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  1. Home
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  3. An Introduction to the Desert Fathers
  • Cited by 8
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2019
Print publication year:
2019
Online ISBN:
9781108646116
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108646116
Subjects:
Ancient History, Classical Studies, Religion, Church History
Information

Book description

Christian monasticism emerged in the Egyptian deserts in the fourth century AD. This introduction explores its origins and subsequent development and what it aimed to achieve, including the obstacles that it encountered; for the most part making use of the monks' own words as they are preserved (in Greek) primarily in the so-called Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Mainly focussing on monastic settlements in the Nitrian Desert (especially at Scêtê), it asks how the monks prayed, ate, drank and slept, as well as how they discharged their obligations both to earn their own living by handiwork and to exercise hospitality. It also discusses the monks' degree of literacy, as well as women in the desert and Pachomius and his monasteries in Upper Egypt. Written in straightforward language, the book is accessible to all students and scholars, and anyone with a general interest in this important and fascinating phenomenon.

Reviews

‘… a valuable introduction for anyone interested in what is one of the most influential literatures in the history of Christianity.’

Samuel Rubenso Source: Journal of Ecclesiastical History

‘… I commend and recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering more about the early desert monastics.’

Tim Vivian Source: The American Benedictine Review

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