This is Bata Bardak’s paper on the
Philokalia given last year to the Spiritual Reading Group at the Carmelite
Library. His selection of readings from the Philokalia is found at (2) on this
blog, following the paper here.
Be still and know that I am God
(Psalm 46:10)
The
Philokalia (“love of the beautiful’) is a collection of Byzantine ascetical and
mystical texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries (1) It is the foundation text for the spiritual
tradition known as hesychasm (or “inner stillness”). The collection was
compiled in the 18th century by St Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain
and Makarios of Corinth, and published in Venice
in 1782.
Originally
the texts were written for the guidance of monks in the practice of the
contemplative life, and were primarily confined to Mount Athos, although
individual works were known in other Orthodox monastic communities. It was only
after its publication in 1782 that the Philokalia became known in the wider
Orthodox Christian community.
Mount Athos
Mount
Athos, commonly referred to as The Holy Mountain, is regarded in the Eastern
Orthodox world as the second holiest site after Jerusalem, and has been the
principal centre of spirituality and monasticism for all Orthodox Churches for
over a thousand years. Dedicated to the Blessed Theotokos, the Athonite
peninsula is an international monastic republic located off northern Greece.
All the Eastern Orthodox Churches are represented by monasteries or sketes.
Twenty monasteries are designated by charter as “Ruling Monasteries” and have
elected representatives in the “parliament” at Karyes, the capital of the
peninsula. The other houses are dependencies of these ruling monasteries.
Currently, seventeen of the ruling monasteries are Greek, one Bulgarian, one
Russian and one Serbian. Other Churches such as the Romanian and Georgian, have
dependent sketes. The “parliament” is responsible for administrative decisions
of pan-Athonite concern. Otherwise each monastery is a self-governing,
independent community within the monastic federation. Mount Athos is reputedly
the oldest modern democracy in the world.
All
forms of Orthodox monasticism are practised at Athos. Unlike the Western
monastic Orders, Eastern monasticism is not as formally structured and falls
into three broad “types”.
The
most ancient form is the ascetic life lived in seclusion in hermitages and
caves. The next level consists of smaller settlements or sketes where monks
live and worship independently on weekdays and only meet in the church for the
Sunday Liturgy. The third level consists of the monasteries proper. Monasteries
may adhere to either of two systems, the cenobitic, by which monks live a
common life in spiritual obedience to an abbot, worshipping and eating
together, or the idiorrhythmic, by which monks have flexibility to set their
own pattern and the community is administered by a council of elders. The
ruling monasteries at Athos are large by Orthodox standards and can house
thousands. Interestingly, a Benedictine monastery operated at Mount Athos from
the 10th to the 14th centuries.
Hesychasm
Hesychasm,
widely practised at Mount Athos, is a spiritual tradition with a history that
dates back to the Desert Fathers of the 4th century.
The
Greek word hesychia means “quietness”
or “inner stillness”, and in early sources from the 4th to the 6th centuries
was sometimes used to indicate a solitary life. However, especially in later
sources
“hesychia
is given an interiorized and spiritual sense, and denotes silence of the
heart. It usually signifies the
quest for union with God through “apophatic” or “non-iconic” prayer, that is to say, prayer that is free
from images and discursive thinking.”(2)
From
the 5th century onwards the main way of attaining this state of “hesychast
prayer” was through the recitation of the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer has
two forms, the most common being; “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on
me”. The Slavonic tradition adds the words “on me, a sinner”.
The
Jesus prayer has its origins in Luke’s Gospel (Lk.18:38), where the blind man
cries “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. Simple variations of this prayer
were employed by the monks of 4th century Egypt, but it was in Northern Greece,
in the mid-5th century that the Jesus Prayer emerged as a distinctive spiritual
way.
By
the 14th century recitation of the Jesus Prayer was accompanied by a technique involving quiet sitting, controlled breathing and
concentration upon the place of the heart. However, the prayer can also be
recited while performing manual labour. The practitioner of hesychasm
seeks to implant the prayer onto the subconscious mind, thus fulfilling Paul’s
injunction to: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes.5:1).
In
the 14th century the Athonite tradition of hesychast prayer was attacked by
Barlaam the Calabrian (c.1290-1348) who criticized the physical technique as
superstitious navel gazing and accused the monks of conjuring up illusions that
distracted from the sacramental life. A period of controversy followed, with
the defenders of hesychasm arguing that it was taken for granted that those who
pursued the spiritual way would be active members of the ecclesial community.
The Philokalia
The
publication of the Philokalia in the 18th century reaffirmed the hesychast
tradition of prayer. In his introduction to the original edition St Nikodemus
described the work as “a mystical school of inward prayer”, whereby “the
intellect is purified, illumined and made perfect”. The movement underwent a
renaissance, spreading beyond the confines of the Athonite monasteries to the
wider Orthodox world and the laity. A translation in Church Slavonic was
published in 1793 for use in the Optina Monastery which became an important
centre of hesychasm in Russia. Translations in Russian, Romanian, Italian and
French followed. The Russian and Romanian translations included additional
texts that were not in the original Greek edition.
In
the 20th century interest in the Philokalia spread to the western world. The
first partial English translation appeared in 1951 when T.S. Eliot persuaded
Faber and Faber to publish translations from the Russian version. The
publication met with surprising success. A complete translation from the Greek
was commenced in 1979 but the fifth volume remains unpublished, partly due to
the death of two of the translators.
Some
contemporary writers argue that the Philokalia teachings on interior prayer
influenced the centering prayer practices taught by Thomas Keating and Thomas
Merton. In Thomas Merton’s words; “This tradition (hesychasm) forms and affects
the whole person: intellect, memory, will, emotion, body, skills, all must be
under the sway of the Holy Spirit”. Merton’s writing on hesychasm were
instrumental in spreading the popularity of the Philokalia in the west. (3) However, some
scholars point out essential differences between hesychast and centering prayer
– hesychast prayer is practiced in solitude, never in the company of others,
its focus is essentially Christian, and while it is not discursive it does
involve the intellect.
For
this session texts have been selected from five writers from different
centuries to illustrate the development of hesychast spirituality over a
thousand years. Some modern historians mistakenly describe hesychasm as a
phenomenon of the later Byzantine period when in fact referring to the
spiritual revival of the 13th and 14th centuries. The spiritual tradition of
hesychasm actually goes back to the earliest centuries of Christianity. The
texts of the Philokalia reflect the development of this tradition while, at the
same time, serving as an active force to spiritual fulfilment and union with
God.
The
earliest texts selected here are from Diadochos, Bishop of Photiki
(c.400-c.486) and belong to the late Classical period. They provide an
important understanding of mystical theology and the importance of prayer.
Diadochos’ writing is subtle and his meaning is not always easy to grasp.
Maximos
the Confessor (580-662) is regarded as an extremely important spiritual writer.
A member of the aristocracy, he was highly educated and possibly served as
secretary to the Emperor Heraklios, later becoming a monk. He was a prolific
writer on all aspects of Christian doctrine and practice, including the
interpretation of Scripture. His Four
Hundred Texts on Love is a beautiful and easily accessible work that links
dogma and prayer.
The
10th century writer, Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022), is regarded as one
of the most brilliant Byzantine theologians and poets, yet there are only two
minor works included in the Philokalia. This is probably because he was so well
known and widely read that the compilers did not see a need to include him in
their anthology. Nonetheless, the short texts included in the Philokalia shine
with their profound insights and deep spirituality.
Almost
nothing is known of Peter of Damaskos. He appears to have lived in the 12th
century. According to his own account, his work began as a collection of
passages from other writers that caught his attention and were noted down for
his personal use. He then added connecting comments of his own. This resulted
in a loosely structured work with digressions and repetitions. However, despite
his lack of order, his readers found that he provided much practical advice.
Peter’s spiritual teaching is balanced and moderate, insisting that spiritual
knowledge, continual prayer and salvation can be achieved by everyone.
The
final writer included in this session is Gregory Palamas (1296-1359). Educated
in Constantinople, he came from a distinguished family with close contacts to
the imperial court. He spent a large part of his life as a hermit at Mount
Athos but was later consecrated Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, the second city
in the Byzantine Empire. The 14th century was a time of political unrest which
saw the expansion of the Ottoman Turks westwards into Christian territories.
Gregory was captured by Turks and imprisoned for a year in Asia Minor where he
engaged in theological debates with the local Moslems. Gregory’s texts in the
Philokalia present hesychast practice in its fully developed form involving
prayer, breathing exercises, postures and inner stillness. One of his texts is
a direct response to the criticism of Barlaam the Calabrian.
Throughout
the thousand year tradition of mystical writing contained in the Philokalia two
themes have remained constant – the importance of inner stillness, and interior
prayer. But it is also emphasised that the practice of hesychasm and spiritual
enlightenment is not an end in itself but must be accompanied by a fully active
and committed Christian life.
Today
hesychasm is practiced by many Christians in both the West and the East, and
increasingly by lay people. Nikodemus himself said in his introduction that the
Jesus Prayer could be used to good effect by anyone and that “unceasing prayer”
should be practised by all. His desire to bring the little known but deeply
spiritual texts of the Philokalia to the wider Christian lay community has been
achieved far more successfully than he could have possibly imagined when the
anthology was first published in 1782.
Notes:
1.
There is also another work known as Philokalia
composed of extracts from Origen compiled in 358-9 AD.
2.
Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia (Timothy Ware) – “Hesychasm” in The Encyclopedia of Orthodox
Christianity, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
3.
Gray Henry & Jonathan Montaldo (eds.) – Merton and Hesychasm: The Prayer of
the Heart and the Eastern Church, Fons
Vitae, 1999.
References:
The
Philokalia (Translated by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard & Kallistos
Ware), Faber and
Faber, 1979 (Vol.1), 1981 (Vol.2), 1984 (Vol.3),
1995 (Vol.4)
John
Anthony McGuckin (ed) – The Encyclopedia of Orthodox Christianity, Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011.
John
W. Larson – The Jesus Prayer, North
Charleston, CreateSpace Independent Publishing,
2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philokalia (accessed 2/6/2015)
Gray Henry &
Jonathan Montaldo (eds.) – Merton and Hesychasm: The Prayer of the Heart and
the
Eastern Church,
Fons Vitae, 1999.
Graham
Speake – Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise,
Limni (Greece), Denise Harvey,
2nd ed. 2014.
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