St John Cassian was a monk and an ascetical writer who was the first to introduce Eastern monasticism into the West. Born in present day Romania, near the delta of the Danube; about 435 AD. He was the son of wealthy parents, he received a good education, and while yet a youth visited the holy …
I think that, by God's help and to the extent that our limited skill was capable, I have explained the method of night-time prayer and psalms that is observed in Egypt. Now we shall have to discuss the Psalms services of terce (third), sext (Sixth), and none (Ninth), (Which when added to the night-time prayer, …
“Singing Psalms is medicine for healing the soul” St. Athanasius If you open the Bible right in the middle you will find the book of Psalms. In fact, the middle chapter in the whole Bible is Psalm 118. The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119 and the shortest chapter in the Bible is …
I marvel at your conduct in Christ, dear Marcellinus. Indeed you are successfully enduring the present trial, although you have suffered many tribulations in it, and you do not neglect the discipline.' For when I inquired from your letterbearer how you fare in your continuing illness, I learned that you maintain a studious attitude toward …
The authority of the bishop is a multifaceted and ever changing construct that continued to change as individuals adapted, necessity dictated, and circumstances permitted. The office itself underwent a process of growth and change over time during which certain aspects and tasks gained in importance, while others receded into the shadows. The main components that …
It happened one time that our father abba Shenouda was in the cell in the desert, and he delayed his return to the monastery because he was praying in those days for the river to flood. He gave us a command, saying: ‘Let none come into the desert’. So when something was needed for the …
Despite the importance of work in the White Monastery, it has been argued that prayer, not labor, was the activity around which the day was structured. The monks slept two to a cell in the monastery. They rose about an hour and a half before light and immediately prayed; if they rose earlier, they were …
There were two brothers lying sick in the monastery. One of them was zealous and watched over himself carefully; the other was very negligent, spending his days in vain pursuits. Now one day, it happened that our father abba Shenouda came to the place where they were sick to them. When he came to the …
For as the Lord said. "Not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord, to me will go Into the kingdom. but the one who will do the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7:21) Likewise, it is not the one who reads or says or hears Him who will enter life but those who …
Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself By the flocks of your companions? If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little …
