Search results

Drawing on biographies of exceptional monks, collections of monastic sayings and stories, letters from ascetic teachers to their disciples, sermons, and community rules, Brakke crafts a compelling picture of the embattled religious celibate.

The early Christian Church faced a crisis in the 4th century when followers shunned worldly comforts to embrace ascetism. How could the Church accept ascetism when it was wealth and generosity which assured the Church's future? This text explores...