The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

Saint John the Little was a monk and hegumen of Scetis (Wadi Natrun) during the first great period of early Egyptian monasticism. The Apophthegmata preserve some fifty sayings by or about him (see CS 59, 85 '96). In addition, Zacharias, eighth-century Bishop of Sakha, wrote his Life, more than seventy percent of which is composed of material not found in the Apophthegmata. John bears witness to the formative period of early Egyptian monasticism. His Life, with its emphasis on obedience and compassion, offers a lively witness to the earliest monastic traditions and to their transmission and continuing importance in the Coptic Church.

This book contains an introduction to the textual history of the Life of Saint John the Little (339 '409) along with fresh English translations of the Bohairic and the Syriac Lifes of John the Little plus the definitive Bohairc Life in the Coptic text. It will be of interest particularly to academics, monastics, and others interested in monasticism, early Christian monasticism, early Church History, the Coptic Church, or monastic spirituality.

Tim Vivian is associate professor of religious studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He is the author of numerous books and articles on early Christian monasticism, including The Life of Antony (with Apostolos N. Athanassakis), CS202, and Becoming Fire: Through the Year with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, CS225, both published by Cistercian Publications.

Rowan Greer is the Walter Gray Professor Emeritus of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. His scholarly work has been primarily in patristics. Retired since 1997, he lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Maged S. A. Mikhal is assistant professor of history at California State University, Fullerton. His publications and research focus on the history of Egypt during the early Islamic period.

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The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

Saint John the Little was a monk and hegumen of Scetis (Wadi Natrun) during the first great period of early Egyptian monasticism. The Apophthegmata preserve some fifty sayings by or about him (see CS 59, 85 '96). In addition, Zacharias, eighth-century Bishop of Sakha, wrote his Life, more than seventy percent of which is composed of material not found in the Apophthegmata. John bears witness to the formative period of early Egyptian monasticism. His Life, with its emphasis on obedience and compassion, offers a lively witness to the earliest monastic traditions and to their transmission and continuing importance in the Coptic Church.

This book contains an introduction to the textual history of the Life of Saint John the Little (339 '409) along with fresh English translations of the Bohairic and the Syriac Lifes of John the Little plus the definitive Bohairc Life in the Coptic text. It will be of interest particularly to academics, monastics, and others interested in monasticism, early Christian monasticism, early Church History, the Coptic Church, or monastic spirituality.

Tim Vivian is associate professor of religious studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He is the author of numerous books and articles on early Christian monasticism, including The Life of Antony (with Apostolos N. Athanassakis), CS202, and Becoming Fire: Through the Year with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, CS225, both published by Cistercian Publications.

Rowan Greer is the Walter Gray Professor Emeritus of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. His scholarly work has been primarily in patristics. Retired since 1997, he lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Maged S. A. Mikhal is assistant professor of history at California State University, Fullerton. His publications and research focus on the history of Egypt during the early Islamic period.

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The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha

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Overview

Saint John the Little was a monk and hegumen of Scetis (Wadi Natrun) during the first great period of early Egyptian monasticism. The Apophthegmata preserve some fifty sayings by or about him (see CS 59, 85 '96). In addition, Zacharias, eighth-century Bishop of Sakha, wrote his Life, more than seventy percent of which is composed of material not found in the Apophthegmata. John bears witness to the formative period of early Egyptian monasticism. His Life, with its emphasis on obedience and compassion, offers a lively witness to the earliest monastic traditions and to their transmission and continuing importance in the Coptic Church.

This book contains an introduction to the textual history of the Life of Saint John the Little (339 '409) along with fresh English translations of the Bohairic and the Syriac Lifes of John the Little plus the definitive Bohairc Life in the Coptic text. It will be of interest particularly to academics, monastics, and others interested in monasticism, early Christian monasticism, early Church History, the Coptic Church, or monastic spirituality.

Tim Vivian is associate professor of religious studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He is the author of numerous books and articles on early Christian monasticism, including The Life of Antony (with Apostolos N. Athanassakis), CS202, and Becoming Fire: Through the Year with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, CS225, both published by Cistercian Publications.

Rowan Greer is the Walter Gray Professor Emeritus of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. His scholarly work has been primarily in patristics. Retired since 1997, he lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Maged S. A. Mikhal is assistant professor of history at California State University, Fullerton. His publications and research focus on the history of Egypt during the early Islamic period.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780879079352
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Publication date: 09/01/2010
Series: Cistercian Studies Series , #234
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 328
File size: 13 MB
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About the Author

Tim Vivian is associate professor of religious studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He is the author of numerous books and articles on early Christian monasticism, including The Life of Antony (with Apostolos N. Athanassakis), CS202, and Becoming Fire: Through the Year with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, CS225, both published by Cistercian Publications.

Rowan Greer is the Walter Gray Professor Emeritus of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. His scholarly work has been primarily in patristics. Retired since 1997, he lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Maged S. A. Mikhail is assistant professor of history at California State University, Fullerton. His publications and research focus on the history of Egypt during the early Islamic period.

Table of Contents

Foreward ix

Preface xi

Introduction 1

I Zacharias and His Text 1

II Historia (Story) 5

John, the Apophthegmata, and Zacharias 6

John's Many Faces: Writing and Rewriting Ancient Texts 10

Historia: Zacharias as Inheritor 13

Zacharias as Redactor: Sources and Seams 16

Table I A Synoptic View 16

Table II Material without Parallels 19

Zacharias and the Life of John the Little: A Guided Tour 21

Table III Zacharias as Redactor 21

III Bios (Life) 37

IV Politeia (Way of Life) 41

Arete: The Holy Workshop of Virtue 41

Kenosis: Obedience, Humility, and Compassion 44

V The Arabic Life 48

VI The Syriac Life 53

A Room with Multiple Views: The Expansion of Texts 53

The Ties that Bind: Editorial Sutures 55

Sense, Sensibility, and Amelioration 56

The Storyteller's Storyteller: The Creative Nature of Narrative 57

The Bohairic Coptic Life of John the Little 61

Translation 63

Text 137

The Syriac Life of Abba John the Little 201

Translation 203

Appendix 1 The Life of John the Little, Amélineau's text, and Codex Vat. Copt. LXVIII 258

Appendix 2 Sahidic Fragments Concerning Abba John's Trip to Babylon (Bohairic Life ¶75) 270

Appendix 3 Alphabetical Apophthegmata John Colobos 24 and 32 and MS. Karakallou 251 284

Appendix 4 Chapter [73] of the Syriac Version of the Lausiac History of Palladius: Eucarpios 286

Appendix 5 Synaxarium Entries for Abba John the Little 289

Bibliography 300

Scripture Index 307

Word Index 310

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