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Title: The Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts--selections Annotated & Explained (SkyLight Illuminations)
ISBN: 1594731039
Author:
Allyne Smith
Publicate Date: 2006-07-31
Publish: 2006-07-31
List Price: $16.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.21
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $10.10
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Comprehensive collection of early Christian writings
This book presents quotes from early Church fathers, and pairs them with helpful editors' notes on the facing pages. It addresses topics such as prayer and the heart, and how the individual can seek to unite with God in reverence and peace. A brisk read, but requires the reader's full attention at every turn.
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2: Solid resource for meditation, prayer, and theological understanding
The format of this work into sections and each section containing short quotes, makes it ideally suited as a devotional work you can read and meditate with in short bits at a time. The commentary along the facing page makes it easy to find help when you need it. Very clear, concise, and inspiring. A solid edition for theological study or purely as meditation/prayer helps. Highly recommended for all Christians but especially for those nurtured in the Eastern traditions.
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3: An invaluable addition to spirituality and Christian literature shelves
Extensively annotated by Orthodox priest Allyne Smith and skillfully translated by G. E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Bishop Kallistos Ware, Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts, Selections Annotated & Explained is a collection of writings by monks from the fourth to fifteenth centuries, embodying the Eastern Church's interpretation of biblical meaning. Emphasizing mystical and contemplative practices that engage all senses in worship and prayer, Philokalia is wonderfully made fully accessible to professional theologians and lay Christians and spiritualists alike. Each two-page spread contains a passage on the right, and annotations on the left, the better to simplify reference and understanding. An invaluable addition to spirituality and Christian literature shelves, whether as part of a church or home library.
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4: A very readable selection from a great spiritual classic
The Philokalia is Orthodox Christianity's collection of great spiritual writings from the Church fathers. It is a collection of writings that range over about a thousand year period, starting around the year 400. The Philokalia itself is a multi-volume tome of very dense religious writing. I find it a bit like reading Oscar Wilde, in that each sentence is a gem, but the overall effect is that it is unreadable. It's just too dense for the likes of me (or, more correctly, I'm too dense for it.)
So I found this book a wonderful way of approaching the Philokalia. It has brief snippets from the texts -- usually two to four sentences at a time -- that express a single idea of the original author. On the facing page, the editor provides annotations that help you understand the context and intent of the passage. Reading a page or two of the selections can serve as a daily devotional that exposes you to the more mystical Eastern Orthodox flavor of Christianity.
You can't really say that you've read the Philokalia if all you read is this annotated selection, but you may well be able to say that you have been enriched by Eastern Orthodox thought.
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