PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

The Name Above Every Name: The Revelation of Christ in the Heart The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion I am grateful to share that The Name Above Every Name: The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion is now available, the second volume in a series exploring the wisdom of the Christian desert and the recovery of the inner life. The first book, The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church: Recovering the Inner Kingdom in an Age of Fragmentation, began with a conviction

Desire, Freedom, and the Transformation of the Heart A Four-Week Retreat with the Desert Fathers and St. Isaac the Syrian UPDATED SCHEDULE Sept 12, 19, 26 and Oct. 3 7:00–9:00 PM EDT Register online at PhilokaliaMinistries.org “Abba Joseph stretched his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire, and he said to Abba Lot: ‘If you will, you can become all flame.’” — The Sayings of the Desert Fathers There is something startling about this ancient story.

When the Name of Jesus Becomes the Place Where the Heart Abides “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake; but he who endures to the end will be saved.” — Matthew 10:22 There is something almost frightening in the simplicity with which the Lord speaks these words. He does not tell His disciples that they will be misunderstood because they have failed to explain themselves adequately. He does not suggest that hostility will disappear if they become sufficiently winsome,

When the Heart Learns to Speak the Name That Never Ceases “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” — Philippians 2:10–11 There are books that seek to explain the spiritual life, and there are books that quietly invite us to enter it. The Name Above Every Name was written with that second hope. It grew slowly through months of prayer, years of re

Why the Desert Fathers Continue to Speak to Every Generation “Wherever there is a renewal of Christian life, there one finds a return to the Desert Fathers.” — Fr. Irénée Hausherr, S.J. Fr. Irénée Hausherr’s observation has remained with me for many years: “Wherever there is a renewal of Christian life, there one finds a return to the Desert Fathers.” The older I become, the more I believe he was describing something far deeper than a historical pattern. He was pointing to a

Why the Renewal We Seek Must Begin Where Christ Has Always Waited “My son, give me your heart.” — Proverbs 23:26 There is a temptation in every age to believe that the Church’s deepest crisis lies somewhere outside herself. We point to a secular culture that has forgotten God, to the fragmentation of family life, to confusion within the Church, to failed leadership, declining numbers, or the relentless noise that leaves little room for silence. All of these are real. All dese

Learning to Read the Book of Conscience in the Midst of the Hidden War St. Synkletica “We have need of nothing but a vigilant heart.” — Abba Poemen Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Evergetinos Volume III Hypothesis VIII C-D and Hypothesis IX A-B2 The Fathers never speak of the spiritual life as though it were merely the acquisition of virtues or the mastery of disciplines. At its heart, it is the slow awakening of a human being who learns once again to see. The battlefield

The Jesus Prayer and the revelation of Christ in the heart There are certain books that one writes over many years without ever intending to write them. They emerge slowly through prayer, countless hours with the Scriptures, the Desert Fathers, and the wisdom of the saints. More than anything, they arise from the hidden work of God in the heart. I am grateful that The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church has now begun its journey into the hands of readers throughout th

The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church: Recovering the Inner Kingdom in an Age of Fragmentation is now available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook through Amazon and booksellers around the world. One unexpected delight has been learning that the monks at Holy Transfiguration Monastery have begun reading it aloud in the refectory. I have also received a completely unverified report that it has significantly improved the quality of everyone’s post-lunch nap. While I c

On Reading the Desert Fathers with Patience, Desire, and Trust in Grace “Remain in My love.” — John 15:9 The desert fathers are often described as difficult to read. I have come to believe that this is only partly true. What is difficult is not their language, but the place within us to which they speak. Occasionally someone will say after reading St. Isaac the Syrian, “These words feel so heavy. My inclination is to turn away from them, as though they were written for someon

A Charter for City a Desert Press “Acquire the Spirit of peace, and thousands around you will be saved.” — St. Seraphim of Sarov There are deserts that lie beyond the edges of cities, and there are deserts that are discovered only after entering the depths of the human heart. The fathers sought both. They fled into solitude not because they despised the world, but because they loved it enough to seek its healing at the source. They understood that the deepest poverty is not m

A Quiet Work of Preservation and Nourishment “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” — Abba Moses For many years now, Philokalia Ministries has been a small and hidden labor of the heart. What began simply as a desire to return to the Fathers, to listen again to the fierce honesty and luminous hope of the Desert Fathers, and to sit quietly at the feet of the saints and modern elders of the Church, slowly became something more. Through reading groups,