Desert Fathers

Dit artikel beschrijft de moraalpsychologische inzichten van de woestijnvaders Evagrius van Pontus (†399) en Johannes Cassianus († ca. 435), met bijzondere aandacht voor hun paradoxale strategie om de ene demon te gebruiken tegen de andere. Zo ontstaat een ‘vice-à-vice’, waarbij twee gedachten tegenover elkaar worden geplaatst totdat beide hun kracht verliezen. Evagrius verwoordt deze methode treffend als “een spijker met een spijker uitslaan”, wat getuigt van een diepgaand moreel realisme. De weg naar innerlijke rust (apatheia) wordt daarbij niet voorgesteld als een abrupte overgang, maar als een geleidelijk proces. In dit proces maakt de mens gebruik van het krachtenveld van de demonen, opgevat als gedachten, die – mits juist onderscheiden – zelfs tijdelijk als bondgenoten kunnen fungeren.

Loghismoí (“intoxicating or bewildering thoughts”—that is, thoughts, feelings, and memories that assail the mind, often arising without prior warning); Evagrius Ponticus (346–399/400 CE); the Book of Revelation; Jesus Christ (1st century); and Giancarlo Pavanello—all, in different ways, speak to those of us who are visually unseeing, or who have become so. Some of these terms, works, proper names, or aesthetic-spiritual experiences may, perhaps, be almost unknown or of little relevance to many of us gathered here. What matters, however, is that each of them, in its own way and in its own time, can be understood as a kind of speleologist of the human spirit: each has mapped the anatomy of the soul—its virtues and its flaws—not as an accusatory denunciation, but through the force of word and gesture, in order to illuminate the lives of their contemporaries.

This paper presents a documented synthesis of the Orthodox liturgical commemorations for March 24, focusing on the diverse expressions of Christian holiness. The study begins with an in-depth hagiographic profile of the Venerable Zacharias of Scetis, a key figure in the Egyptian desert tradition. By analyzing his interactions with Abba Macarius and Abba Moses, the research highlights the "theology of humility" and the radical "cutting off of the will" (the crushing of the kalimavkion) as essential paths to spiritual maturity.

Furthermore, the document explores the broader martyrological and iconographic context of the day, including the theological symbolism of the "Uncut Mountain" Icon of the Mother of God, the pastoral legacy of Saint Artemon of Seleucia, and the steadfast witness of the Eight Martyrs of Caesarea.

Integrating primary sources from the Synaxarion with practical spiritual reflections, this work aims to provide both a historical record and a contemporary perspective on the patristic heritage. Developed for the Gânduri din Ierusalim platform, the study serves as a resource for researchers, students of theology, and the Orthodox faithful seeking a deeper understanding of the Lives of the Saints.

The Chapters of Evagrius' Disciples found in a manuscript in the Benaki Museum of Athens is one of the most important recent discoveries in the field of patristics. The present study, as the first contribution in English on the topic, traces the fascinating story that the text has traversed from the 5 th century to its recent critical edition, unravelling the distorted and even biased interpretations to which the text has been subjected in contemporary scholarship.

This volume, edited by Valentina Duca and Joseph Verheyden, is the fruit of the conference titled "The Greek Sources of East-Syriac Mysticism: A Journey through Texts and Thought" (KU Leuven, 26-28 June 2023). It collects contributions by some of the major experts on Syriac mysticism, who gathered for the first time to discuss the crucial issue of its Greek roots. From Evagrius to the desert fathers, from Theodore of Mopsuestia to Gregory of Nazianzus, from Mark the Monk to Abba Isaiah and the Macarian corpus, this book offers a starting-point for exploring the different ways in which the Greek ascetic and theological heritage shaped the universe of 7-8th century East-Syriac mystics.

Contributions by: Paolo Bettiolo, Jason Scully, David Phillips, Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony, Emiliano Fiori, Nestor Kavvadas, David Michelson, Vittorio Berti,  Adrian Pirtea, Valentina Duca, Philip Forness.

Introdução A orientação espiritual desempenha um papel fundamental na tradição cristã, especialmente na forma como se desenvolveu no monacato primitivo. Os Padres do Deserto, figuras centrais dessa época, deixaram um legado rico e profundo sobre o acompanhamento da alma em sua jornada para Deus. Este trabalho busca investigar como esses antigos mestres compreenderam e praticaram a direção espiritual, oferecendo ensinamentos que permanecem atuais e relevantes.

L'ascèse est étymologiquement un « exercice ». Dans la tradition antique, elle vise à atteindre la sagesse. Dans la tradition chrétienne, elle engage beaucoup plus fortement le corps et implique divers types de mortifications tels que les jeûnes, la privation de sommeil, la chasteté, les souffrances autoinfligées. Ce second sens, qui met le corps au coeur de la définition, s'est généralement imposé au détriment du premier. C'est celui que je retiendrai dans cette contribution. Cet ascétisme, entendu dans sa dimension corporelle, n'a rien de spécifiquement chrétien et se retrouve dans de très nombreuses religions 1 . Ce fait a attiré l'attention depuis longtemps et je me contenterai de citer ici la féministe Pauline Roland, qui écrivit en 1847 un long article sur les couvents féminins dans la Revue indépendante de Pierre Leroux : L'ascétisme, qui mène à la vie cénobitique, a ses sources dans les sentiments les plus intimes et les plus profonds de l'âme humaine. Aussi n'est-il guère de religion dans laquelle on ne retrouve des anachorètes et des cénobites, quelques noms qu'ils portent d'ailleurs. L'Égypte, l'Inde et la Chine ont eu de tout temps leurs bonzes et leurs fakirs, comme leurs collèges de prêtres 2 . Dans le cadre d'une histoire de l'Église et du christianisme, l'ascèse a plutôt mauvaise presse. Il n'existe guère aujourd'hui de synthèse générale portant sur l'ascèse corporelle au Moyen Âge, et ce n'est sans doute pas un 3.

The article explores late antique representations of ideal behavior and social interaction in rabbinic literature through a comparison with early Christian monastic traditions on religious etiquette. The study analyzes narratives on manners from Derekh Ereṣ Rabbah, a rabbinic tractate, in Hebrew, instructing on manners and morals (7th-10th cent.), and Apophthegmata patrum, a Greek anthology of sayings and stories attributed to the Egyptian desert fathers (5th-6th cent.). The stories, conveying a vivid depiction of their respective communities' lifestyles, present similar stylistic features, ascribable to the Hellenistic genre of chreia, which was incorporated in both traditions. The narratives selected address the following themes: (1) fasting and hospitality; (2) the spoiled meal; (3) disgust, taste, and tact. The close reading, contrasting materials sharing stylistic format (chreia) and subject matter (etiquette), focuses on the literary, conceptual, and cultural dynamics of sociability, offering a phenomenological outlook on the rabbinic and monastic constructions of exemplary praxis beyond the notion of religious normativity.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, I taught a graduate seminar titled "Philosophy in the Desert: Evagrius of Pontus' 'Gnostic Trilogy.'" 1 The course met on alternating weeks for three hours. As the year progressed, we also met in many of the off weeks for voluntary sessions we came to call lectio divina. Those lectio divina sessions will be the focus of my reflection, but I must first set the stage. There were about 18 students in the course, all of whom, whether taking the course for credit or auditing, were at the graduate level or beyond. About half were masters students at Harvard Divinity School; about a third were doctoral students from Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences; a few were no longer full-time students, but were staff or clergy, for example; and one was a doctoral student in theoretical physics from MIT. Many of the students had backgrounds in ancient philosophy and early Christianity; probably a third knew Greek, some at a very high level; and a handful knew other relevant languages such as Syriac. The seminar focused on Evagrius of Pontus' "Gnostic Trilogy," which I had spent many years translating and annotating with several colleagues. 2 Evagrius (d. 399) was an early Christian philosopher, raised in a privileged, elite community and blessed with the best education available in the fourth century, who abandoned a promising ecclesiastical career to pursue a life of poverty and piety as a monk in the Western Desert of Egypt. I have taught Evagrius' writings many times: he is a fixture in my introductory lecture course, "Early Christian Thought 1: The Greek Tradition." In that course, we read Evagrius' most famous work, the Praktikos or "Practitioner," a work addressed to monks, advising them on how to fend off the eight demonthoughts to achieve apatheia or "freedom from passion." 3 This is the long and difficult stage of praktikē or "practice." When a monk achieves apatheia, 4

In a striking parallel between a passage from the Confucian philosopher Mengzi and a rabbinic statement in the Talmud, a similar principle is outlined, stating that one should violate taboos concerning gender relations for the sake of saving a drowning woman. The resemblance cannot be explained through a historical connection. In order to understand this trope better, this study includes two further related texts: an early Christian tale from the desert fathers, and a Zen story. Stripped to their shared elements, all four stories are concerned with a male assisting a female in an aquatic location, and juxtapose the ethos of assistance for the helpless with the danger posed by the female body and female sexuality. Despite the distinct concerns of each of these traditions, the shared element discloses the hidden male fantasy it bears.

儒家先哲孟子的一段论述，与《塔木德》里的一则拉比言论有着惊人的相似性。二者均提出了类似的原则，即当面对溺水女子时，人们应当突破有关性别关系的禁忌施以援手。这种相似性难以从历史关联的角度加以阐释。为深入理解这一主题，本研究引入了另外两篇相关文本：一篇源自早期基督教沙漠教父的故事，另外一篇是一则禅宗故事。剥离它们各自独特的元素后会发现，这四则故事都聚焦于男性在水边救助女性的情节，并且都将救助无助之人的道德风尚，与女性身体及女性特质所引发的潜在危险并置呈现。尽管这些故事出自不同的文化传统，各自关注的重点也有所差异，但它们共有的元素却揭示出了背后潜藏的男性幻想。

This article examines Evagrius Ponticus's spirituality, centering on the metaphor of "the place of God" (τόπος Θεοῦ). It argues that Evagrius defines this "place" not as a geographical location but as the "formless state" of the intellect (νοῦς), attainable through practices such as "pure prayer" and the acquisition of impassibility (ἀπάθεια). The analysis employs close textual and biblical exegesis (Exod 24:10-11; Ezek 1:26; 10:1) to demonstrate how Evagrius's thought highlights the inner transformation of the intellect. This purification, in turn, facilitates a direct, contemplative encounter with God, illustrating the profound integration of lived spiritual experience with his method of interpreting Scripture.

The translation below has been made from texts published by F. Nau 'Ammonas, successeur de Saint Antoine' Patrologia Orientalis 11 (1915): the Greek version, 1 containing 15 sayings, is printed on pp. 411-416, the Syriac, with 25, on pp. 418-431. The version below has been made from the Syriac sayings. Nau states that his translation follows the publication of the Syriac version of letters of Amoun by M. Kmosko 'Ammonii eremitate epistulae' in Patrologia Orientalis 10 pp. 552-639, and his article makes up a sort of Amoun 'dossier'. Prof. Nau lists (p. 401) eight forms of the common name Amoun and separates the bearers of the name among early Egyptian ascetics, including the Amoun who founded the monastic settlements of Nitria (pernouj) and Kellia (nri) together with a useful analysis of them. The Amoun of these sayings was a disciple of Antony who succeeded the latter as the head of the community at Pispir, 2 several km. to the east of the Nile, and later became a bishop. The Syriac texts use the forms 'Amoun' and 'Ammonios', but what this says about the language from which the translations were made is difficult to know. I have consistently used 'Amoun' here.

The objective of this article is to explore the use of quotations from the Bible in the South Slavonic translation of Vita Pachomii. The Slavonic witnesses of southern origin demonstrate a clear unity that can be traced back to a single translation, possibly done on Mount Athos. The translated text is an exact reproduction of one of the sub-branches of the so-called Vita Altera in the Greek tradition. The investigation of quotations from the Bible can provide insight into the time and origin of the Slavonic translation, as well as its potential connections to earlier traditions of Preslavian literary production and Cyrillo-Methodian translations. This study focuses primarily on New Testament and Psalter quotations and their textual similarities to different Old Church Slavonic versions of the New Testament. The verses under consideration are taken from the Rila copy of the Vita and have been collated with other witnesses, preserved in the library of the Zographou Monastery. In addition, particular attention is given to the lexical and grammatical nuances within the quotations in the Vita. The analysis of quotations from the New Testament and the Psalter in the medieval translation of the Life of Pachomius the Great demonstrates a strong closeness between this translation and those considered to be of Athonite origin.

Die Idee dieses Beitrags ist, den "Perspektivenwechsel" als eine mögliche Deutung für den Sinn und den Charakter des Philosophie-und Ethikunterrichts hervorzuheben und diesen als ein ursprünglich sokratisches Konzept darzustellen. Periagoge tes psyches, "die Umlenkung der Seele", wird als Ermutigung zur Veränderung verstanden, eine Kompetenz (Kunst, techne) zur Perspektivenübernahme. Der Aufsatz zeigt die Rezeption der sokratischen Mäeutik in den Bildungstheorien zum Philosophieren mit Kindern auf, um weiters aus der Lehrtätigkeit der Autorin zu berichten. Abschließend wurde diese Sichtweise an der Schnittstelle von Philosophie und Bildungstheorie im Bereich der Alteritätsforschung angesiedelt.

The untamed nature of the desert rendered this liminal Egyptian territory an ideal refuge for the polytheistic gods and a fitting location for monks to test their spiritual progress in a continuous struggle against demonic powers. Its religious associations endowed this space with a potent symbolism that was soon transferred to other places in the Mediterranean that presented very different geophysical characteristics but shared the same peripheral nature and reputation as the dwelling place of demons. Our study focuses on the use of symbolic elements to construct this metaphorical landscape in the life of Valerius of Bierzo, yielding a setting that, thanks to a Christian presence, evolves from a hostile place to a civilised environment. Based on the main lives of hermits in Visigothic times, such as Valerius, Fructuosus and Aemilian, we will examine this resemantisation of rural territory in Hispania and analyse its similarity with metaphorical landscapes of Gallic eremitism.