A young man desired to renounce and abandon the world, and many times set off to fulfil his desire. However, as soon as he would get outside the city to leave for the monastery, his decision would be overturned by thoughts suggesting to him that he supposedly had first to take care of certain necessary …
Spirituality in the desert or on the mountain, differs in its manner from spirituality in the city. One of the most troublesome factors for a worshipper in the city is being enclosed within four walls. I have experienced this myself when I was, some years ago, on a camp in a desert spot called Almaza, …
Most of the Apophthegmata Patrum are in the form of question and answer, a clear indication of their didactic purpose: a junior “brother" approaches a senior "elder" or father, abba and asks him a question. The question is often no more than a simple request for "a word": "Say something to me", meaning: "Give me …
The Apophthegmata Patrum is an extraordinary anthology. In its pages, one finds “a diverse band of colorful characters, wild adventures, and stinging, memorable ‘one-liners.’” Its publication marked an important milestone in the literature of late antiquity. As Peter Brown has noted, “The Sayings provided a remarkable new literary genre, close to the world of parable …
