In his treatise on sobriety, Nicephorus the Solitary says that the method which he will teach has the happy effect of “leading him who practises it, without labour or sweat, […]
Read more
Category: Articles
Nicephorus on Renouncing the World and its Illusions
Kadloubovsky and Palmer open their selection, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart (1951) with a text by Nicephorus the Solitary known as “On Sobriety,” or, to provide […]
Read more
From Ouspensky to the Philokalia
The Philokalia is really a miniature library. The manuscripts which comprise it were originally written in Greek. Although the texts are mostly far older, the present-day collection was compiled by […]
Read moreThe Sexualisation of Culture
I shall be updating this piece from time to time. However, it will be a useful resource as this tragic sexualisation of culture continues. It is not that sexuality has […]
Read moreOf Altars and Alterations (Part 1)
Part One: The Questions and a Broad Answer When we discuss the altar in the Christian tradition, meaning the Catholic and Orthodox Churches (what is sometimes called the “Great Church’), […]
Read more
Jacob of Sarug and the Work
When Orage said that “Jesus Christ” used this method (Gurdjieff’s Emissary in New York, 13), he was not defining or limiting Jesus: rather, he was drawing a connection between Gurdjieff’s […]
Read more
The Prayer of the Heart
Gurdjieff taught that techniques such as fasting, confession and prayer were not only valuable but essential for any seeker. Gurdjieff gave few indications about prayer, but he knew of and […]
Read more
The Odes of Solomon: Ode 4
The Fourth Ode of Solomon is enigmatic, and has been studied more than most of the others. I will not go into the history of the study of this Ode, […]
Read more
The Odes of Solomon: Ode 3
The Text Having looked at Ode 1 of the Odes of Solomon, we now come to Ode 3, for Ode 2 is missing. It is not possible to know how […]
Read more
A Tale of Purgatory and Masses for the Dead
“The Troubled Spirit of Tintern Abbey” is an interesting story from Lord Halifax’s Ghost Book (1936, pp. 201-204), chiefly because it relates to Purgatory and the effectiveness of Masses for […]
Read more