Category: Desert Fathers

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Jerome talks about the Monks of Egypt - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

Since you like to hear about holy things, lend an ear to me for a few moments. There are in Egypt three classes of monks. First, there are the cenobites, or as we should say, men living in a community. Secondly, there are the anchorites, who live in the desert, each man by himself, and …

The Dove Returns to the Ark - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

When I left the bishopric and returned to my desert cave at the beginning of January 1964, I found the monk Antonius (Pope Shenouda’s name before becoming a bishop) at the door and he said to me, “I knew that you would return”, as he hugged me tightly so that we became one. At that …

On Fasting - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

The brethren said, “Is it possible for a man to fast and not to be redeemed?” The old man said, “There is a fasting which is a matter of habit, another which is of desire, another which is of constraint, another which is of the sight, another which is of vainglory, another of tribulation, another …

Wisdom derived from humility - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

St. Anthony's humility took many forms. St. Anthony listened to others without insisting on his own opinion from his childhood. As an adult, St. Anthony committed himself to solitude and practiced it by living enclosed for twenty years during which he did not see a single human face. This, it is thought, is the life …

On Virginity - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

The holy look of virginity is precious indeed in the judgment of all who make purity the test of beauty; but it belongs to those alone whose struggles to gain this object of a noble love are favoured and helped by the grace of God. Now if the achievement of this saintly virtue consists in …

Calling Shenoute A Prophet - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

I am not sure that Shenoute ever explicitly called himself a prophet, but others have used the label for him frequently. What have they meant in doing so? Already in antiquity Shenoute's first biographers called him a prophet. To be sure, disciples and admirers of other monks called their heroes prophets or compared them to …

A Monk Under Attack - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

When Abba Macarius dwelt in the great desert, he was the only one living as an anchorite, but lower down there was another desert where several brothers dwelt. The old man was surveying the road when he saw Satan drawing near in the likeness of a man and he passed by his dwelling. He seemed …

Breaking Barriers - St Shenouda Monastery Pimonakhos Articles

In everyone’s spiritual life there comes a point where we can either excel or stay the same, both of which have a corresponding result. Sadly, many of us choose to stay where we are, claiming it to be too difficult to move forward; often putting ourselves in a state of spiritual apathy and lukewarmness, while …

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