Diagnosing a contemporary societal lack in regards to the foundational virtue of patience, this comparative study of Søren Kierkegaard’s three upbuilding discourses To Gain One’s Soul in Patience, To Preserve One’s Soul in Patience and Patience in Expectancy (1844) is studied in relation to the work of St Peter of Damascus in the eastern orthodox writings of the Philokalia (12th century A.D.). The author seeks to trace differences and similarities in between the two authors, in order to explore the possible occurrence of a shared virtue ethic on the subject of patience, bridging east end west across history and church tradition. The thesis makes a brief historical presentation of the Philokalia, wherein it treats the practise of virtuous patience in the eastern orthodox tradition and lays out an outline of the thematic treatment of patience in the writings of St Peter of Damascus. It further presents a basic overview of Kierkegaardian theology in relation to patience before it explores the three discourses through a comparative analysis, followed by a discussion where similarities and differences are traced. Similarities are treated in a schematic manner under general themes of hesychia, man and God, patience and the virtues, discrimination, kenosis, the fragmentation of impatience, impatience and society and the ontological status of patience. Differences are traced to general historical and traditional contexts. The Philokalia, being as it is, intertwined within the orthodox ecclesiastical and traditional understanding, and Kierkegaard as a critical protestant searching for Christian roots. The thesis finishes with the conclusion that the main themes emerging in Kierkegaard’s three discourses on patience are broadly congruent with the writings of St Peter of Damascus in The Philokalia. The main differences found in between the two being those of historical, ecclesiastical and traditional nature.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A presente dissertação foi realizada com o apoio da CAPES - Brasil e propõe uma reflexão sobre o papel e cuidado da mente na obra Santificação da Mente do Bem-aventurado Tiago Alberione em diálogo com alguns textos da Filocalia. Também são objetivos específicos da pesquisa caracterizar a concepção antropológica de Tiago Alberione e a sua proposta para a formação integral da pessoa humana, partindo da santificação da Mente; analisar o conceito de alma, νους, kardia, logismos nos textos da Filocalia. O primeiro capitulo aborda brevemente o percurso interior feito por Alberione desde a adolescência, em vista da unificação de todas as dimensões do seu ser em Cristo. O contexto histórico em que viveu e o desenrolar-se da elaboração da sua proposta espiritual e apostólica de unificação da pessoa inteira: mente, vontade, coração, e forças físicas por, com e em Cristo todo: Caminho, Verdade e Vida. O segundo capítulo tem como foco o aprofundamento sobre a obra Santificação da Mente, o contexto, o processo de redação, os conteúdos nela presente, correlacionando-a com outros escritos do próprio Alberione sobre o tema da santificação da mente. O terceiro capítulo é dedicado a uma breve abordagem da Filocalia; primeiramente se aborda a antropologia dos padres filocálicos, e depois se analisa, os termos utilizados pelos autores ao tratar dos diversos aspectos da interioridade humana: alma, corpo, νους e kardia e a importância dada à luta contra os logismoi no processo de guarda do νους e coração. No último capítulo se faz uma aproximação e comparação entre a obra Santificação da Mente e a Filocalia no que se refere ao tema do logismos, guarda do νους, coração e outros elementos do caminho de crescimento espiritual, evidenciando a atualidade do assunto no processo de acompanhamento humano e espiritual hoje. / This thesis was carried out with the support of CAPES Brazil and proposes a reflection about the role and care of the mind in the work Santificação da Mente [Sanctification of the Mind] of the Blessed Tiago Alberione in dialog with some texts of the Philokalia. The specific goals of the research are to characterize the anthropological conception of Tiago Alberione and his proposal for the holistic formation of the human person, beginning with the sanctification of the Mind, analyze the concept of soul, νους, kardia, the logismos in the texts of the Philokalia The first chapter deals briefly with the interior trajectory carried out by Alberione since adolescence, in the perspective of the unification of all the dimensions of his being in Christ. The historical context in which he lived and the unwinding of the elaboration of his spiritual and apostolic proposal of unification of the whole person: mind, will, heart and physical strength through, with and in the whole Christ: the Way, Truth and Life. The chapter has as its focus going in depth into the work of the Santification of the Mind, the context, the process of redaction, the contents within it, correlating it with other writings of Alberione himself on the theme of the sanctification of the mind. The third chapter is dedicated to a brief touch on Philokalia; First one deals with the anthropology of the Philokalic priests and then we analyze the terms used by the authors when dealing with the various aspects of the human interiority: soul, body, νους and kardia and the importance given to the struggle against the logismoi in the process of guarding the νους and the heart. In the last chapter an approximation and comparison is made between the work Santificação da Mente [Sanctification of the Mind] and the Philokalia where it refers to the theme of the logismos, care of the νους, heart and other elements of the path of spiritual growth, showing the currentness of the subject in the process of human and spiritual accompaniment today.