The Letters of St. Antony: Monasticism and the Making of a SaintThis book revolutionizes our understanding of the life and thought of the great anchorite father of the Egyptian desert. It is a signal contribution to our knowledge of Egyptian Christianity in the third and fourth centuries.—Birger Pearson, Institute for Antiquity and Christianity Samuel Rubenson, by means of a fresh analysis of the letters of St. Antony, exposes the distortion of the picture of early Christian monks as unlettered and primitive. Rubenson describes the desert monasteries as centers of theological reflection in Egypt, showing how they combined the speculative philosophy of the Greeks and the biblical tradition. Included in this volume is a new translation of the letters themselves, which are shown to be authentic and an important source for the study of the desert fathers and the early monastic tradition. The later image of Antony is demonstrated to be influenced by church politics of the latter part of the fourth century. Samuel Rubenson is Associate Professor at Lund University, Lund, Sweden. |
Contents
Foreword by Birger A Pearson 7 69 | 9 |
THE VERSIONS | 15 |
THE HISTORICAL SETTING | 35 |
The Text | 48 |
THE GNOSIS | 59 |
The Image of St Antony | 89 |
THE LIFE OF ANTONY | 126 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alexandria Ammonas Antonian Antony's letters AP/G Apophthegmata Patrum Arabic Arabic version Arian Arius ascetic Athanasius attributed to Antony authenticity background Biblical bishop body Christ Church Collectio collections copte Coptic Coptic version Creator CSCO demons Didymus disciples Dörries early monastic edition Egypt Egyptian Christianity emphasis Epistula Evagrius evidence evil Father fourth century G Antony Garitte Georgian Georgian and Latin Georgian version Gérard Garitte gnosis Gnostic Greek Greek text Historia Lausiaca historical holy image of Antony Jerome Jesus knowledge Latin version literature Lord Macarius Manichaean Manichaeism manuscripts mentioned mind monasteries monastic tradition monasticism Mönchtums monks Nag Hammadi Nitria op.cit Origen Origenist original Pachomian Pachomius Palladius papyri parousia passage philosophical Platonic preserved purification quotation repentance Rufinus Saint Antoine salvation sayings soul Sozomenus Spirit spiritual essence Syriac Syriac version Teachings of Silvanus theology third century translation verse Vita Antonii Vita Pachomii word δὲ καὶ τῆς τὸ τοῦ