Besa: The Life of Shenoute

Shenoute of Atripe, ranked second only to Pachomius for his contribution to the development of egyptian monasticism, is all but unknown outside the Coptic tradition. This first english translation of his Life, by his disciple and successor, casts new light on the austere monasticism of the fifth century.

Few documents available in English accentuate more dramatically than Besa's Life of Shenoute the cultural limitations of our knowledge of early Christianity. The Coptic tradition venerates S...