Letters from the Desert (Popular Patristics Series)
Overview
Dive into the letters of two monastic elders: the “Great Old Man,” Barsanuphius, and the “Other Old Man,” John, who lived in the southern region around Gaza during the early part of the sixth century. Maintaining strict seclusion within their cells, they spoke to others only through letters by way of Abba Seridos, the abbot of the monastic community in Gaza. John’s authority was more institutional, as he responds to problems of a practical nature, while Barsanuphius’ authority is more inspirational, responding to principles of a spiritual nature. Their letters were written to hermits, to monks in the community, to those in the choir, to priests, and to lay persons. Some were intended for advanced instruction, while others were intended for novices, according to the capacity of the inquirer. The questions and answers of these letters evoke the image of the Christian tradition being passed from elder to disciple. In John Chryssavgis’s fresh translations, the contemporary reader is enabled to appreciate the method and inspired to imitate the message.
Top Highlights
“Not only do people differ from one another (Letter 157); indeed, even circumstances within one and the same person may differ from time to time (Letter 842). This is why ‘conscience’ plays an important role in these letters.19 Conscience implies the integral knowledge of many aspects and factors that are interconnected and interdependent. It is a knowledge that is more intuitive than analytical, a knowledge that invites and involves the subconscious, the conscious and the supraconscious levels.” (Page 29)
“‘The words ‘give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thess 5:18) constitute an order’” (Page 30)
“described as ‘groping in the darkness of one’s heart” (Page 26)
“Where is your mind, slothful one? Where does your thought dwell, lazy one? Why is it that the lords of your mind contradict within you the disciples of the Master, that you should not accept him to mount your mind as your Master and to enter Jerusalem (Lk 19:33–35), casting out of the temple of God ‘those who sell and buy’ (Mt 21:12; Mk 11:15) and putting to shame the Scribes and the Pharisees? Why is it that, when you ought to dwell in Jerusalem, they drag you to Babylon?” (Pages 72–73)
“You called yourself a sinner, but in your deeds you did not consider yourself as such. For one who considers oneself a sinner and the cause of evil is neither contentious nor angry against anyone else, but considers everyone to be better and wiser than oneself.” (Page 63)
Product Details
- Title: Letters from the Desert
- Authors: Barsanuphius and John
- Translator: John Chryssavgis
- Publisher: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press
- Publication Date: 2003
- Pages: 213
About the Translator
John Chryssavgis studied theology in Athens and Oxford. He taught at St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney and at Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston. His writings have focused on the early ascetic literature of Egypt, Palestine, and the Sinai Peninsula.