Philokalia means “love of the beautiful.” The collection gathers teachings on inner prayer, watchfulness (nepsis), and the transformation of the passions by masters including Evagrius, Maximus the Confessor, Symeon the New Theologian, and gregory-palamas.
The work crossed into wider awareness in the Russian tradition, where The Way of a Pilgrim popularized the The Jesus Prayer and pointed seekers back to these sources. English translations (Palmer, Sherrard, Ware) have made it available to a global audience.