PhilokaliaEastern Orthodox book of spiritual writings The Philokalia (Ancient Greek: φιλοκαλία, lit. 'love of the beautiful', from φιλία philia "love" and κάλλος kallos "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were originally written for the guidance and instruction of monks in "the practice of the contemplative life".
Greek languageGreek (Modern Greek: ελληνικά, romanized: elliniká; Ancient Greek: ἑλληνική, romanized: hellēnikḗ) is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to the territories that have had populations of Greeks since antiquity: Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, and the .
OrthodoxyOrthodoxy (from Ancient Greekὀρθοδοξία (orthodoxía)'righteous/correct opinion') is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity can refer to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in antiquity, though different Churches accept the creeds and councils to varying degrees.
First Epistle of PeterThe First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from "Babylon", which may be a reference to Rome. The letter is addressed to the "chosen pilgrims of the diaspora" in Asia Minor suffering religious persecution.
Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticismThe degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodoxmonk or nun passes through in their religious vocation. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk or nun is intentionally slow, as the monastic vows taken are considered to entail a lifelong commitment to God, and are not to be entered into lightly.
DevekutJewish concept referring to closeness to God Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus (דבקות; traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 commandments. It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition. Etymology דבק, or deveq, the modern Hebrew word for glue, literally means 'to cling'.
AsceticismLifestyle of frugality and abstinencePursuing enlightenment, the historical Buddha first practiced severe asceticism before recommending a moderated "Middle Way". In Christianity, Francis of Assisi and his followers practiced extreme acts of mortification.Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline,self-imposedpoverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals.Eastern Orthodox theologyEastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by monotheisticTrinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a sacred Tradition, a catholicecclesiology, a theology of the person, and a principally recapitulative and therapeutic soteriology.
NousNous (UK: , US: ), from Ancient Greek: νοῦς, is a concept from classical philosophy, sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, for the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real. Alternative English terms used in philosophy include "understanding" and "mind"; or sometimes "thought" or "reason" (in the sense of that which reasons, not the activity of reasoning).
New TestamentSecond division of the Christian biblical canonImperative moodThe imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. They are sometimes called directives, as they include a feature that encodes directive force, and another feature that encodes modality of unrealized interpretation. An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English phrase "Go."
CatharsisCatharsis or katharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , katharsis, meaning 'purification' or 'cleansing', commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal and restoration. In dramaturgy, the term usually refers to arousing negative emotion in an audience, who subsequently expels it, making them feel happier.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.