Description
Book SynopsisAn accessible introduction exploring how the earliest Christian monks lived and taught in the Egyptian deserts in the fourth to the seventh centuries AD, using their own tales and sayings. Shows the gradual transformation of their essentially solitary existence into communal co-existence which defined the monasteries of the Middle Ages.
Trade Review'… a valuable introduction for anyone interested in what is one of the most influential literatures in the history of Christianity.' Samuel Rubenso, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
'… I commend and recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering more about the early desert monastics.' Tim Vivian, The American Benedictine Review
Table of Contents1. Desert Fathers; 2. Beginnings; 3. Becoming a monk; 4. Impediments to progress; 5. The object of the exercise; 6. Prayer; 7. Discretion; 8. Work; 9. Eating and drinking; 10. Hospitality and neighbourliness; 11. Women in the desert; 12. Literacy; 13. Heresy; 14. The Pachomian experiment.
