If after listening to this Introduction to the Philokalia you are inspired to read the Philokalia and learn to pray in a more God-pleasing way, we strongly advise you to do so with the blessing and guidance of your spiritual father. If you do not have a spiritual father, finding one is much more important than reading the Philokalia. 

Fr. Maximos Constas writes: "Before reading any of the works in the Philokalia, it will be helpful to read the following two items. The first is St. Nikodemos’ outstanding summary of all the principle doctrines and practices that the reader will encounter on the traditional path of entry into the Philokalia. The second is his Introduction to the Philokalia, which was omitted by the English translators."  

Listen to the entire Philokalia at Patristic Nectar: https://patristicnectar.org/philokalia

Buy the 4 volume set of the Philokalia: https://www.holycross.org/products/the-philokalia-the-complete-text-4-volume-set  

Read the Introduction by St. Nikodemos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gl2cnU6FIooOKmJEaDQA4PIfwxf3FgpF/view?usp=sharing  

This is the second recording from our new contributor, Timothy D. Please say a prayer for him and his family.  

St. Nikodemos writes:  

"The Spirit enlightens those Fathers wise in divine things, oriented toward uninterrupted watchfulness and attentiveness in all things and guarding of the nous, and He reveals to them a method to again find grace, a method truly wondrous and most scientific. The method was the ceaseless prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God."  

"From this spiritual and scientific work, accompanied also by the practical execution of the commandments and of the remaining moral virtues, because of the warmth which is created in the heart and the spiritual energy from the calling on the all-holy Name, the passions are burned up; because our God is fire, fire which consumes evil (Deut. 4:24). Continuing on, the nous and the heart, little by little, are purified and are unified together. And when they are purified and united, one with the other, from that point the fruits of the Spirit rise up once again in the soul and all the fullness of good things are lavished upon man. And that I may speak briefly, from here it is possible to return to the perfect grace of the Spirit which was granted to us from the beginning in Baptism, and which certainly exists in us, but the passions have buried it, just like the ashes bury the spark."   

"Come all, as many as are members in the Orthodox calling, lay people and monks together, as many as aspire to find the kingdom of God which is within you and the hidden treasure in the field of your heart (Lk. 17:21; Matt. 13:44), which is sweet Jesus Christ. Thusly, free from the captivity of this world and from the wandering of your nous and with a heart purified of the passions, by the ceaseless and awesome calling upon our Lord Jesus Christ and with the other co-operative virtues, which this book teaches, you shall be united together among yourselves and being united together in this way you shall all together be united to God, according to the supplication of our Lord to the Father where he said: 'That they may be one, as we are one' (Jn. 17:11)"   

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