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Orthodox Spiritual Heritage Collection (4 vols.)
Overview
These classics of Eastern Christian spirituality are specially tailored for those without prior knowledge of the texts or tradition. Foundational works like Philokalia, Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, and The Way of the Pilgrim come alive with careful annotation and vivid translation. Plus M. Basil Pennington’s account of his time on the Holy Mountain, Mt. Athos, provides a window into a historic hub of Eastern monastic communities.
Gathering timeless and contemplative sayings from early Christian monastics; Eastern Christian teachings on prayer, watchfulness and stillness; the nineteenth-century Russian classic on the Jesus prayer; as well as M. Basil Pennington’s The Monks of Mt. Athos, this collection offers reader-friendly editions of essential texts for studying Orthodoxy’s rich spiritual heritage.
In the Logos edition, the Orthodox Spiritual Heritage Collection is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Looking for more on the Philokalia? Check out The Philokalia: A Classic Text of Orthodox Spirituality.
Key Features
- Includes three classic works of Orthodox spirituality
- Provides commentary designed for those with little or no prior knowledge of the texts or tradition
- Presents M. Basil Pennington’s reflections on his time spent on Mt. Athos
Product Details
- Title: Orthodox Spiritual Heritage Collection
- Series: SkyLight Illuminations
- Publisher: SkyLight Paths
- Volumes: 4
- Pages: 944
- Christian Group: Orthodox
- Resource Type: Topical
- Topic: Spirituality; Theology
Individual Titles
- Desert Fathers and Mothers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained annotated by Christine Valters Paintner
- Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts—Selections Annotated & Explained annotated by Allyne Smith and translated by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware
- The Way of a Pilgrim: The Jesus Prayer Journey Annotated & Explained annotated and translated by Gleb Pokrovsky
- The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk’s Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground by M. Basil Pennington
The desert fathers and mothers—ordinary Christians living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Arabia—chose to renounce the world in order to deliberately and individually follow God’s call. They embraced lives of celibacy, labor, fasting, prayer and poverty, believing that by denouncing material goods and practicing stoic self-discipline, they would find unity with the Divine. Their spiritual practice formed the basis of Western monasticism and greatly influenced both Western and Eastern Christianity.
Their writings, first recorded in the fourth century, consist of spiritual advice, parables, and anecdotes emphasizing the primacy of love and the purity of heart. Focusing on key themes of charity, fortitude, lust, patience, prayer, and self-control, their works influenced the rule of St. Benedict and have inspired centuries of opera, poetry, and art.
This edition opens up their wisdom for readers with no previous knowledge of Western monasticism and early Christianity. It provides insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that describes historical background, explains the practice of asceticism, and illustrates how to apply their wisdom.
Provides not only a wonderful introduction to a fascinating world (the opening chapter alone is worth the price of the book), but an invitation to seek our own ‘word’ from the abbas and ammas of Christian antiquity . . . . Offers one of the best guidebooks I’ve seen for those who’ve been called to the contemplative life.
—Paula Huston, author, The Holy Way
Offers the reader a good drink from the clear stream of desert wisdom. She honors the tradition while making it entirely relevant to our times.
—Mary C. Earle, author, The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness
A splendid introduction to one of the most essential periods of the Western contemplative tradition . . . . Offers insight into the austere and wondrous spirituality of the desert . . . and why their pithy teachings remain so essential for the study and practice of Christian spirituality today. [The] commentary makes the wisdom of the desert come alive.
—Carl McColman, author, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, a Benedictine oblate, is author of Lectio Divina—The Sacred Art: Transforming Words & Images into Heart-Centered Prayer, and The Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom among other books. She frequently leads retreats and teaches on the wisdom of Benedictine, Celtic and desert ways of praying. A writer, artist, spiritual director, retreat facilitator and teacher, she directs a global online monastery dedicated to the integration of contemplative practice and creative expression.
Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts—Selections Annotated & Explained
- Annotator: Allyne Smith
- Translators: G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware
- Series: SkyLight Illuminations
- Publisher: SkyLight Paths
- Publication Date: 2006
- Pages: 240
Philokalia, or “the love of the beautiful,” is a collection of writings by monks from the fourth century to the fifteenth century—emphasizing mystical and contemplative practices that engage all of our senses in the acts of worship and prayer.
This introduction to the wisdom of the Philokalia illuminates a text that until now has intimidated the general reader in its scholarly translations from Greek and Russian. Allyne Smith focuses his thoughtful selection on seven themes that recur throughout the five-volume work: repentance, the heart, prayer, the Jesus Prayer, the passions, stillness, and theosis. Smith’s enlightening, accessible facing-page commentary fills in the historical and spiritual context, clarifies core teachings (including the Eastern Orthodox understanding of salvation) and draws connections to modern-day practices such as contemplative prayer.
Filled with centuries of wisdom. . . . Wonderfully explains and simplifies this difficult [text].
—Religious Book Club
An invaluable treasury of wisdom. . . . Offers a simple guide to the way (through one’s heart) and means (through prayer) of arriving from the spiritual starting-point (of repentance in the heart) to the wonderful destination (of stillness and salvation) found in the love of divine beauty.
—John Chryssavgis, author, Light through Darkness: The Orthodox Tradition
[An] authoritative resource . . . . Will go far toward making one of the great treasures of Eastern Christian spirituality accessible to followers of Christ in the West.
—Frederica Mathewes-Green, author, Facing East
Allyne Smith is an Orthodox priest who writes and lectures on Orthodox theology, ethics, liturgy, and spirituality, both in the US and abroad. He teaches theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
G.E.H. Palmer also translated writings from the Philokalia: On Prayer of the Heart.
Philip Sherrard was a poet, translator, literary scholar, theologian, and interpreter of the Orthodox tradition.
Kallistos Ware is a renowned Orthodox theologian, author and translator of the Philokalia.
The Way of a Pilgrim is the timeless account of an anonymous wanderer who set out on a journey across nineteenth-century Russia with nothing but a backpack, some bread, a Bible, and a burning desire to learn the true meaning of St. Paul’s words: “Pray without ceasing.” In this completely accessible new abridgment, all the terms and references are explained for you—with intriguing insights into aspects of the text that are often not available to the general reader.
Now, for the first time in English, comes a truly useful version of the beloved classic of Russian spirituality—one that allows us to actually follow the pilgrim on his way.
—Clark Strand, author, The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditations for Everyday Life
A famous nineteenth-century Russian spirituality text finds new expression.
—Publishers Weekly
I will be recommending this new translation to those interested in learning about the Jesus prayer. Thanks to the helpful annotations, it will be a most useful resource.
—Frederica Matthewes-Green, author, At the Corner of East and Now: A Modern Life in Ancient Christian Orthodoxy
Gleb Pokrovsky is a graduate of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He lives in Boston.
Twenty-five years ago, M. Basil Pennington, OCSO, was the first Western monk to live on Mt. Athos for more than the usually permitted overnight visit. The Monks of Mount Athos chronicles his extraordinary stay, his experiences of the East, and lively conversations with his hosts about theological differences and unfamiliar spiritual practices.
Listen in as Abbot Basil wrestles with historical differences between Christianity’s East and West, learns the Orthodox practice of “the prayer of the heart,” and explores the landscape, the monastic communities, and the food of Athos—a monastic republic like no other place on earth. New to this edition, Archimandrite Dionysios, a monk from “the Holy Mountain,” reflects on the ecumenical openness fostered as a result of, and since, Abbot Basil’s stay.
M. Basil Pennington was a monk for more than 50 years. He lived at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts and was the author of many modern spiritual classics, including Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry, and Who Do You Say I Am? Meditations on Jesus’ Questions in the Gospels.