Considerații despre tema morții, ca laitmotiv în literatura filocalică
Considerations on the theme of death as a leitmotif in philological literature

Author(s): Pamvo (Andrei Cătălin) Dima
Subject(s): Theology and Religion, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: Filocalie; asceticism; eschatology; detachment; freedom; deification; death; niptic literature; parents of the desert;
Summary/Abstract: The topic of death is all over Filocalia literature. It's a big marker for spiritual growth and also for figuring out who you are as a believer in your relationship with God. For the Filocalia fathers, who are distinguished by the fact that they practiced an ascetic life oriented toward the goal of fulfillment, death represents the transition to eternal life. It is the threshold of inner maturity and the entrance into the horizon of true life. The theme of death is not limited to the biological end, because death acquires pedagogical and anthropological value through its own role in preparing us for eternal existence. „Death, if man keeps it in mind, is immortality”, teaches St. Anthony the Great.In Filocalia literature, earthly life is a space of transfiguration. In this space, the divine likeness planted in man is shaped through ascetic exercise, vigilance, and advancement in virtue. The memory of death stimulates the preservation of inner attention. The monk overcomes the fear of death and acquires spiritual freedom, in which personal restoration begins. Thus, in the writings of the Niptic fathers, the subject of death becomes a meaningful leitmotif. It accompanies reflection on human destiny and structures ascetic discipline. The leitmotif of death becomes a criterion of discernment that imposes on the faithful a eschatological direction oriented towards deification.

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