An anthology of texts that were written between the 4th and 15th centuries by mostly monastic writers of the Christian hesychast tradition. The book is a principal spiritual text for all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and its popularity has spread to include Western Christians due to the growing interest in contemplative prayer.
The texts were chosen because of their teachings on the way to self-perfection, illumination, and purification, with a strong emphasis on inward prayer.
The full name of the text is The Philokalia of the Neptic Saints gathered from our Holy Theophoric Father, through which, by means of the philosophy of ascetic practice and contemplation, the intellect is purified, illumined, and made perfect. That title distinguishes it from many other books of monastic spirituality that are also titled Philokalia (or Philocalia), and also gives emphasis to the Greek nepsis, or "watchfulness".