The Book of the Elders: Saying of the Desert Fathers; The Systematic Collection (Cistercian Studies Series, vol. 240)

by John Wortley

Publisher:

Liturgical Press

, 2018

Overview

In the early part of the fourth century, a few Christians, mostly men and some women, began to withdraw from “the world” to retreat into the desert, there to practice their new religion more seriously. The person who aspired to “renounce the world” first had to find an “elder,” a person who would accept him as a disciple and apprentice. To his elder (whom he would address as abba—father) the neophyte owed complete obedience; from his abba, he would receive provisions (as it were) for the road to virtue. In addition to the abba’s own example of living, there was the verbal teaching of the elders in sayings and tales, setting out the theory and practice of the eremitic life.

In due course, these sayings (or apophthegmata) were written down and, later, collected and codified. The earliest attempts to codify tales and sayings are now lost. As the collection grew, they were first organized alphabetically, according to the name of the abba who spoke them, in a major collection known as the Apophthegmata Patrum Alphabetica. A supplementary collection, the Anonymous Apophthegmata, followed. Later, both collections were combined and arranged systematically rather than alphabetically. This collection was created sometime between 500 and 575 and later went through a couple of major revisions, the second of which appeared sometime before 970.

This second revision was published in an excellent new critical edition, with a French translation, in 1993. Now, in The Book of the Elders, John Wortley offers an English translation of this collection, based entirely on the Greek of that text.

Key Features

• Explores the Apophthegmata Patrum Alphabetica and the Anonymous Apophthegmata as a collection.
• Offers an English translation of this collection, based entirely on the Greek of that text.
• Focuses on the verbal teaching of the elders in sayings and tales.

Contents

• Foreword (Bernard Flusin)
• Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Glossary
• The Book of the Elders
• Index of Personal Names

Product Details

• Title: The Book of the Elders: Saying of the Desert Fathers; The Systematic Collection (Cistercian Studies Series, vol. 240)
• Author: John Wortley
• Series: Cistercian Studies Series
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Print Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 420
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• ISBNs: 9780879076900, 0879076909
• Resource ID: LLS:BKLDRSSYSCLLCTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-12-05T18:14:31Z

About John Wortley

John Wortley is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He has published widely on the Byzantine era and has completed several translations to date, including Les Récits édifiants de Paul, évêque de Monembasie, et d'autres auteurs (1987), The Spiritual Meadow of John Moschos, including the additional tales edited by Nissen and Mioni (1992), The Spiritually Beneficial Tales of Paul, Bishop of Monembasia and of Other Authors (1996) and John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 (2010). Professor Wortley has also served as an Anglican priest since 1960.