As noted in my preceding post, I was introduced to this word
through reading about the Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain who
used it quite frequently in his teaching. The following short
article appears on OrthodoxWiki, the online Orthodox
encylopedia. It is a worthy read on an important virtue as
taught by the Church. May God, by His grace, increase such
virtue in us all! The virtue of philotimo is commonly emphasized
in Greek Orthodox Christianity. It follows in line with two
other important words; ethos (demeanor, manner) and phronema
(mind-set, attitude/disposition). Philotimo is the humble,
dignified and respectful way people interact with one another
(family members, extended friends and family, fellow
parishioners and extends to the workplace). And it is perhaps
more especially referred to in the highly refined and profoundly
simple monastic literature of Orthodoxy. In our times and from
the works and words of Elders Paisios (+1993) of Mount Athos and
Porphyrios of Athens, we see the term and its ante