Customer Reviews

The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life (Cistercian Studies)

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Contains writings from 15 different Fathers between the 4th and 8th centuries with short introductions. The authors selected come from Syria, Palestine, eastern Turkey and Persia. Some well known writers included are St. Ephraim of Syria, St. Isaac of Nineveh, Evagrius of Pontus, John of Apamathea, but there are also several anonymous texts previously unpublished in English. I think this book would be a great value to anyone interested in Patristics, Eastern Orthodox Spirituality, or Monasticism in general. On a personal note, I found that I benefited greatly from spending time with these texts. The book is fairly long and incredibly dense with wisdom. Worth reading for scholarly or devotional purposes.

Dr. Brock is a wonderful translator who really gives a living reading of what the Fathers actually wrote. This book is a delight for anyone interested in early Christian spirituality around the world. The Syriac Fathers are little known in the Western World, and it is a shame because their depths of delight in God and understanding add layers of interest and insight to what I think is a certain cultural backdrop. These people grew up in a mediterranean to hot climate with none of the conveniences we know and at a time when life was harsh no matter who you were. And yet, many of them sought to come closer to God by piercing through the barrier that is the flesh, and denying it in as many more ways as possible.
I was particularly interested in St Isaac of Nineveh (so called because he had been for a short time Bishop of Nineveh) because he was born in Qatar. His amazing writings show the fact that he was deeply and personally acquainted with the Holy Spirit in a way which some charismatic Christians could recognise today. Dr. Brock has made many other translations of his writings and those in this book are as readable and exciting as anything else he has published. Many thanks, Dr. Brock.

Sebastian Brock has done the Christian world a great service in bringing this collection of the wisdom of many early Syriac Fathers to print. Not only is the translation wonderfuly accomplished, but his brief yet insightful commentaries help present the sufficient background which allows the reader to get to the real heart of the matter: the words of these wonderful men of God. If you are among the ones fortunate enough to pick up this book, I think you will do as I did and afford the volume a special place on the bookshelf where it will remain close at hand for years to come.

This is a beautiful collection of prayers and theology from Syrian monastic writers of the patristic period, including such luminaries as Evagrius and Isaac of Nineveh. These writings are similar to other collections from Greek and Russian writers as found in the Philokalia, for example, but have their own special quality, a particular lyricism and eschatological vision that warms the heart and cleanses the mind. I have placed a copy of the prayer of John the Elder (p.362-63) on the wall of my office as a daily reminder and encouragement of the calling of each Christian to become a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. If you enjoy this then you should seek out a copy of the classic 'The Ascetical Homilies of Isaac of Nineveh', published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery in New York.