PHILOKALIA (Φιλοκαλία). - 1. Name designating a collection of fragments, largely scriptural, of Origen, gathered by St. Basil and by St. Gregory of Nazianzus around 358. The personality of the compilers makes itself felt in the choice of passages, which are sometimes extracts from lost works of the great Doctor (ed. Robinson, Cambridge 1893).

2. An ascetic anthology by the polygraph Nicodemus the Hagiorite is also called F.

The title given by the author, Φιλοκαλία τῶν ἱερῶν ὑππέλων, indicates the character of the work, a collection of writings of the "holy wise and prudent," that is, of about 35 authors, arranged in a supposed chronological order, among whom are found the most celebrated of Eastern asceticism and mysticism, such as the great Anthony, Evagrius, Cassian, Nilus, Diadochus of Photice, Maximus the Confessor, John Damascene, Symeon the New Theologian, Gregory Palamas, etc. The collection is interesting not only for the rarity of the edition, but also because it contains certain works, such as those of Peter of Damascus and Philemon, which did not see the light in PG because a fire burned the printing plates of vol. 152, which was to have housed them. The editio princeps of the F. was made in Venice in 1782. Another was made in Athens in 1893.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: For the F. of Origen, v. G. Bardy, in DHG, VI, col. 1123; F. Pust, in DB, IV, coll. 1886-88.

Emmanuele Candel

@incollection{ec5_filocalia_philokalia, author = {Candal, Emanuele}, title = {Filocalia (ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΊΑ)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {1335}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/filocalia-philokalia} }

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Philokalia (Φιλοκαλία)

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