Philoptochos Spiritual Enrichment Series

The Philokalia

The texts of the Philokalia are guides to the practice of the contemplative life. They constitute, as St. Nikodimos puts it in his introduction, "a mystical school of inward prayer where those who study may cultivate the divine seed implanted in their hearts at baptism and so grow in spirit that they become 'sons of God' attaining through such deification 'the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.' The emphasis is therefore on inner work, on the cleansing of 'the inside of the cup and plate, so that the outside may also be clean'. This does not mean that what one might call outer work--the keeping of the commandments and the practice of the moral virtues--is of no importance. On the contrary, such work is a precondition of that purification without which no real progress in inner work can be made. Indeed, in this respect outer and inner complement one another." St. Nikodemos remarks, however, that many there are who wear their whole life away in outer work and fail to realize the illumination of consciousness and purity of heart which are the goal of the spiritual path that the Philokalia charts for us.

The following is a sample of the wisdom writings on Prayer by Evagrios the Solitary found in the Philokalia:

Do not pray for the fulfillment of your wishes, for they may not accord with the will of God. But pray as you have been taught, saying: Thy will be done in me. Always entreat Him in this way-that His will be done. For He desires what is good and profitable for you, whereas you do not always ask for this.

What is good, except God? Then let us leave to Him everything that concerns us and all will be well. For He who is good is naturally also a giver of good gifts.

Do not be distressed if you do not at once receive from God what you ask. He wishes to give you something better-to make you persevere in your prayer. For what is better than to enjoy the love of God and to be in communion with Him?

Undistracted prayer is the highest intellection of the intellect.

Prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God.

If you long for prayer, renounce all to gain all.

Pray first for the purification of the passions; secondly, for deliverance from ignorance and forgetfulness; and thirdly, for deliverance from all temptation, trial and dereliction.

In your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom of God, that is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given to you.'

It is right to pray not only for your own purification, but also for that of all your fellow men, and so to imitate the angels.

From: The Philokalia, the Complete Text, vol. 1, translated from the Greek and edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard & Kallistos Ware, Farber and Farber Ltd., 1979