinking enters the heart through a certain meaningful representation. But it is only then that the blessed light of divinity shines upon it when it has withdrawn from all things and no longer has any imagery. The radiance of the divine light reveals itself to the pure spirit through the absence of all thoughts...
Johannes von der Leiter says that God first reveals Himself to the spirit, then to the soul, in order to purify the one He loves. Later, He grants him light that makes the spirit clairvoyant and godlike.
© BLI - Thomas Schuh 2025