Sacred Texts and the Desert: Lessons for a Practical-Theological Hermeneutic of Discernment (original) (raw)
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The Living Word of Scripture in the Pachomian Dessert
It is customary to think of the Protestant Church as the "Church of the Bible" and perhaps the Orthodox Church as merely "the Church of the Fathers", but a look into the relationship of the desert fathers of 4th century Egypt with Scripture reveals a much more integrated and living approach to the Sacred Text. We find in them not a mere monastic method of studying Scripture, but a living engagement with the Word of God which applies to every Christian in love with his Lord.
Holy Men and Women of the Desert
“Holy Men and Women of the Desert.” In The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 35–50. Ed. Bernice M. Kaczynski, with Thomas Sullivan., 2020
Recent scholarship has undermined the traditional picture of desert monasticism as origi nating with Antony of Egypt and then spreading to Palestine and Syria, as consisting of the poor and uneducated, and as developing in complete separation from the world. This essay discusses key trends in the study of late ancient desert monks including: the decen tring of Egypt and the turn away from single founders; philosophy as the source of and background for monastic practices and literary forms; scepticism about the myth of the desert; the engagement of monks with wider society; rethinking the concept of the holy man; and attention to women and gender. Publications of new sources (such as the works of Evagrius Ponticus and Shenoute), more theoretically aware readings of old sources, and studies of archaeological and papyrological remains have contributed to these devel opments.
Foreword discerned reality and whose words, therefore, gave life. The key phrase of the Apophthegmata is, 'Speak a word, Father'. This recurs again and again, and the 'word' that was sought was not a theological explanation, nor was it 'counseling', nor any kind of a dialogue in which one argued the point; it was a word that was part of a relationship, a word which would give life to the disciple if it were received. The abbas were not spiritual directors in the later western sense; they were fathers to the sons whom they begot in Christ. A monk had only one abba, and he was not continually discussing his spiritual state with him. There is a great economy of words about the desert. A monk once came to Basil of Caesarea and said, 'Speak a word, Father'; and Basil replied, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart'; and the monk went away at once. Twenty years later he came back, and said, 'Father, I have struggled to keep your word; now speak another word to me'; and he said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and the monk returned in obedience to his cell to keep that also. The Coptic monks were simple men, and their understanding of this relationship is difficult to recapture in a sophisticated society. The Father was not the teacher or scholar. When Evagrius first came to Scetis he made the mistake of lecturing to the brethren during a discussion on some matter; they let him finish, and then one said, 'We know, Father, that if you had stayed in Alexandria you would have been a great bishop ...'-after which Evagrius was understandably quiet. The great Arsenius, tutor to the emperor, came to Scetis, too. He talked with the unlettered Egyptians about himself; when someone asked him the reason, he said, 'I know Greek and Latin, but I have not begun to learn the alphabet of these peasants yet.' This awareness of the importance of the word spoken within a relationship made the monks very wary about booksperhaps too wary-but it was an emphasis we have lost and could well recover. Many people, as well as their own monastic disciples, came to the fathers for their life-giving words. There were plenty of opportunities for theological discussion in the towns; it was for another kind of wisdom that they came to the desert. The Fathers, for their part, were shrewd enough to know that some of those who came to them were moved by curiosity rather than devotion, and they distinguished the genuine 'hearers' of the word, whom they called 'visi-Foreword [xxiii tors from Jerusalem', from the superficial and curious, whom they called 'visitors from Babylon'. The latter were given a bowl of soup and sent away. The former were welcome to stay all night in conversation. Radical simplicity and common sense The Desert Fathers withdrew from ordinary society and sought the solitude of the desert. This was the first step in their 'spirituality'. Then they placed themselves under spiritual fathers. After that, the daily life was their prayer, and it was a radically simple life: a stone hut with a roof of branches, a reed mat for a bed, a sheepskin , a lamp, a vessel for water or oil. It was enough. Food was reduced to the minimum; sleep also: 'One hour's sleep a night is enough for a monk if he is a fighter', they said. They had a horror of extra possessions: 'A disciple saw a few peas lying on the road and he said to his father, "Shall I pick them up?" but the old man said in amazement, "Why? Did you put them there?" and he said, "No." "Then why should you pick them up?"' They tried many experiments, especially with fasting, but the final conclusion was, 'For a man of prayer, one meal a day is sufficient.' When a young monk boasted of fasting longer, they asked him searching questions about the rest of his life. The ideal was not subhuman but superhuman , the angelic life; but this was to be interpreted in the most practical and commonsense way. There is the story of John the Dwarf who announced to his brother that he was going off into the desert to live as an angel. After several days of acute hunger, his brother heard a knock at the door. He asked who was there, and when a voice said, 'John', he replied, 'John is now an angel and has no need of food and shelter'; but at last he took in the humbled John and set him to work again. It was a life of continual 'striving', but not of taut effort the whole time. It was said of Anthony that one day he was relaxing with the brothers outside the cell when a hunter came by and rebuked him. Anthony said, 'Bend your bow and shoot an arrow', and he did so. 'Bend it again and shoot another', and he did-and again and again. The hunter said, 'Father, if I keep my bow always stretched it will break.' 'So it is with the monk', replied Anthony; 'if we push ourselves beyond measure we will break; it is right for us from time to time to relax our efforts.' xxiv] Foreword The result of this common-sense attitude is most beautifully illustrated in the story of St. Nilus and the harlot Pelagia: when she rode naked through Antioch, all the clergy around Abba Nilus hid their faces, but he 'gazed along and intently at her; then turning to the rest he said, "Did not the sight of her great beauty delight you? Verily, it greatly delighted me...."' Charity The aim of the monks' lives was not asceticism, but God, and the way to God was charity. The gentle charity of the desert was the pivot of all their work and the test of their way of life. Charity was to be total and complete. To quote from a Life, rather than a Saying: Abba Abraham had a niece, Mary, who became a harlot in Alexandria: ... and he dressed himself as a soldier and went to find her ... they feasted together at the inn and he took her to his room to lie with her. 'Come close to me, Mary,' he said and took her in his arms to kiss her ... but she recognised him and wept and she said, 'Go before me and I will follow ... for you have so loved me and grieved for me that you have come even into this cess-pit to find me'; and so they went home. xxvi] Foreword cern in the desert. The desert itself was the place of the final warfare against the devil, and the monks were 'sentries who keep watch on the walls of the city'. Monks were always meeting the devil face to face, and once the great Macarius asked him why he looked depressed, 'You have defeated me', he said, 'because of your humility'; and Macarius put his hands over his ears and fled. But most of the advice given was not about objective, personalized demons; nor was it about holy thoughts, or the pattern of the spiritual life, or the dark night of the soul. When it was not about ordinary Christian charity, it was about the vices. The knowledge of how to deal with the passions was learnt slowly, by long, hard living, but it was the great treasure for which men came to the desert from the cities. It was this aspect of warfare with demons that was called 'ascesis', the 'hard work' of being a monk. 'Abba Pambo came to Abba Anthony and said: "Give me a word, Father," and he said, "Do not trust in your own righteousness; do not grieve about a sin that is past and gone; and keep your tongue and your belly under control...."' Prayer About prayer itself they had little to say; the life geared towards God was the prayer; and about contemplation, who could speak? Arsenius prayed on Saturday evening with his hands stretched out to the setting sun, and he stayed there until the sun shone on his face on Sunday. The usual pattern was to say the Psalms, one after another, during the week, and to intersperse this with weaving ropes, sometimes saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.' The aim was hesycbia, quiet, the calm through the whole man that is like a still pool of water, capable of reflecting the sun. To be in true relationship with God, standing before him in every situation-that was the angelic life, the spiritual life, the monastic life, the aim and the way of the monk. It was life orientated towards God. 'Unless a man can say, "I alone and God are here", he will not find the prayer of quiet.' It is the other side of the saying of St. Anthony, 'My life is with my brother.' Conclusion Abba Anthony said, 'Whatever you find in your heart to do in following God, that do, and remain within yourself in Him.' This
Elders and Disciples in Egypt’s Early Monastic Literature
Embracing Life and Gathering Wisdom , 2020
This chapter examines the written records of the fourth- and fifth-century monastic wisdom produced in and about the ascetic milieus of Egypt. I focus on two aspects related to ageing in that literature. First, the perception of Christian discipleship as ongoing growth, which culminates in the wisdom of the ‘beautiful elder’. Motivated by this understanding, novices learn from the advanced by observing their behaviour, by listening to their wisdom, and by obeying their advice. Second, the understanding of Christian discipleship in terms of novices attending to the needs of the elders. Thus, the elders represent both role models and objects of care. In this light, discipleship, in desert literature, means learning wisdom from and taking care of the elders.
Paradise Found - The desert as metaphor and experience in early monasticism
Nearly forty years have passed since the appearance of Derwas Chitty's fundamental study entitled 'The Desert a City' 1 on the beginnings of Christian monasticism in Egypt and Palestine. Chitty's titular expression is borrowed from the famous descripition of Athanasius' hagiographical work, the Vita Antonii, where the bishop presents the Saint's effect on his environment. 'The deserthe writes -soon became populated as if it were a city'. 2 However idealized this presentation of Anthony and his circle may be, the crucial role of the desert in the history of ascetical movements can hardly be overestimated. The 'desert' or 'wilderness' (η έρηµος) is not only a place where one is able to find shelter from the outer world and all its earthly cares, but also, since Biblical times, a par excellence territory of the encountering with God, and therefore a source of theology and deep mystical experience. Thus the desert can be perceived in many ways: not only as city -that is, community, as Athanasius refers to it -, but it can also be seen as church, tomb, scripture or hell, which is full of affliction and demons, and as Paradise, the dwelling-place of saints and angels. The desert also has its own theology, which differs from that ofthe cities. In comparison, the former seems more practical, more personal and less theoretical. Usually it expresses itself not in elongated treatises and homilies, but in short stories or letters often gathered in handbooks; and it is indisputably mystical with a paradox mysticism that seems to focus more on the human person rather than the secrets of the ineffable godhead. Excellent studies were composed on the history and thought of early Christian monasticism, that shed new light on the beginnings of theology and asceticism; however, the following essay has for itself a more modest purpose -only to trace the importance of the actual place where this kind of theology and practice was born. For the desert usually appears as a somewhat monochrome background for the events that took place therein, as if it were the schematic and conventional background of the central figures of an icon. A closer look, however, may reveal that this backround is actually a significant component, if notthe protagonist in the history of ascetical thought.
Prologue; by Alan Avery-Peck "Advocates of rhetorical criticism recently have argued that, within broad historical and geographical limits, rhetorical art remains the same from literature to literature. While "colored by the traditions and conventions of the society in which it is applied," rhetoric, this is to say, "is also a universal phenomenon which is conditioned by the basic workings of the human mind and heart and by the nature of all human society. One important implication of this theory of rhetoric is that similar literary forms will have the same rhetorical force and meaning in all cultures in which they occur. If the rhetorical medium indeed determines the message, then patterned language should function similarly regardless of its historical, cultural, or documentary provenance. Lists, epistle forms, or apophthegmata, for instance, will function similarly and have the same rhetorical force in literature deriving from diverse cultures and historical periods. For the form's meaning, the recent theory of apophthegmata holds, is determined as much by the universal 'workings of the human mind and heart' as by the unique conventions and ideals of the culture in which it is used. Definitions Apep (Aapep or Apepi) ; also spelled Apophis ( /ˈæpəfɪs/; Ancient Greek: ἄποφις) was the ancient Egyptian deity who embodied chaos ( ı͗zft in Egyptian, in slang Arabic Zift) was the adversary of light and opponent of Ma'at (order/ truth ). Apep was the ancient Egyptian spirit of evil, darkness and destruction. As the arch enemy of the sun god, Ra, he was a malevolent force who could never be entirely be vanquished. Every night as the sun traveled though the underworld (or across the sky) his roar would fill the air and he would launch his attack. He appears in art as a giant serpent. The Apophthegmata patrum (Sayings of the Fathers) is a collection of more than 1,000 brief stories about and sayings by the desert fathers. Some are terse aphorisms, others portray dramatic encounters in which young monks come to their elders, begging: “Abba, give me a word by which I might be saved.” Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Fathers, late 5th cent.) One of the most influential works of Christian monasticism, the Apophthegmata Patrum is an anthology of terse anecdotes about and memorable sayings from 4th-5th-century Egyptian monks. (Oxford Scholarship) Abba Macarius left the Scetis on his way to the far wilderness, and coming to a cemetery where old skeletons were buried. Macarius the great, the Lantern of the wilderness, picked a skull and placed it under his head. As soon as the demons observed they felt his boldness, and envied him and wished to disturb his peace; so, they shouted in a loud voice, calling a certain woman by name: “O Lilith*, we have got the soap, a comb and the bath towels; as we are waiting for you to join us.” And a voice came out from the skull under his head, saying: “I have a guest, a stranger, who is laying his head over me; I can’t join you. Just leave on your own.” But the bold saint was not at the least disturbed. Lifting his head off the skull, and moving it, he said, “Now, that I have set off you; go into the darkness with them, if you will.” Placing his head upon it back again. As the demons watched him, they deserted him in great embarrassment, shouting out loud,"leave us, and go away old man Macarius.” And the devils eventually scattered and disappeared out in the darkness. As to the character of the apophthegmata we find that, while they contain a certain grotesque element, the general teaching maintains a high level. They cover the whole field of the spiritual and religious life, and are a veritable storehouse of ascetic lore: Many of them have a primitive freshness and quaintness, and a directness that comes from a deep knowledge of the human heart. They almost always possess a simple beauty that makes them interesting and wholesome reading, and at times they rise to great mystic heights. Along with Cassian, the apophthegmata reveal to us the well-springs of Christian spirituality and religious life. (Catholic Encyclopedia) Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (born circa 1698, died 21 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov (Hebrew: בעל שם טוב, /ˌbɑːl ˈʃɛm ˌtʊv, ˌtʊf/) or as the BeShT, was a Jewish mystic and healer from Poland, who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which means "Master of the Good Name" or "one with a good reputation."The little biographical information about the Besht comes from oral traditions handed down by his students" (Wikipedia) A central tenet in the Baal Shem Tov's teaching is the direct connection with the divine, "dvekut", which is infused in every human activity and every waking hour. Prayer is of supreme importance, along with the mystical significance of Hebrew letters and words. His innovation lies in "encouraging worshipers to follow their distracting thoughts to their roots in the divine". Those who follow his teachings regard him as descended from the Davidic line that traces its lineage to the royal house of David __________________________________________________________________________________ Sayings of the Desert Fathers The first Christian monks tried every kind of experiment with the way they lived and prayed, but there were three main forms of monastic life: in Lower Egypt there were hermits who lived alone; in Upper Egypt there were monks and nuns living in communities; and in Nitria and Scetis there were those who lived solitary lives but in groups of three or four, often as disciples of a master. For the most part they were simple men, peasants from the villages by the Nile, though a few, like Arsenius and Evagrius, were well educated. However, the primary written accounts of the monks of Egypt are not these, but records of their words and actions by their close disciples. Often, the first thing that struck those who heard about the Desert Fathers was the negative aspect of their lives. They were people who did without: not much sleep, no baths, poor food, little company, ragged clothes, hard work, no leisure, absolutely no sex, and even, in some places, no church either - a dramatic contrast of immediate interest to those who lived out the Gospel differently. But to read their own writings is to form a rather different opinion. The literature produced among the monks comes from the desert, from the place where the amenities of civilization were at their lowest point anyway, where there was nothing to mark a contrast in lifestyles; and the emphasis is less on what was lacking and more on what was present. The outsider saw the negations; disciples who encountered the monks through their own words and actions found indeed great austerity and poverty, but it was neither unbelievable nor complicated. These were simple, practical men, given neither to mysticism nor to theology, living by the Word of God, the love of the brethren and of all creation, waiting for the coming of the Kingdom with eager expectation, using each moment as a step in their pilgrimage of the heart towards Christ. It was because of this positive desire for the Kingdom of heaven which came to dominate their whole lives that they went without things: they kept silence, for instance, not because of an austere preference for being solitary. They were learning to listen to something more interesting than the talk of men, that is, the Word of God. These men were rebels, the ones who broke the rules of the world which say that property and goods are essential for life, that the one who accepts the direction of another is not free, that no one can be fully human without sex and domesticity. Their name itself, anchorite, means rule-breaker, the one who does not fulfill his public duties. In the solitude of the desert they found themselves able to live in a way that was hard but simple, as children of God. The literature they have left behind is full of a good, perceptive wisdom, from a clear, unassuming angle. They did not write much; but they asked each other for a "word", that is, to say something in which they would recognize the Word of God, which gives life to the soul. It is not a literature of words that analyze and sort out personal worries or solve theological problems; nor is it a mystical literature concerned to present prayers and praise to God in a direct line of vision; rather, it is oblique, unformed, occasional, like sunlight glancing off a rare oasis in the sands. Please continue reading here: http://thenazareneway.com/paradise\_of\_the\_desert\_fathers.htm
DESERT FATHERS AND MOTHERS AS MENTORS OF MONASTIC LIFE
RELIGIOUS LIFE IN ASIA, 2021
This article argues the role of the fathers and mothers of the desert in the fourth century as the mentor of spiritual life. Here the most notable figures of the desert fathers and mothers are Anthony of Egypt, Pacomius, Evagrius of Pontus, Amma Syncletica and Amma Theodora. Historically, they laid the foundations of monastic life.