Kallistos and Ignatios Xanthopoulos

Kallistos (who later became Patriarch Kallistos II of Constantinople) and Ignatios Xanthopoulos together authored one of the longest and most practically detailed works in the entire Philokalia: Directions to Hesychasts. This text is essentially a handbook — a comprehensive guide to the practice of hesychast prayer that synthesizes the teachings of virtually every earlier author in the collection.

The Xanthopouloi (as they're often called together) draw extensively on Hesychios, Gregory of Sinai, Diadochos, Maximos, and many others, weaving their teachings into a coherent practical method. Their work covers everything from the physical setting for prayer, through the stages of the Jesus Prayer, to the advanced stages of contemplation — always with practical, specific guidance.

Their text is the closest thing the Philokalia has to a user's manual. Where other authors write from the heights of mystical experience or the depths of theological reflection, the Xanthopouloi write for the person sitting down to pray and wondering what, exactly, to do.