Unseen Warfare: The Spiritual Combat and Path to Paradise of Lorenzo Scupoli

by Theophan the Recluse, Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Lorenzo Scupoli

This book is originally the work of an Italian Roman Catholic priest, Lorenzo Scupoli (1530 - 1610), a work very much part of the other spiritual writings from the age of the Counter-Reformation. In the 18th-century St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain obtained a copy and enjoyed the work so much that he hastened to translate it into Greek while making his own changes, adapting the work for Orthodox readers. These changes included more examples from the Bible and Fathers of the Church. The final Greek version was a great success in Greece. The Greek version fell into the hands of the Russian, St. Theophan the Recluse, who likewise translated the text into his language, and augmented it with his own changes and comments. This resulting work, translated into English, bears the authoritative spiritual care of two of the greatest saints of the Orthodox Church. It is a superb guide to the spiritual warfare that every Christian must undergo in their quest to become holier and to draw closer to God.

Genres: Christianity, Christian, Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

St. Theophan the Recluse, also known as Theophan Zatvornik or Theophanes the Recluse (Russian: Феофан Затворник), is a well-known saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born George Vasilievich Govorov, in the village of Chernavsk. His father was a Russian Orthodox priest. He was educated in the seminaries at Livny, Orel and Kiev. In 1841 he was ordained, became a monk, and adopted the name Theophan. He later became the Bishop of Tambov.

He is especially well-known today through the many books he wrote concerning the spiritual life, especially on the subjects of the Christian life and the training of youth in the faith. He also played an important role in translating the Philokalia from Church Slavonic into Russian. The Philokalia is a classic of orthodox spirituality, composed of the collected works of a number of church fathers which were edited and placed in a four volume set in the 17th and 18th centuries. A persistent theme is developing an interior life of continuous prayer, learning to "pray without ceasing" as St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Thessalonians.

Russian profile: Феофан Затворник

Reviews

[Alyosha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of sound spiritual advice is contained within these pages. It’s worth the time it took to read it. It is however quite redundant, and as is typical of the Catholics/Orthodox, has a strong tendency to negate trust in God and our comforter the Holy Spirit to carry out the work of sanctification in us. I get a little uneasy reading the Orthodox boys at times, simply because they are prone to (at least they sound this way) rely so heavily upon their own will power against sin. This is dangerous for a couple reasons, most notably, we are not capable of beating sin of our own accord, but also, we are very prone to be prideful of any such achievement against sin wherefore we might be inclined to believe it was our own strength which overcame.

Nonetheless, much can still be gleaned here, insofar as the reader is rooted in a proper theological foundation.

[Kirollos Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

على الرغم من زمن كتابة هذا الكتاب يعود إلى القرون الاولي الا انك تجد تشابها عجيبا في أساليب حروب الشياطين بين امس و اليوم "لأننا لا نجهل افكاره " (2 كو 2: 11)
و يغوص الكاتب في أدق التفاصيل و يصف الخطايا و المحاربات من جذورها
a comprehensive root cause analysis
و مع انه اثناء قراءة الكتاب لا يسعك في اوقات كثيرة الا ان تشعر بصغر نفس و انك على تقف على مسافة كبيرة من حياة الاستقامة الا انه ايضا يعطي وصفة تفصيلية لكيفية تجنب الأفعال التي هي مصدر الأتعاب اي "الثعالب الصغيرة المفسدة للكروم" (نشيد 2) كما أنه يعطي خطوات لمن دخلوا في الفخاخ المختلفة لمساعدتهم على الخروج.
يتهم بعض النقاض الكاتب في انه يهمل دور النعمة و يضع الأمر كله على الدور او الذراع البشري
و أود هنا انا ادافع عن الكاتب في نقطتين:

اولا انه ذكر مرارا و تكرارا في انه بلا نعمة المسيح التي تمنح القوة و تعطي التغيير فالأفعال جميعها إلى هباء و بلا طائل

ثانيا ان الكتاب المقدس نفسه في أجزاء عدة يحث الإنسان على ان لا يعاند عمل النعمة
فبولس الرسول يقول "لا تطفئوا الروح" و "لا تقاوموا الروح" و "لا تحزنوا الروح " و يعقوب الرسول يقول : لا احد يجرب الا اذا انجذب و انخدع من شهوته
و العكس صحيح يقول الكتاب ايضا "امتلأوا بالروح"
اذا ليست المشكلة في الأفعال في حد ذاتها و لكن تكمن المشكلة في اختيارات الإنسان و التهاون الذي يعطل عمل النعمة
و هذا ما يفعله الكاتب: تقديم سرد تفصيلي عن الأعمال التي يجب عملها و الأفعال التي يجب تجنبها لكي يعمل الإنسان مع الروح القدس في تناغم (harmony)

ليمنحنا الهنا الارادة و القوة لتحقيق هذا "الله هو العامل فيكم ان تريدوا و ان تعملوا لأجل المسرة"

[Luciana Sá · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma leitura imprescindível para quem quer crescer na vida espiritual e ter paz interior. Vale muito à pena! É um livro de cabeceira!!

[Ian Colle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing work - originally written by a Catholic priest in Latin, translated into Greek and edited by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (Mt. Athos), translated into Russian and further modified by St Theophan the Recluse, and translated into English here. I especially appreciated the call to a heartfelt life of prayer, including a chapter on the Jesus Prayer.

For those familiar with the Philokalia, it’s amazing to see how this work underwent a similar path of collection and translation from Greek to Russian to English, by these same authors.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely absolutely amazing. Possibly the best book I've read on this topic. So detailed and covers every facet of the spiritual life extensively. Definitely would be rewarding to read again in the future and discover new gems.

"It is good to keep in mind the intent which God desires us to stay in his state of warfare. His intent is the following: in past times, when God led Israel into the promised land, He did not command them to destroy everybody living there, but rather he left five foreign nations hostile to Israel. He did this first to test the elect to see how steadfastly they trusted in Him and how faithfully they kept His commandments. Second, to teach His people how to fight (Judges 3:1). In the same manner, He does not bring to naught our passions immediately, but rather leaves them there within us, allowing them to war against us until our end. He does this with the same intent, to prove our love and obedience for Him, and to\ exercise us in spiritual battles."

[vlad popescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Pacea inimii este tulburata de patimi; nu lasa patimile sa aiunga la inima si ea va fi intdeauna in pace. Luptatorul in razhoiul nevazut sta inarmat la poarta inimii si respinge pe cei ce incearca sa intre in ea si sa o tulbure. Si atata timp cat inima este in pace, biruinta asupra atacatorilor nu este grea. Pacea inimii este scopul razboiului duhovnicesc si cel mai puternic mijloc pentru a castiga biruinta in el. De aceea, cand tulburarea patimasa se furiseaza in inima, nu te arunca asupra patimii pentru a o birui, ci coboara cat mai repede in inima si straduieste-te sa o linistesti. De indata ce inima se linisteste lupta se termina.
Viata omului nu este nimic altceva decat un razboi neintrerupt si o ispita neincetata.”

”Obisnuieste-te sa iubesti pe toti oamenii si sa traiesti cu toti in înțelegere.”

”Tine-ti constiinta nepatata, ca ea sa nu te mustre si sa nu te tulbure pentru nimic, ci sa fie in pace si fata de Dumnezeu, si fata de tine insuti, si fata de cei de aproape, si fata de toate lucrurile cele din afara.”

”Obișnuiește-te a îndura orice neplăceri și ocări fără de tulburare.”

”Pazeste-te de tine insuti ca de cel mai mare vrajmas al tau si sa nu urmezi voii tale, nici mintii tale, nici gusturilor si simturilor tale, daca nu voiesti sa te prapadesti.”

[Madonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

قصير .. سلِس .. عملي ♥