This book, which we present to you, is one of the well-known spiritual books, and it has its place and status in modern religious literature.
It has been translated into many languages, including English, French and German, and several editions have appeared in more than one language.
This book consists of seven stories. The first four were first discovered in manuscript form in 1860 in the possession of a Russian nun, a spiritual daughter of the renowned Russian Stylite, Father Ambrose, from the Optina Monastery. These four stories were first published in Russia, specifically in Kazan, around 1865, then republished in 1884, and their circulation spread beyond Russia after 1920.
The following three stories were found in the papers of Father Ambrose and were published in Russia in 1911 and in Czechoslovakia in 1948.
The seven stories were first collected in 1948 in a Russian-language edition published in Paris.
As we mentioned, the book has been translated into several languages, including Arabic, where Professor Antoine Gerges translated the first four stories in 1964 from the French translation by Jean Govin.
We now present to you the complete text of the book translated into Arabic. We have retained the previous translation of the first four stories and added to it a translation of the other three stories, also done by Professor Jurji at our request, based on the French translation produced in 1973 by a group of Orthodox youth in France.
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The author of this book is not known for certain. The preface to the 1884 Russian edition states that Father Paisios, abbot of the Monastery of St. Michael in Kazan, copied the text from a Russian monk on Mount Athos, without naming him. However, there is evidence within the book itself suggesting that it was composed by a monk after conversations with the pilgrim. This assumption does not detract from the book's authenticity: the pilgrim, a simple peasant of thirty-three, was not a skilled writer capable of authorship. He often recounted his experiences to a friend in common parlance, and this cultured and intelligent friend would then translate the pilgrim's words in his own style. This has happened to many spiritual fathers: they only attained their spiritual experience through a scribe whose primary aim was to remain hidden behind the secrets he revealed. That friend may have been a hermit from Mount Athos, or Father Ambrose the hermit of Optina, Ivan Kierewsky’s teacher and a friend of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Leontiev, among whose manuscripts the text of the last three stories of the book was found.
If this is true, then the book may be connected to the literary movement in 19th-century Russia in its purest and most pristine form. Amidst the plethora of poetic, narrative, and revolutionary writings that reflected the conflicting impulses of the Russian temperament, this book emerged as a pure and innocent note.
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The reader, along with the traveler, particularly in the first four stories, is drawn into the heart of life in Russia after the Crimean War and before the abolition of serfdom, between 1856 and 1861. The reader encounters all the heroes of the Russian story: from the prince seeking atonement for a life of recklessness, to the drunken, rowdy stationmaster, to the atheist court clerk in the countryside, a champion of freedom. Those condemned to hard labor might traverse vast distances on their way to Siberia. Imperial messengers exhaust their horses on long roads. Deserters wander lost in remote forests. Nobles, peasants, officials, teachers, and village priests: all of old rural Russia is laid bare before us, with its flaws—drunkenness not the least of them—and its most beautiful and radiant qualities, especially love, love of neighbor illuminated by the love of God. All of this is framed by the Russian landscape: the vast plains that stretch endlessly before the eye, the wild forests, the roadside inns, and the churches with their vibrant colors and gleaming bells. However, the peasant never goes to great lengths to describe what he sees of the sensory world, for he is an Orthodox Christian who seeks perfection, and his main concern is what he cannot attain.
The last three stories highlight the questions and doubts that plagued Russian intellectuals in the nineteenth century, who had come into contact with some aspects of Western culture. Their questions revolved around the validity of the spiritual traditions of the Eastern Church, and why reason was not given the place traditionally reserved for the heart as the center of the spiritual being. We will observe that many of these questions still resonate today. Therefore, the answers provided in the book are also directed at us, inviting us to dust off our authentic ecclesiastical heritage and return to living and adhering to it in all aspects of our lives, so that we too may become pilgrims to God, seeking nothing but His glorious countenance.
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The tourist has no guide in his quest except two books: the Bible and the Philokalia. (1) .
What is the Philokalia? It is a collection of patristic texts that offer us insights into inner prayer and how to maintain purity of heart. These texts were first collected and published in 1782 in Venice by a Greek monk on Mount Athos, St. Nicodemus of Naxos, also known as the Athonite. At the end of the 18th century (1793), they were translated into Slavonic by the Romanian monk Paise Velichkovski and published under the title Doprotoliope, meaning "love of goodness" or "kindness." This translation included texts by the Church Fathers that were not present in the Greek Philokalia.
The publication of this book in Russia led to a widespread spiritual revival and a deepening of the Eastern spiritual tradition. Its study was not limited to monks and theologians, but extended to the general populace, for all of God's people—bishops, priests, monks, and laypeople—are equally called to walk the path of holiness. And the true theologian, as the Eastern Fathers say, is the true prayerful person.
In 1877, a new edition appeared in five volumes in Russian, published by Theophanes the Recluse (1815–1894). This edition differed significantly from its predecessors, with many additions and omissions. This book has remained the primary and preferred spiritual nourishment for Russian monks to this day.
Also in Athens, in 1897 a second edition of the Philokalia, expanded and in Greek, appeared.
But the Philokalia era did not end there. The Romanian priest, Father Demetrios Stanilewi, took up the task and began in 1946 to publish a kind of Philokalia encyclopedia, complete with commentaries and critical studies. However, this monumental work remains unfinished, as Father Stanilewi was imprisoned for many years during the state campaign, beginning in 1958, against influential ecclesiastical forces in Romania.
Interest in the Philokalia extended beyond the borders of Orthodox countries. In 1951, a book containing a collection of the Philokalia's essential texts was published in London. This was followed by the publication of selections from the book in French in 1953. These translations enjoyed unprecedented popularity, permeating Western Christian circles and serving as an effective means of introducing Orthodox Christians who did not speak Greek or Russian to these treasures of their Church's spirituality.
Now, in our present era, we find that interest in the Philokalia has not diminished but perhaps even increased. This is evidenced by the appearance of several new editions in Greek, the commencement of a complete French translation by the Orthodox Brotherhood in France, and the preparation of another English translation. We hope that God will grant Al-Nour Publications success in publishing a complete Arabic translation in the near future.
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As for the spiritual experience presented to us in the Philokalia, it is the essence of many years of spiritual struggle by the great Church Fathers in the East, starting with the monks of the Egyptian desert in the fourth century, passing through the monks of Mount Sinai and the monasteries of Palestine and Constantinople, and reaching the monks of Mount Athos in the fifteenth century.
The Philokalia, therefore, serves as an encyclopedia of Orthodox prayer, and especially of monastic prayer. It ultimately aims to lead us to what is called the "prayer of the heart" or the "Jesus Prayer," which some have described as the "heart" of Orthodox spirituality. This spiritual tradition has been termed the Ezekielian tradition. (2) (Hésychasme). Although some Fathers gave different forms to certain aspects of its practice, the principle of perpetual prayer centered on the incarnate name of God and offered by the whole person, body and soul, was never questioned. This solitary prayer does not distance the one praying from the ecclesial community but is an effective means of continually integrating them into it. The Christ whom the one praying seeks, and His holy name whom they invoke, can only dwell within them to the extent that, through Baptism and the Eucharist, they are integrated into the Body of the Church. As the Fathers taught us, the Jesus Prayer does not replace the grace received through the sacraments but helps to fully benefit from this grace. Thus, the hysician tradition provides a sound answer to the problem of reconciling personal piety with participation in communal liturgical prayer and the contribution of both body and soul to prayer. This reconciliation was achieved by the Fathers through their adoption of the biblical view of humanity. The human being is whole, body and soul inseparable. He deals with God as a whole, aspiring to deification, which is the purpose of his existence. For, as the Fathers say, God became man so that man might become God. Man in his entirety receives grace, not just a part of it. Man is called, both in spirit and in body, to deification and to communion with God. Divine light can shine in the body of the deified man on this earth, and this radiance gives a taste and brings about what will be at the general resurrection. Deification means restoring the divine image in which man was created. The path to this for every Christian—not just monks—lies in walking the paths of holiness, committing to an austere and ascetic lifestyle, and living constantly in the presence of God.
The goal of humanity, therefore, is to seek Christ in every aspect of life: in the Holy Scriptures, in the sacraments, in communal life and the practice of the Sacrament of Neighbor, and last but not least, in invoking the name of the incarnate God with every breath, saying: “Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This is the Prayer of Jesus, which may also be recited on the rosaries carried by Orthodox monks.
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Returning to the book itself, we find in the last three stories a thoughtful exposition of the principles of spiritual restraint we mentioned, as well as of Jesus' prayer. This exposition follows the patristic style of inquiry, focusing on the theme of salvation through love and its realization through prayer. God's love is boundless. The challenge lies in how a person can deeply accept this love so that their heart may be transformed and bear the fruits of the Spirit.
The fifth story first draws our attention to the importance of repentance, which signifies an inner transformation and a complete change of mind and heart. It shows us that true repentance is a contrite heart before God, a turning to Him, and a surrender to His embrace. It teaches us that prayer, a conscious relationship with God, however humble, remains the key to repentance. It then proceeds with a comprehensive explanation of Jesus' prayer, both from a spiritual perspective and from its biblical foundations.
The sixth story, after emphasizing the Gospel's role in overcoming Satan (the story of the Frenchman), reminds us of the human capacity for prayer, which lies in its repetition and quantity. It indicates that the possibility of prayer is always available to humanity, wherever we may be, and can accompany us in every action we undertake, no matter how difficult, provided we offer it in God's presence. Prayer revives humanity and returns us to our original calling, inviting us to stand in God's presence constantly.
Finally, the seventh story underscores the importance of the contemplative life. It shows us the free nature of prayer and worship, and how the world today needs this freeness and the saints, because these saints, through their living example and the radiance emanating from their intimate relationship with God, lead us to the Kingdom that transcends and enlivens history.
This story also offers many practical guidelines for those who wish to embark on the path of prayer. It concludes with a beautiful prayer for one's neighbor, emphasizing that the Aztec spiritual tradition is keen to translate faith lived in prayer into boundless love for one's neighbor. As John Chrysostom says, the mystery of thanksgiving calls us to the mystery of our neighbor. Every genuine connection with the Lord makes us servants of those in whose hearts Christ has chosen to dwell.
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The Russian pilgrim, familiar with this spiritual tradition, does not believe that prayer alone is sufficient to know "the goodness of the Lord." His asceticism guides him to God. God is ever-wandering and has no stone to rest his head upon. For the pilgrim, constant prayer is, above all, the means by which he can focus his attention on the mystery of faith.
The pilgrim's faith is not a mere emotional response to poetic imagery, but is nourished by theological teachings: he offers practical advice and doctrinal explanations to those who approach him with questions, not beautiful but obscure sermons. And by knowing humanity in the light of God, he understands its place and role in the world.
His moral teachings are not a set of studied rules. All his actions stem from his yearning for spiritual perfection. Asceticism is a prerequisite for the vision and has no meaning in itself. Thus, the pilgrim teaches us that the spiritual life is an indivisible unity. Actions come from faith, but there is no faith without actions. The pilgrim journeys toward the New Jerusalem, having come from a world of sin, ignorance, and weakness. He will enter it, body and soul, at the end of time, having already begun to taste this eternal life through God's indwelling within him. He has come to disregard cold, hunger, and pain, and nature appears to him as if it has been revealed:
(The trees, the grass, the birds, the earth, the air, and the light were all telling me that they were created for humankind and that they testified to God's love for humankind: everything was praying and singing praises to God).
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This is the wide expanse that is overlooked by the one who follows in the footsteps of the tourist, listening to him sincerely. Does he strip it of its Russian character? On the contrary: it is a complete model of Russian Orthodox piety, which did not form a school of thought or a doctrine in its own right, but rather revived the principles and doctrines transmitted from Byzantium and embodied them in Russian reality.
The human feeling that manifests itself in sympathy and compassion in the face of pain and sin, and in imitating the life of Christ, in addition to prayer, the practice of the sacraments, and communion with the divine word, are all the basic features of Orthodox spirituality, for which the reader will find, in this book, a wonderful spontaneous description.
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(1) The word in Greek means (love of beauty).
(2) From the Greek word hésychia, which means calm or stillness.