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The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection (Cistercian Studies)

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For thirty years now Sister Benedicta Ward's translation of the sayings of 131 of the earliest monastics has served as an indispensable text for English speakers. In addition to her brief foreword and short biographical introductions (when they are known), the book includes simple maps on the inside front and back covers, a short glossary of terms, a chronological table of key events in the development of desert monasticism, a bibliography that is all too short and badly dated, and then two indices of key concepts, people and places. The sayings themselves stand alone without commentary. For contemporary extrapolations one can turn to the fine books by Archbishop Rowan Williams (Where God Happens, 2005) and John Chryssavgis (In the Heart of the Desert, 2003). For more complete primary resources, see the two works by John Cassian (360-435), Institutes and Conferences (900-plus pages), in which Cassian relates what he learned from and about the earliest monastics.

Beginning in the third century, three monastic experiments emerged in Egypt. St. Anthony (251-356), an uneducated Copt, is generally hailed as the father of the hermit monasticism centered in lower Egypt. Thanks to The Life of Saint Anthony by Athanasius, we know as much or more about Anthony than any other of the early ascetics. Other monks cooperated and collaborated in "cenobitic" monasticism. Pachomius (290-347) is generally credited with instigating this communal form of flight to the desert. Finally, in Nitria and Scetis small groups of monks lived near one another under the direction of an elder or "abba." In addition to Egypt, desert monasticism flourished in Syria, Asia Minor and in Palestine.

It's easy to dismiss the eccentricities of a Simon the Stylite (d. 459), who sat atop a fifty-foot pole outside of Antioch for forty years, or the ascetic excesses of food and sleep deprivation, but we honor these saints for their unique experimental spirituality that explored just what the words of Jesus might mean: "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me." They stopped at nothing in "their lifetime of striving to re-direct every aspect of body, mind, and soul to God, and that is what they talked about" (Ward) in these "sayings."

In these sayings we are taught to "expect temptation until your last breath." That means doing battle with one's inner appetites, drives, thoughts, attachments (for example, to wealth) and desires. It also means the further you travel on the Christian journey the more you realize the breadth and depth of the struggle. Consequently, these monastics were above all things modest, non-judgmental, and deeply tender in regard to our human weaknesses. They were reluctant to take Christian office, made the certainty of their death a force for good in life, modest in what they thought they might know about Scripture, eager to keep silent, and appreciative of the diverse ways that each monk worked out his salvation. Ultimately, and in contrast to so much Christian spirituality of today, these desert monastics recommend a "hidden" form of discipleship, the focus of which is the interior geography of the human heart regardless of where they body finds itself. I have found these ancient saints to be wise guides for our contemporary world.

I first became interested in the writings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers after reading some of the writings of Kathleen Norris. As a Benedictine Oblate, she discovered this rich and varied writing and incorporated parts of their wisdom into her own writings. When I came across THE SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS, translated by an Anglican nun, Sr. Benedicta Ward, I read it and saw why the writings intrigued people such as Norris and others such as Thomas Merton. The writings included in this work were written by people who fled to the desert to become examples of holiness. Some of their writings were recorded and reveal much about the human condition. Their joys and struggles in such an austere life are the foundation of this book. Other writings can be somewhat difficult to understand in our day and age, but these writings still prove interesting.

The book is organized by individual "Abbas" in alphabetical order (Greek alphabetical order, that is). The sayings are numbered and readers should probably read the sayings individually rather than as a biography. I have found that reading them in conjunction with prayer is helpful. I will usually read the various passages until one sticks with me and leads to reflection. The words can have a certain power to them that can both challenge and encourage a reader. Some sayings may say nothing to a reader, but eventually one will stumble upon something that captures one's attention.

Modern readers will find the wisdom of these ancient Christians thought provoking. Readers get little tidbits about early Christianity and see how many of the challenges to the spiritual life are anything but new. Readers will want to keep certain things in mind when reading this volume. The writers were not writing for a twenty-first century audience. Some of the writings can be brutal, cruel, and in some cases misogynistic. Reading with a historical frame of mind is essential, and by doing so, this ancient wisdom can be very relevant to our day and age.

If you enjoy religious mysticism but don't feel a great need to sweat in order to understand it, if you are looking for a piece of beauty and simplicity in this world, if you wnat to know in a straightforward manner, how to rise above: this is the book for you. Accessible, succint, sublime.

Having read this book when it was first published, I find I continue to return to it over and over again for my own prayer and reading and as a book I suggest to others. The simple stories and sayings have a wonderful depth and we can see these ancients committed to simplicity, prayer, and a life of being non-judgmental, hospitable and loving. Excellent.

Ward has produced a clear, highly readable translation that makes the thoughts and sayings of the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert (first few centuries of our era) available to a readership with no background in classical languages. Her work enables us to draw on the simplicity and depth of early Christians, providing a refreshing perspective on spirituality and religion.

This is the best book I have ever read, excluding the bible. It is so helpful and gives you the greatest advice. When reading about what the desert fathers have to say, you get so intuned with it and makes you to try to live a good life. It has helped me fight temptation. I will recommend this book to anyone who wants to change their old lifestyle and live a better one that makes you closer to God.

All I can say is that if you love the simple way of the monks, the Church Fathers and Mothers, then you must read this book. The absolute gems to be found will completey renew your Christian faith and let you look at the Christian faith, and the Bible, in a completely new light.

Fantastic book for all peoples, Christian or not.

This is a book about Holy Fathers that were the first to go out into the desert and attempt to live the life christ set out for those who would choose it. It isn't necessary for all christians to attempt, to become like the Saints, as St. Paul says,"The world is crucified to me and I to the world." But, rather it is "for those who would choose it", always according to ones own strength. So, I did not find this book to be a handbook for all christians to try to live by, but it is only necessary imo to live an ascetic life according to our own strength. The Monastic life is for those who would choose to live, not only good christians lives, but also Blessed Holy lives. Even so, this book is good for lay people as well since they are the Heart of the Church Mother. Healthy Lay-Christian lives give birth to healthy Monastic-Christian ones.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, The Alphabetical Collection, Translated, with a foreword by Benedicta Ward, SLG, Preface by Metropolitan Anthony (Kalamazoo, Cistercian Publications, 1975)
The monks we hear in this book are the first exemplars of what would become monastic life. They are also the model for innumerable parodies of `wise old men on the mountain', most familiar from the recurring character in the Ziggy© cartoons in our daily and Sunday comic sections. The original motivation for these hermits, living primarily in the semi-desert climates of Egypt and Syria, was to escape the intermittent persecutions of Christians by Rome and the local populations, up to the Emperor Constantine's proclamation of religious tolerance throughout the empire in 313 CE. In this book, we discover several things which run against the modern stereotype.
There were at least three different types of 'solitary monks' in the Egyptian desert. The most famous prototype of the hermit life in lower Egypt was St. Anthony the Great, a Copt (in antiquity, a word meaning Egyptian. In modern usage, and Egyptian Christian) and an unlettered layman. He began his hermit life about 269 CE, and had many disciples and imitators.
The second style of desert monk was the cenobite, the same term St. Benedict uses to describe followers of his rule. These lived in a less remote part of Egypt, where groups of monks gathered around a spiritual father and performed communal work and prayer. The leader of this group, and the monk generally credited with founding coenobitic monasticism was St. Pachomius, who lived ca. 290-347 CE. The early style had no formal rule and no spiritual father. It may have been similar to 1960s counter-cultural communities. Both rebelled against established values and `persecution'. The latter died out, while the former blossomed into the 318 Roman Catholic orders, plus numerous Eastern Orthodox monastic orders.
The third style of desert monk was the ascetic, who lived together with an `abba' or father, of whom the other monks were disciples. These communities centered around the area of Nitria and Scetis, west of the Nile delta, and about 50 and 100 miles south of Alexandria respectively. This was the most literate, Greek-influenced group, from which most of these sayings come.
One surprise is that there are so many of these desert monks. Apparently, these monks were not quite as taciturn as we may have believed. Another surprise is the level of cooperation between monks and the level of `cottage industry' products they produced, which seemed to be their primary source of income. Their primary raw material was flax, the plant source of both linen fibers and seeds from which linseed oil is extracted. The most common product appears to be flax fiber rope which, based on my old Boy Scout experience with hemp cord, can be woven into a rope by a single person using a device no more complicated than a simple whirligig. The technology for extracting oil from olives is already 2000 years old at this point, but I see nothing regarding the extraction of linseed oil from flax seeds.
Another surprise was the number of monks from this tradition, including some of the greatest figures in the early church, who became bishops and major writers, such as Basil the Great (330--379 CE) and Cassian (360--435 CE), both authors of major works on organized monasticism which predate St. Benedict's rule. The fact that virtually all the monks quoted herein are given the title of `abba' (the origin of the title `abbot') suggests that there were many, many more monks, who did live this life in silence.
While these monks nominally lived in the `desert', it appears they were never too far away from oases or a fairly substantial lake which a modern map puts near the monastic center of Scetis. They were also never too far from a town, where they could go to sell their wares and beg for alms. The need to do this last act shows how the organized, self-sufficient community which evolved into schools and hospitals, was a major improvement in the moral stature of the monastic life.
There are over 130 named monks in this book from whom we have sayings. The majority appear to have distinctively Greek names such as Achilles, Helladius, Zeno, and Apollo. Many others have names of Hebrew origin such as Abraham, Daniel, John, Joseph, and Isaac.
Aside from all the historical background the book provides on the origins and nature of monasticism, we are surprised at how mundane are so many of the quotes. Few have an `ah ha' quality of the saying printed on the cover. If not simply ordinary, they are simple elaborations on passages from the documents in the New Testament. For example, the first quote attributed to Cassian, upon his visiting an old Egyptian monk, asks why the old man does not keep to the rule of fasting. The old man essentially cites Jesus' comment from Mark 2:19-20, indicating that he is receiving Christ in Cassian, by serving him with all diligence, only to resume fasting when the guest leaves.
If a lay person is to find anything distinctive teachings in this book, it is advice on living simply, and the fact that such a life does not exclude a large range of `simple pleasures' such as conversation and table fellowship. Compared to the `new monasticism', one has to admire the old monks' lack of self promotion and excessive zeal. They may have needed monetary charity, but they had no interest in trying to talk you into something.

The editors of this volume have done a wonderful job in introducing the material and making it accessible to the average reader. The five stars are based on the introduction, indexes, glossary, chronology, and bibliography. The sayings themselves reveal how important the original scriptures are in comparison to those who wish to interpret them.

Good organization makes it easy to flip around, and there is historical information throughout. Focus is on the sayings themselves. Enlightening.