The Philokalia is the most influential book in the recent history of the Orthodox Church, aside from the Bible. It is an anthology of thirty-six spiritual texts written between the fourth and fifteenth centuries by the masters of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, tracing a continuous tradition of the prayer of the heart, or hesychasm, in which the Jesus Prayer plays a growing role, from Evagrios of Pontos to Gregory Palamas. First published in Greek in 1782, and revered for offering a rich tapestry of wisdom on the path to union with God, the texts, largely of monastic origin, serve as a guide to lay people as well as monks in their pursuit of contemplative prayer, 'inner asceticism', and the purification of the soul.

Andrew Louth (Translator)
Andrew Louth is Emeritus Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.
Jonathan L. Zecher (Translator)
Jonathan Zecher is a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at the Australian Catholic University.