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 | Category: Monastic
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Title: Ladder of Divine Ascent  | views:33 |  Author: John Climacus
Title: Ladder of Divine Ascent
Publisher: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
ISBN: 9780943405032
|  The Ladder of Divine Ascent was the most widely used handbook of the ascetic life in the ancient Greek Church. Popular among both lay and monastics, it was translated into Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, Old Slavonic, and many modern languages. It was written while the author (who received his surname from this book) was abbot of the monastery of Catherine on Mount Sinai. As reflected in the title, the ascetical life is portrayed as a ladder which each aspirant must ascend, each step being a virtue to be acquired, or a vice to be surrendered. Its thirty steps reflect the hidden life of Christ himself. This work had a fundamental influence in the particularly the Hesychastic, Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart movement. Pierre Pourrat in his History of Christian Spirituality calls John Climacus the "most important ascetical theologian of the East, at this epoch, who enjoyed a great reputation and exercised and important influence on future centuries." |
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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| Title: Letters from the Desert | views:21 | Author: John Barsanuphius
Title: Letters from the Desert
Publisher: St Vladimir's Seminary Press,U.S.
ISBN: 9780881412543
| Two monastic elders the 'Great Old Man' Barsanuphius, and the 'Other Old Man' John flourished in the southern region around Gaza in 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, where these two holy men lived in silence. The authority of John may be described as more institutional, responding as he does to problems of a practical nature; the authority of Barsanuphius is more inspirational, responding to principles of a spiritual nature. Thus, they complemented each other and together they maintained a harmonious 'authority-in-charity.' Rather than the Western emphasis on discipline, these two elders retained an emphasis on discernment, thus preserving the flexibility and fluidity of the Egyptian desert lifestyles (from whence Barsanuphius had been formed). Nevertheless, both men were highly educated and displayed a fine intellect, as is reflected in their writings. In the East, one sought out an elder, an Old Man (a geron in Greek or an abba, the Coptic word) as a spiritual director, and this was the chief role of monastic community to the surrounding community. These letters of the two Old Men 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. So one must not perceive as a general rule words spoken to souls at different spiritual levels. Still, these questions and answers evoke the image of the Christian tradition being passed from elder to disciple, and the contemporary reader will be able to appreciate the method and possibly be inspired to imitate the message.
About the Author
Father 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. |
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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| Title: Letters of St.Antony the Great | views:31 | Author: St.Antony of Egypt
Title: Letters of St.Antony the Great
Publisher: Fairacres Publications
ISBN: 9780728300521
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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| Title: Life of Antony | views:36 | Author: Tom Vivian; Apostolos Athanasakis
Title: Life of Antony
Publisher: Cistercian Publications Inc.,U.S.
ISBN: 9780879079024
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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|  | Category: Monastic
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| Title: Lives of the Desert Fathers | views:20 | Author: Benedicta Ward; Norman Russell
Title: Lives of the Desert Fathers
Publisher: Andrew Mowbray Incorporated, Publishers
ISBN: 9780879079345
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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| Review submitted: 2009/9/23
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|  | Category: Patristics
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| Title: Lord's Prayer (Ancient Christian Writers) | views:29 | Author: St. Gregory of Nyssa
Title: Lord's Prayer (Ancient Christian Writers)
Publisher: Paulist Press International,U.S.
ISBN: 9780809102556
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| Review submitted: 2009/10/20
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|  | Category: Patristics
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| Title: Luke | views:28 | Author: Arthur A. Just; Thomas C. Oden
Title: Luke
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
ISBN: 9780830814886
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| Review submitted: 2009/10/21
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