This book is the first approachable introduction to the wisdom of the Philokalia (also known as ?The Prayer of the Heart?), which is the classic text of Eastern Christian spirituality. An entirely new translation by Allyne Levoit Smith of significant sections of the five-volume work, which was written by monks from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries, the texts are clearly explained and set in historical and spiritual context in the readable commentary on each facing page. The Philokalia until now has been somewhat intimidating to the general reader in its scholarly translations from Greek and Russian, yet there is great spiritual wisdom in this beloved writing, for readers of all faiths who are interested in prayer, contemplation, and living a life closer to God.