From Naxos to the Holy Mountain
Nicodemus was baptized Nicholas on Naxos and later entered monastic life on Mount Athos. Dionysiou Monastery was an early home; his later life included smaller communities and cells. The name Hagiorite means a person of the Holy Mountain, the traditional name for Athos. He died in 1809 and was glorified by the Church of Constantinople in 1955.[1]
Sources differ on his birth year: the OCA life gives 1748, while its historical overview gives 1749. Both dates are retained here rather than treating one as certain. His movements among Athonite communities also have chronological difficulties, discussed in the Orthodox Encyclopedia.[3][2]
Nicodemus and the Greek Philokalia
In 1777, Saint Macarius of Corinth entrusted Nicodemus with preparing several works for publication. The Greek Philokalia appeared in 1782, within this larger publishing effort. Nicodemus’s contribution was editorial: he worked with earlier writings and supplied material to introduce their authors. Calling him the sole author of the Philokalia would obscure the many Fathers represented in it.[3]
His work was one stage in a wider history of reading and translation. Saint Theophan the Recluse later prepared a Russian compilation with a different selection and arrangement. Our Russian Philokalia volumes belong to that later editorial tradition. They should not be assumed to reproduce the contents of the Greek collection volume for volume.
The Kollyvades and frequent Communion
Nicodemus and Macarius of Corinth belonged to the renewal associated with the Kollyvades. The movement took its name from kollyva, the boiled wheat used at memorial services. An Athonite dispute over holding these services on Sundays widened into questions of worship and spiritual practice.
Macarius and Nicodemus also challenged the custom of receiving Communion only a few times each year. Their book on frequent Communion answered objections through Scripture, the Fathers, and church canons. This concern for participation in the Church’s sacramental life accompanied their work on the Philokalia and the recovery of earlier spiritual writings.[2]
Hymns, martyr lives, and spiritual counsel
The New Theotokarion gathers sixty-two canons to the Mother of God. A canon is a structured sequence of liturgical hymns; this collection belongs to hymnography, rather than being a narrative biography of Mary. Nicodemus also worked on martyr lives and other hagiographical collections. These different forms show why “spiritual writer” describes only part of his activity.[1]
Unseen Warfare has a history of adaptation. The Orthodox Encyclopedia identifies Lorenzo Scupoli’s work behind the Greek text Nicodemus prepared. The work subsequently passed through Theophan’s Russian adaptation. Its Orthodox reception is therefore a history involving several contributors, not the composition of a book from nothing by one saint.[3]
That history is useful when comparing English editions. An edition’s introduction and credits should explain the route by which the text reached the reader. Differences in titles or presentation alone do not establish that two editions have identical contents.
For help with the structure and language of this collection, see Orthodox hymns, canons, and the Theotokarion. The guide explains odes and recurring hymn forms and works through examples from the English edition.
Nicodemus-related books in English
- The New Theotokarion: Canons and Hymns to the Mother of God
- Faithful unto Death: Lives of Orthodox Martyrs
- Unseen Warfare: The Orthodox Classic on Spiritual Combat, the Passions, and the Inner Life
Choose The New Theotokarion for reading Orthodox hymnography. Our edition is a reading translation, not a musical service book. Faithful unto Death presents martyr lives, while Unseen Warfare follows the sustained subject of spiritual combat and the inner life. These are different genres, and a reader’s choice should follow the kind of attention each calls for.
The wider Athonite and Russian tradition
Read our history of Mount Athos for the Holy Mountain’s monasteries, smaller communities, artistic heritage, and place in Orthodox spiritual literature.
Nicodemus offers a useful point of connection between Greek collections and the Russian spiritual library. Follow Theophan’s page for the Russian Philokalia, or Ignatius’s page for another approach to prayer and discernment. These links trace shared subjects without claiming that the authors’ books or historical roles are interchangeable.
The Philokalia and Russian Dobrotolubie guide follows the collection from the Greek edition associated with Nicodemus and Macarius of Corinth to Theophan’s distinct Russian selection, with a comparison of the five English volumes available here.