St John Cassian On the Holy Fathers of Sketis And on Discrimination 'From what Abba Serapion said, we can learn that we shall be granted the gift of true discrimination when we trust, no longer in the judgments of our own mind, but in the teaching and rule of our fathers. The devil brings the …
But if we wished also to examine the nighttime, we would see the monk adorned with the worship of God and with prayers, singing much earlier than the birds, living with the angels, conversing with God, enjoying the goods of heaven. But he who commands many nations and peoples and armies, who rules over much …
St. Bishoy struggled in much asceticism and many worships that made him worthy to see the Lord Christ. Emperor Constantine appeared to him in a vision, saying, "Had I known how great is the honour of monks, I would have abandoned my kingdom and became a monk." St. Bishoy told him, "You have banished the …
A leader of a community asked Abba Poemen: “How can I gain the fear of God?” Abba Poemen replied: “How indeed can we gain the fear of God when we have bellies full of cheese and jars of salted fish?” Abba Poemen thus teaches us that the ultimate goal of fasting is to help lead …
After the period of martyrdom came the period of monasticism in Libya. There were remote monastic communities in the mountains and desert that survived beyond the Arab victories. They were following in the path of the crucified Lord and of the martyrs of the Roman persecution. Monasticism flourished in the Pentapolis and later in the …
In current speech, the word "cell" immediately evokes a room where, in a prison, a criminal is locked up, isolated and cut off from all contact with others. And, in fact, for the Egyptian who really enjoys fresh air and relations with others, the hermit's cell must look like a veritable dungeon. The Desert Fathers …
A brother in the Cells had put some palm tree leaves to soak and, as he sat down to plait them, his mind told him, "Go find such and such an elder." Then he told himself, "I'll go in a few days." Again, his mind told him, "And if he dies, what will you do? …
There was also another brother sitting in a corner reciting the twelve minor prophets, and as often as he would recite them, beginning each one in order, our father Abba Shenouda would see the prophet he was reciting standing by the brother until he finished the recitation. He would then leave and sit by our …
A very interesting and important clue to the nature of this communal meal is furnished by the name used by the hermits themselves when referring to it: Agapy. This word was not an uncommon one in the desert hermit's vocabulary, for it had a number of meanings. It was commonly used with reference to an …
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 …
