Wandering Begging Monks

Author : Daniel Caner
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 343 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2002-08-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780520928503

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Wandering, Begging Monks by Daniel Caner Pdf

An apostolic lifestyle characterized by total material renunciation, homelessness, and begging was practiced by monks throughout the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. Such monks often served as spiritual advisors to urban aristocrats whose patronage gave them considerable authority and independence from episcopal control. This book is the first comprehensive study of this type of Christian poverty and the challenge it posed for episcopal authority and the promotion of monasticism in late antiquity. Focusing on devotional practices, Daniel Caner draws together diverse testimony from Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere—including the Pseudo-Clementine Letters to Virgins, Augustine's On the Work of Monks, John Chrysostom's homilies, legal codes—to reveal gospel-inspired patterns of ascetic dependency and teaching from the third to the fifth centuries. Throughout, his point of departure is social and cultural history, especially the urban social history of the late Roman empire. He also introduces many charismatic individuals whose struggle to persist against church suppression of their chosen way of imitating Christ was fought with defiant conviction, and the book includes the first annotated English translation of the biography of Alexander Akoimetos (Alexander the Sleepless). Wandering, Begging Monks allows us to understand these fascinating figures of early Christianity in the full context of late Roman society.

Author : Daniel Folger Caner
Publisher : University of California Press
Page : 342 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2020-05-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780520344563

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Wandering, Begging Monks by Daniel Folger Caner Pdf

An apostolic lifestyle characterized by total material renunciation, homelessness, and begging was practiced by monks throughout the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. Such monks often served as spiritual advisors to urban aristocrats whose patronage gave them considerable authority and independence from episcopal control. This book is the first comprehensive study of this type of Christian poverty and the challenge it posed for episcopal authority and the promotion of monasticism in late antiquity. Focusing on devotional practices, Daniel Caner draws together diverse testimony from Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere—including the Pseudo-Clementine Letters to Virgins, Augustine's On the Work of Monks, John Chrysostom's homilies, legal codes—to reveal gospel-inspired patterns of ascetic dependency and teaching from the third to the fifth centuries. Throughout, his point of departure is social and cultural history, especially the urban social history of the late Roman empire. He also introduces many charismatic individuals whose struggle to persist against church suppression of their chosen way of imitating Christ was fought with defiant conviction, and the book includes the first annotated English translation of the biography of Alexander Akoimetos (Alexander the Sleepless). Wandering, Begging Monks allows us to understand these fascinating figures of early Christianity in the full context of late Roman society.

Author : Maribel Dietz
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2010-11-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 027104778X

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Wandering Monks, Virgins, and Pilgrims by Maribel Dietz Pdf

Dietz finds that this period of Christianity witnessed an explosion of travel, as men and women took to the roads, seeking spiritual meaning in a life of itinerancy. This book is essential reading for those who study the history of monasticism, for it was a monastic context that religious travel first claimed an essential place within Christianity.

Author : Daniel Caner
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 518 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Asceticism
ISBN : UCAL:C3408809

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Wandering, Begging Monks, Social Order and the Promotion of Monasticism in the Roman East, 360-451 CE by Daniel Caner Pdf

Author : Daniel Folger Caner
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 440 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Electronic
ISBN : UCAL:C3408810

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Wandering, Begging Monks, Social Order and the Promotion of Monasticism in the Roman East, 360-451 CE by Daniel Folger Caner Pdf

Author : Daniel Caner
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 437 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520381599

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The Rich and the Pure by Daniel Caner Pdf

A portrait of history’s first complex Christian society as seen through the lens of Christian philanthropy and gift giving As the Roman Empire broke down in western Europe, its prosperity moved decisively eastward, to what is now known as the Byzantine Empire. Here was born history’s first truly affluent, multifaceted Christian society. One of the ideals used to unite the diverse millions of people living in this vast realm was the Christianized ideal of philanthrōpia. In this sweeping cultural and social history, Daniel Caner shows how philanthropy required living up to Jesus’s injunction to “Give to all who ask of you,” by offering mercy and/or material aid to every human being, regardless of their origin or status. Caner shows how Christian philanthropy became articulated through distinct religious ideals of giving that helped define proper social relations among the rich, the poor, and “the pure” (Christian holy people), resulting in new and enduring social expectations. In tracking the evolution of Christian giving over three centuries, he brings to the fore the concerns of the peoples of Early Byzantium, from the countryside to the lower levels of urban society to the imperial elites, as well as the hierarchical relationships that arose among them. The Rich and the Pure offers nothing less than a portrait of the whole of early Byzantine society.

Author : David A. Michelson,Associate Professor of the History of Christianity David A Michelson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2023-01-13
Category : Contemplation
ISBN : 9780198836247

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The Library of Paradise by David A. Michelson,Associate Professor of the History of Christianity David A Michelson Pdf

Contemplative reading is a spiritual practice developed by Christian monks in sixth- and seventh-century Mesopotamia. Mystics belonging to the Church of the East pursued a form of contemplation which moved from reading, to meditation, to prayer, to the ecstasy of divine vision. The Library of Paradise tells the story of this Syriac tradition in three phases: its establishment as an ascetic practice, the articulation of its theology, and its maturation and spread. The sixth-century monastic reform of Abraham of Kashkar codified the essential place of reading in East Syrian ascetic life. Once established, the practice of contemplative reading received extensive theological commentary. Abraham's successor Babai the Great drew upon the ascetic system of Evagrius of Pontus to explain the relationship of reading to the monk's pursuit of God. Syriac monastic handbooks of the seventh century built on this Evagrian framework. 'Enanisho' of Adiabene composed an anthology called Paradise that would stand for centuries as essential reading matter for Syriac monks. Dadisho' of Qatar wrote a widely copied commentary on the Paradise. Together, these works circulated as a one-volume library which offered readers a door to "Paradise" through contemplation. The Library of Paradise is the first book-length study of East Syrian contemplative reading. It adapts methodological insights from prior scholarship on reading, including studies on Latin lectio divina. By tracing the origins of East Syrian contemplative reading, this study opens the possibility for future investigation into its legacies, including the tradition's long reception history in Sogdian, Arabic, and Ethiopic monastic libraries.

Author : Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony,Aryeh Kofsky
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 261 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2006-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789047408444

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The Monastic School of Gaza by Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony,Aryeh Kofsky Pdf

The book deals with the history of the monastic community in the region of Gaza in Late antiquity. It examines the monastic career and teachings of central figures such as Abba Isaiah, Peter the Iberian, Barsanuphius and John, and Dorotheus. The social, religious and material aspects of this community are discussed in comparison with other contemporary monastic centers.

Author : Robert R. Phenix
Publisher : Mohr Siebeck
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 3161496760

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The Sermons on Joseph of Balai of Qenneshrin by Robert R. Phenix Pdf

Robert Phenix investigates the collection of twelve Syriac poetic sermons recounting the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 and 39-50. The authorship of these poems has been disputed, but this is the first study to attempt to argue from all aspects of the evidence that Balai of Qenneshrin is the author. The study then examines all of the data that can be associated with Balai: the religious environment of Qenneshrin and nearby Aleppo, Balai's connections with the monk-bishops of central Syria in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, particularly Acacius of Beroea/Aleppo and Rabbula of Edessa, the status of chorbishops, and the presence of Syriac speakers. Since it is argued in this study that Balai's source for the Sermons on Joseph was a Jewish text, this section also carefully examines the evidence for the Jewish community in Qenneshrin. As part of the background of the author, links between characters and the physical setting of the Sermons on Joseph and Qenneshrin are investigated. The relationship of the Sermons on Joseph to other Syriac Joseph sources and Joseph material in the Pseudepigrapha and at Qumran is discussed, followed by the question of the origin of the story, which is located in a lost Greek Jewish composition. The last section of the work examines the author's use of Hellenistic rhetoric and literary themes. The many speeches in the Sermons on Joseph reveal rhetorical arrangements that are strikingly close to the models of arrangement found in Late Antique handbooks, such as the Hermogenic Corpus . Several of these arguments are examined, as are the elaborate prefaces that introduce some of the individual Sermons on Joseph . The literary themes and motifs of the Sermons on Joseph are explored. It can be shown that some motifs known only in Syriac religious literature are employed in the Sermons on Joseph in non-religious literary contexts.

Author : Louise Blanke,Jennifer Cromwell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 413 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2023-04-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781009278935

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Monastic Economies in Late Antique Egypt and Palestine by Louise Blanke,Jennifer Cromwell Pdf

This book situates discussions of Christian monasticism in Egypt and Palestine within the socio-economic world of the long Late Antiquity, from the golden age of monasticism into and well beyond the Arab conquest (fifth to tenth century). Its thirteen chapters present new research into the rich corpus of textual sources and archaeological remains and move beyond traditional studies that have treated monastic communities as religious entities in physical seclusion from society. The volume brings together scholars working across traditional boundaries of subject and geography and explores a diverse range of topics from the production of food and wine to networks of scribes, patronage, and monastic visitation. As such, it paints a vivid picture of busy monastic lives dependent on and led in tandem with the non-monastic world.

Author : Jaclyn L. Maxwell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2021-03-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9781108832267

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Simplicity and Humility in Late Antique Christian Thought by Jaclyn L. Maxwell Pdf

Examines how the apostles' manual labour, simplicity, and humility affected the worldviews of upper-class Christians in Late Antiquity.

Author : Jennifer Barry
Publisher : University of California Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2019-04-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520300378

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Bishops in Flight by Jennifer Barry Pdf

At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Flight during times of persecution has a long and fraught history in early Christianity. In the third century, bishops who fled were considered cowards or, worse yet, heretics. On the face, flight meant denial of Christ and thus betrayal of faith and community. But by the fourth century, the terms of persecution changed as Christianity became the favored cult of the Roman Empire. Prominent Christians who fled and survived became founders and influencers of Christianity over time. Bishops in Flight examines the various ways these episcopal leaders both appealed to and altered the discourse of Christian flight to defend their status as purveyors of Christian truth, even when their exiles appeared to condemn them. Their stories illuminate how profoundly Christian authors deployed theological discourse and the rhetoric of heresy to respond to the phenomenal political instability of the fourth and fifth centuries.

Author : Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2016-05-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781317110552

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John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow by Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen Pdf

John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow is one of the most important sources for late sixth-early seventh century Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian monasticism. This undisputedly invaluable collection of beneficial tales provides contemporary society with a fuller picture of an imperfect social history of this period: it is a rich source for understanding not only the piety of the monk but also the poor farmer. Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen fills a lacuna in classical monastic secondary literature by highlighting Moschos' unique contribution to the way in which a fertile Christian theology informed the ethics of not only those serving at the altar but also those being served. Introducing appropriate historical and theological background to the tales, Llewellyn Ihssen demonstrates how Moschos' tales addresses issues of the autonomy of individual ascetics and lay persons in relationship with authority figures. Economic practices, health care, death and burials of lay persons and ascetics are examined for the theology and history that they obscure and reveal. Whilst teaching us about the complicated relationships between personal agency and divine intercession, Moschos’ tales can also be seen to reveal liminal boundaries we know existed between the secular and the religious.

Author : Bruria Bitton-Ashkelony
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 269 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2005-12-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780520241916

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Encountering the Sacred by Bruria Bitton-Ashkelony Pdf

Annotation A study of the response (political and theological) of early Christian intellectuals to the widespread practice of pilgrimage to holy places in Palestine.

Author : Brouria Bitton Ashkelony,Arieh Kofsky
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2004-01-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004138681

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Christian Gaza In Late Antiquity by Brouria Bitton Ashkelony,Arieh Kofsky Pdf

This valuable collection of thirteen studies provides an overview of recent research on central issues concerning the history of late antique Gaza. Several essays address various aspects of the continuity of pagan culture in Christian Gaza, festivals, spectacles, and the classical legacy of the fifth and sixth centuries, thus highlighting the public life of the city as a unique synthesis of the new and old worlds. Several articles deal with central topics pertaining to the monastic life developed in the region of Gaza and its vicinity between the fourth and seventh centuries. More specifically, they explore the rich Correspondence of Barsanuphius and John, the spiritual leaders of this monastic community. Two papers furnish an archeological survey of the monasteries of Gaza, and a discussion on the geographical and administrative aspects of its territory. Certain articles focus on the anti-Chalcedonian resistance of this monastic center in the wake of the council of Chalcedon, while others tackle the change of its stance in the time of Emperor Justin (518-527). In sum, this book covers a relatively neglected chapter in the complex and fascinating Christian history of the Holy Land.