Is there a philokalia equivalent for laity?

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RyanJPII

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Ive heard alot of great things about the Philokalia but more frequently that it is directed at monastics and is difficult for the laity.

Is there a philokalia-type book directed toward the laity?
 
Try reading The Way of a Pilgrim. It’s an 18th century Russian spiritual novel which draws on the Philokalia.

-ACEGC
 
In the way of a pilgrim the author lists specific sections of the Philokalia that are appropriate for anyone without a spiritual director. I don.t have it in front of me now. If your interested I would be glad to look them up for you. I find all the writings of St. Theophan the recluse to be very useful in my prayer life.

Peace
 
hazcompat said:
In the way of a pilgrim the author lists specific sections of the Philokalia that are appropriate for anyone without a spiritual director. I don.t have it in front of me now. If your interested I would be glad to look them up for you. I find all the writings of St. Theophan the recluse to be very useful in my prayer life.

Peace
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The sections of the Philokalia recommended in The Way of the Pilgrim essentially constitute the book Writings from the Philokalia: On the Prayer of the Heart. Although the book is translated from the Russian instead of the Greek, it’s still absolutely wonderful and is a great addition to anyone’s library; especially if one is intimidated by the complete Philokalia.

St. Theophan in pretty much the bomb (to put it in technical mystical-theological terms). 👍 I love him because much of what is available of his writings in English is geared specifically with the lay person in mind.
 
RyanJPII said:
Ive heard alot of great things about the Philokalia but more frequently that it is directed at monastics and is difficult for the laity.

Is there a philokalia-type book directed toward the laity?
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Hi RyanJPII,

I would recommend a good handful of books, but nothing is going to replace reading The Philokalia itself. According to Met. Kallistos of Diokleia (one of the translators), the compilers of The Philokalia intended that the book(s) would be read by all Christians of good-will, not just monastics, and, ironically, not just Orthodox. Even the monk of Mt. Athos who urged G.E.H. Palmer to begin the work of translating and publishing the book(s) in English was eager that all Christians of good-will would read the texts. So don’t be afraid to pick it up and start reading.

That being said, it does take some discernment to figure out which of the texts and practices are exclusively the domain of monastics, and which are universally applicable. A spiritual guide would be useful here, but in the absence of a spiritual guide, one can turn to other resources such as further reading, conversations with other knowledgeable and experienced Christians, listening to CDs and podcasts on the topic, etc. Although a spiritual guide is the ideal, we must be realistic that the vast majority of Christians do not have access to a good guide.

Other books that I would recommend as either “primers” on The Philokalia, or just great sources on Eastern(Byzantine) spirituality are: The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, The Inner Kingdom by Met. Kallistos Ware, On the Prayer of Jesus by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It by St. Theophan the Recluse. Those would all be a great start. 👍
 
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