As we’ve seen throughout this series so far, many of the Desert Fathers rose to an odd kind of fame during their lifetimes. Committed as they were to lives of humility, they nonetheless gained big reputations and were sought out by everyday citizens and follow monks alike. There’s clearly a conflict here, and it’s one … Continue reading Reputation and Reality: A Reflection on Abba Silvanus 10
As we’ve already seen in the past week or so, one of the ways Desert spirituality differs most from that common today is in how it relates to the idea of sin. Whereas our culture, still hungover from a centuries-long obsession with sinfulness and hell-fire, treats the idea of sin with a lot of disdain … Continue reading The Light Burden: A Reflection on Ephesians 2.1-10 and Abba John the Dwarf 21
As someone who grew up in the optimistic days of the 1990s, one of the things, among the many, that is surprising and disappointing to me about where we are at as the first quarter of the twenty-first century draws to a close is the lack of what was once considered basic human decency. There’s … Continue reading On Soft-heartedness: A Reflection on Amma Syncletica 11
As we’ve seen, the Desert Fathers were mostly concerned with very practical matters. The Sayings recorded and passed on to posterity are not about doctrine — in fact, many of them would find themselves on opposite sides of the ancient schisms that divided the Eastern Churches, yet we see no indication of that from these … Continue reading On Real Virtue: A Reflection on Abba Isidore of Pelusia 4
When we talk about Desert monasticism, three figures stand above the rest as its founders and bright lights, Saints Anthony, Amoun, and Pachomius. They were famous even in their own day: Guests came in hopes of gaining some piece of wisdom, disciples came to live among them, and Anthony even had a biography written of … Continue reading What Matters Most: A Reflection on Abba Amoun 1 and Abba Anthony 24
Matthew Root 