The Lives and Times of the Desert Fathers (CH2500A)

Content

This unit will give students a broad overview of the pioneers and centres of the early monastic movement in Egypt and their impact on the spread of the movement throughout the Late Roman Empire. It will consider the various theological viewpoints that became prominent in Late Antique Egypt and its impact in Egyptian monastic circles.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Prohibited combinations: Only one of CH1500A, CH1509A, CH2500A & CH2509A may be taken

Pedagogy

Weekly lectures and class discussions

Indicative Bibliography

• Brakke, David, Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism. Oxford, 1995.
• Burton-Christie, Douglas, The Word in the Desert. Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism. Oxford, 1993.
• Chitty, Derwas, The Desert a City. Oxford, 1966.
• Elm, Susanna, Virgins of God: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity. Oxford, 1994.
• Evelyn-White, Hugh, The Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n Natrun, Part I-III. New York, 1926-33.
• Frank, Georgia, The Memory of the Eyes: Pilgrims to Living Saints in Christian Late Antiquity. Berkeley, 2000.
• Gabra, Gawdat, Coptic Monasteries. Egypt’s Monastic Art and Architecture. Cairo, 2002.
• Goehring, James, Ascetics, Society and the Desert. Studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, 1999.
• Gould, Graham, The Desert Fathers on Monastic Community. Oxford, 1993.
• Harmless, William, Desert Christians: an introduction to the literature of early monasticism. New York, 2004.
• Krawiec, Rebecca. Shenoute and the Women of the White Monastery. Egyptian Monasticism in Late Antiquity. New York, 2002.
• Meinardus, Otto, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Desert. Cairo, 1990.
• Russell, Norman, The Lives of the Desert Fathers. The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto. Kalamazoo, 1981.
• Vivian, Tim, Journeying into God. Seven Early Monastic Lives. Minneapolis, 1996.
• Wimbush, Vincent, Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook. Minneapolis, 1990.

Articles that are compulsory weekly readings will be made available online [in PDF format].

Assessment