Basil of Caesarea. Questions of the Brothers
Basil of Caesarea. Questions of the Brothers

Author: Anna M. Silvas

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-05-08

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 900426681X

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Basil of Caesarea (c. 328-378) was the great father of Christian monasticism in eastern Anatolia, whose influence spread into all the Greek, Latin and Syriac speaking churches. Basil’s counsels for ascetics in community are collected in his Asketikon. The earliest version, the Small Asketikon, did not survive in the Greek, but only in a Latin translation (The Rule of Basil), and in a Syriac translation (The Questions of the Brothers). Silvas presents the first ever edition of the entire Syriac translation, drawn from five manuscripts, the oldest from the late 5th century. The introductory study shows how the Syriac translator was himself a warm-hearted spiritual father who made his own authorial contributions to the Questions of the Brothers.

Creation and Contemplation
Creation and Contemplation

Author: Julien Decharneux

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-06-06

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 3110794160

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In Creation and Contemplation, Julien Decharneux explores the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity. The first part of the book studies how, in exhorting its audience to contemplate the world, the Qur’ān carries on a tradition of natural contemplation that had developed throughout Late Antiquity in the Christian world. In this regard, the analysis suggests particularly striking connections with the mystical and ascetic literature of the Church of the East, which was in effervescence at the time of the emergence of Islam. The second part argues that the Qur’ānic cosmological discourse is built so as to serve the overarching theological message of the text, namely God’s absolute unity. Despite the allusive, and sometimes obscure, way in which the Qur’ān talks about the world’s coming into being and its maintenance in existence, the text betrays its authors’ acquaintance with cosmological debates of Late Antiquity. In studying the Qur’ān through the prism of Late Antiquity, this book contributes to our understanding of the emergence of Islam and its relationship with other religious traditions of the time. Winner of the 2022 Marie-Antoinette Van Huele Prize and the 2023 Richard Kreglinger Prize (both Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Free University of Brussels.

The Asketikon of St Basil the Great
The Asketikon of St Basil the Great

Author: Anna Silvas

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2005-09-22

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 0199273510

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The Asketikon of St Basil the Great comprises a new English translation and studies which re-examine the emergence of monasticism in Asia Minor. Rufinus' translation of an earlier edition is compared with the Greek text of the longer edition, as a means of tracing the development of ideas. Silvas concludes that the antecedents of the monastic community of the Great Asketikon are best sought in the domestic ascetic movement in Anatolia as typified at Annisa under theleadership of Makrina.

The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism
The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism

Author: Bernice M. Kaczynski

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-09-29

Total Pages: 736

ISBN-13: 0191003964

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The Handbook takes as its subject the complex phenomenon of Christian monasticism. It addresses, for the first time in one volume, the multiple strands of Christian monastic practice. Forty-four essays consider historical and thematic aspects of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican traditions, as well as contemporary 'new monasticism'. The essays in the book span a period of nearly two thousand years—from late ancient times, through the medieval and early modern eras, on to the present day. Taken together, they offer, not a narrative survey, but rather a map of the vast terrain. The intention of the Handbook is to provide a balance of some essential historical coverage with a representative sample of current thinking on monasticism. It presents the work of both academic and monastic authors, and the essays are best understood as a series of loosely-linked episodes, forming a long chain of enquiry, and allowing for various points of view. The authors are a diverse and international group, who bring a wide range of critical perspectives to bear on pertinent themes and issues. They indicate developing trends in their areas of specialisation. The individual contributions, and the volume as a whole, set out an agenda for the future direction of monastic studies. In today's world, where there is increasing interest in all world monasticisms, where scholars are adopting more capacious, global approaches to their investigations, and where monks and nuns are casting a fresh eye on their ancient traditions, this publication is especially timely.

Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium
Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium

Author: Claudia Rapp

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-01-13

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0199908389

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Among medieval Christian societies, Byzantium is unique in preserving an ecclesiastical ritual of adelphopoiesis, which pronounces two men, not related by birth, as brothers for life. It has its origin as a spiritual blessing in the monastic world of late antiquity, and it becomes a popular social networking strategy among lay people from the ninth century onwards, even finding application in recent times. Located at the intersection of religion and society, brother-making exemplifies how social practice can become ritualized and subsequently subjected to attempts of ecclesiastical and legal control. Controversially, adelphopoiesis was at the center of a modern debate about the existence of same-sex unions in medieval Europe. This book, the first ever comprehensive history of this unique feature of Byzantine life, argues persuasively that the ecclesiastical ritual to bless a relationship between two men bears no resemblance to marriage. Wide-ranging in its use of sources, from a complete census of the manuscripts containing the ritual of adelphopoiesis to the literature and archaeology of early monasticism, and from the works of hagiographers, historiographers, and legal experts in Byzantium to comparative material in the Latin West and the Slavic world, Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium examines the fascinating religious and social features of the ritual, shedding light on little known aspects of Byzantine society.

The Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages

Author: Franca Ela Consolino

Publisher: SBL Press

Published: 2020-07-08

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0884143813

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Examine the creative, profound dialogue between medieval women and biblical traditions The latest volume in the Bible and Women series examines the relationship between women and the Bible’s reception during the early Middle Ages (500–1100 CE) in both the Greek East and the Latin West. Essays focus on interactions between women and the Bible through biblical precepts on women and for women, biblical women as the subjects of action or objects of discussion, and writings by women that refer to the Bible as a moral authority. The women discussed in the volume range from the well-known—including the nuns Kassia in Byzantium and Hrosvita in the West; the aristocrat Dhuoda, author of a moral guide for her son; Gisela, the sister of Charlemagne and abbess of Chelles; and her niece Rotrude—to those who remain anonymous. Contributions also explore how the Old and New Testaments exercised influence on emerging Islam. Features: Analysis of images of the Virgin Mary as a means of tracing the spread of her cult and feast days from East to West Exploration of the significance of classical culture for medieval women who composed poems for a Christian audience Evaluation of art as a means of establishing devotional relationships not necessarily mediated by the voices of preachers or the reading of texts .

The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English
The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English

Author: Basilius (Caesariensis)

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 081468212X

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Basil of Caesarea (AD 32978), called the Great by later generations, was one of the fourth centurys greatest theologians and pastors. His influence on the foundation of monastic life was enormous. As he toured the early ascetic communities, members would ask Basil about various aspects of living the Gospel life. Their questions and Basils replies were taken down by tachygraphers and eventually became the Small Asketikon, first published in 366. The Regula Basilii is a Latin translation of this work, done in 397. It is one of the major sources of the Rule of Saint Benedict, and Benedict recommends it to zealous monks, calling it the rule of our holy father Basil. This volume represents a new Latin edition, translated and annotated in English by Anna M. Silvas. It also includes three extra questions and answers that survive only in the Syriac translation. Silvas balances masterfully between the rigors of academic research and the interests of an intelligent, non-specialist readership. This volume promises to become an indispensable resource in understanding both the history and the spirituality of monastic life.

Questions of Gender in Byzantine Society
Questions of Gender in Byzantine Society

Author: Lynda Garland

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-05-23

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1317072340

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Gender was a key social indicator in Byzantine society, as in many others. While studies of gender in the western medieval period have appeared regularly in the past decade, similar studies of Byzantium have lagged behind. Masculine and feminine roles were not always as clearly defined as in the West, while eunuchs made up a 'third gender' in the imperial court. Social status indicators were also in a state of flux, as much linked to patronage networks as to wealth, as the Empire came under a series of external and internal pressures. This fluidity applied equally in ecclesiastical and secular spheres. The present collection of essays uncovers gender roles in the imperial family, in monastic institutions of both genders, in the Orthodox church, and in the nascent cult of Mary in the east. It puts the spotlight on flashpoints over a millennium of Byzantine rule, from Constantine the Great to Irene and the Palaiologoi, and covers a wide geographical range, from Byzantine Italy to Syria. The introduction frames the following nine chapters against recent scholarship and considers methodological issues in the study of gender and Byzantine society. Together these essays portray a surprising range of male and female experience in various Byzantine social institutions - whether religious, military, or imperial -- over the course of more than a millennium. The collection offers a provocative contrast to recent studies based on western medieval scholarship. Common themes that bind the collection into a coherent whole include specifically Byzantine expectations of gender among the social elite; the fluidity of social and sexual identities for Byzantine men and women within the church; and the specific challenges that strong individuals posed to the traditional limitations of gender within a hierarchical society dominated by Christian orthodoxy.

Ethics and Spirituality in Islam
Ethics and Spirituality in Islam

Author: Francesco Chiabotti

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-11-07

Total Pages: 701

ISBN-13: 9004335137

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The notion of adab is at the heart of Arab-Islamic culture. Born in the crucible of the Arabic and Persian civilization, nourished by Greek and Indian influences, this polysemic notion could cover a variegated range of meanings: good behavior, knowledge of manners, etiquette, rules and belles-lettres and finally, literature. This collection of articles tries to explore how the formulations and reformulations of adab during the first centuries of Islam engage with the crucial period of the first great spiritual masters, exploring the importance of normativity, but also of transgression, in order to define the rules themselves. Assuming that adab is ethics, the articles analyse the genres of Sufi adab, including manuals and hagiographical accounts, from the formative period of Sufism until the modernity. Contributors are: Alberto F. Ambrosio, Nelly Amri, Francesco Chiabotti, Rachida Chih, Ralf Elger, Eve Feuillebois-Pierunek, Maria Chiara Giorda, Denis Gril, Paul L. Heck, Nathan Hofer, Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Annabel Keeler, Pierre Lory, Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, Erik S. Ohlander, Samuela Pagani, Luca Patrizi, Michele Petrone, Stefan Reichmuth, Lloyd Ridgeon, Elisha Russ-Fishbane, Florian Sobieroj, Renaud Soler, Jean-Jacques Thibon, Mikko Viitamäki.

Moralia Et Ascetica Armeniaca
Moralia Et Ascetica Armeniaca

Author:

Publisher: CUA Press

Published: 2021-12-17

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0813234794

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The twenty-three discourses presented in this volume have a long textual history that ascribes them to St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia (d. 328), a prevalent view that lasted through the nineteenth century. Armenian scholarship through the last century has tended to ascribe them to St. Mashtots‘, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet (d. 440). In his critical introduction to this first-ever English translation of the discourses, Terian presents them as an ascetic text by an anonymous abbot writing near the end of the sixth century. The very title in Armenian, Yačaxapatum Čaŕk‘, literally, “Oft-Repeated Discourses,” further validates their ascetic environment, where they were repeatedly related to novices. For want of answers to introductory questions regarding authorship and date, and because of the pervasive grammatical difficulties of the text, the document has remained largely unknown in scholarship. The discourses include many of the Eastern Fathers’ favorite theological themes. They are heavily punctuated with biblical quotations and laced with recurring biblical images and phraseology; the doctrinal and functional centrality of the Scriptures is emphasized throughout. They are replete with traditional Christian moral teachings that have acquired elements of moral philosophy transmitted through Late Antiquity. Echoes of St. Basil’s thought are heard in several of them, and some evidence of the author’s dependence on the Armenian version of the saint’s Rules, translated around the turn of the sixth century, is apparent. On the whole they show how Christians were driven by the Johannine love-command and the Pauline Spirit-guided practice of virtuous living, ever maturing in the ethos of an in-group solidarity culminating in monasticism.