The theme of the heart in the Philokalia (conclusion)

Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article constitutes the conclusion of a study devoted to the theme of the heart in the *Philokalia*, a foundational collection of Orthodox hesychast spirituality. Adopting a theological and spiritual synthesis approach, the author examines the ultimate stages of the interior life: the opening of the heart as a breaking of the barrier between time and eternity, divine illumination, and then the mystical eros leading to deification. The central idea is that the heart constitutes the par excellence place of encounter between God and man, where the purified *nous* receives the uncreated light and where the transformation of the human being is accomplished. On the theological level, the article highlights the coherence of Philokalic anthropology by articulating the notions of *penthos*, purification, illumination and theosis around the heart as the dynamic center and criterion of the spiritual state of the person.

This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.

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