The Hellenic Origins of Christian Asceticism

The Hellenic Origins of Christian Asceticism PDF

Author: Joseph Ward Swain

Publisher: Legare Street Press

Published: 2022-10-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781018411682

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Hellenic Origins of Christian Asceticism

The Hellenic Origins of Christian Asceticism PDF

Author: Joseph Ward Swain

Publisher: Theclassics.Us

Published: 2013-09

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9781230242873

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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI Philosophical Asceticism In the preceding chapter it was seen how, beginning in the last century before Christ, large numbers of people began to give themselves over to all sorts of ascetic practices; from the opening of tbis century until the end of the pagan world, such practices became ever more popular. The persons who did such things, however, did not do them from strictly religious motives, but rather from ethical ones: the asceticism which has been described was a distinctly ethical asceticism. Two different sorts of asceticism have been found in the Roman Empire, then, one religious and largely oriental, the other ethical, and more distinctly Greek--though it too was influenced by oriental forceT. _ 5ut there was a third sort as well, which must be described before the present study will be complete. In general, the persons whose activities were described in the last chapter were not very philosophic persons; they were not the sort who would think things through and formulate a reasoned exposition of the grounds for their conduct; they were content to invoke a few general conceptions and let it go at that. But at the same time there were other persons, likewise interested in asceticism, who were more deep-thinking. These latter were profoundly influenced by the more popular asceticism which they saw about them, and which was undoubtedly the determining cause of their own, but owing to their character, they could not rest content until they had worked out a rationale of the whole thing. These more philosophic persons therefore formulated a philosophy of asceticism which stated in enduring terms the confusedly 104 i felt aspirations of the popular ascetics of their day. Not only do they serve to clarify this popular...

Asceticism in the Graeco-Roman World

Asceticism in the Graeco-Roman World PDF

Author: Richard Damian Finn

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-07-02

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0521862817

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Pagan asceticism: cultic and contemplative purity -- Asceticism in Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism -- Christian asceticism before Origen -- Origen and his ascetic legacy -- Cavemen, cenobites, and clerics.

The Sentences of Sextus and the Origins of Christian Ascetiscism

The Sentences of Sextus and the Origins of Christian Ascetiscism PDF

Author: Daniele Pevarello

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Published: 2013-11-19

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9783161525797

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Daniele Pevarello analyzes the Sentences of Sextus, a second century collection of Greek aphorisms compiled by Sextus, an otherwise unknown Christian author. The specific character of Sextus' collection lies in the fact that the Sentences are a Christian rewriting of Hellenistic sayings, some of which are still preserved in pagan gnomologies and in Porphyry. Pevarello investigates the problem of continuity and discontinuity between the ascetic tendencies of the Christian compiler and aphorisms promoting self-control in his pagan sources. In particular, he shows how some aspects of the Stoic, Cynic, Platonic and Pythagorean moral traditions, such as sexual restraint, voluntary poverty, the practice of silence and of a secluded life were creatively combined with Sextus' ascetic agenda against the background of the biblical tradition. Drawing on this adoption of Hellenistic moral traditions, Pevarello shows how great a part the moral tradition of Greek paideia played in the shaping and development of self-restraint among early Christian ascetics.

Evagrius of Pontus

Evagrius of Pontus PDF

Author: Robert E. Sinkewicz

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2006-04-14

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 0191516368

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Evagrius of Pontus (c.345-399) was one of the most prominent figures among the monks of the desert settlements of Nitria, Sketis, and Kellia in Lower Egypt. Through the course of his ascetic writings he formulated a systematic presentation of the teaching of the semi-eremitic monks of these settlements. The works of Evagrius had a profound influence on Eastern Orthodox monastic teaching and passed to the West through the writings of John Cassian (c.365-435). This is the first complete English translation of Evagrius' Greek ascetic writings, based on modern critical editions, where available, and, where they are not, on collations of the principal manuscripts. Two appendices provide variant readings for the Greek texts and the complete text of the long recension of Eulogios. The translations are accompanied by a commentary to guide the reader through the intricacies of Evagrian thought by offering explanatory comments and references to other Evagrian texts and relevant scholarly literature. Finally, detailed indexes are provided to allow the reader to identify and study the numerous themes of Evagrian teaching.

Asceticism

Asceticism PDF

Author: Vincent L. Wimbush

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2002-05-23

Total Pages: 678

ISBN-13: 0198034512

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From meditation and fasting to celibacy and anchoritism, the ascetic impulse has been an enduring and complex phenomenon throughout history. Offering a sweeping view of this elusive and controversial aspect of religious life and culture, Asceticism looks at the ascetic impulse from a unique vantage point. Cross-cultural, cross-religious, and multidisciplinary in nature, these essays provide a broad historical and comparative perspective on asceticism--a subject rarely studied outside the context of individual religious traditions. The work represents the input of more than forty preeminent scholars in a wide range of fields and disciplines, and analyzes asceticism from antiquity to the present in European, Near Eastern, African, Asian, and North American settings. Asceticism is organized around four major themes that cut across religious traditions: origins and meanings of asceticism, which explores the motivations and impulses behind ascetic behaviors; hermeneutics of asceticism, which looks at texts and rhetorics and their presuppositions; aesthetics of asceticism, which documents responses evoked by ascetic impulses and practices, as well as the arts of ascetic practices themselves; and politics of asceticism, which analyzes the power dynamics of asceticism, especially as regards gender, cultural, and ethnic differences. Critical responses to the major papers ensure the focus upon the themes and unify the discussion. Two general addresses on broad philosophical and historical-interpretive issues suggest the importance of the subject of asceticism for wide-ranging but serious cultural-critical discussions. An Appendix, Ascetica Miscellanea, includes six short papers on provocative topics not related to the four major themes, and a panel discussion on the practices and meanings of asceticism in contemporary religious life and culture. A selected bibliography and an index are also included. The only comprehensive reference work on asceticism with a multicultural, multireligious, and multidisciplinary perspective, Asceticism offers a model not only for an understanding of a most important dimension of religious life, but also for future interdisciplinary study in general.

The Asceticism of Isaac of Nineveh

The Asceticism of Isaac of Nineveh PDF

Author: Patrik Hagman

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2010-10-21

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0199593191

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The ascetic tracts of 7th century writer Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian) provide a wealth of material to better understand early Christian asceticism. By focusing on the role of the body in various ascetic techniques, such as fasting, vigils and prayer, as well as on the way the ascetic relates to the society a picture of asceticism as political activity emerges. For Isaac, the ascetic was to function as something like an icon, an image that showed the world the reality of God'sKingdom already in this life, by clearly indicating the difference between God's ways and men's.Patrik Hagman reviews the scholarly discussion on asceticism of the last three decades, and then proceeds to analyse the texts of Isaac to reveal an emphasis on asceticism as a practice that is at the same time performative, transformative and bodily. This contrasts with the long-established conception of asceticism as based on a negative view of the body. Isaac displays a profound understanding of the way body and soul are related, demonstrating how the body can be used to transform thepersonality of the ascetic, and to communicate the change to the world, without the use of words.The writings of Isaac offer a rare example of an extensive discussion of asceticism by a person who lived a radical ascetic life himself. Hagman's new study brings Isaac's fresh perspective to bear on an important, yet often overlooked, aspect of the Christian tradition.

Repentance in Late Antiquity

Repentance in Late Antiquity PDF

Author: Alexis Torrance

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0199665362

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This study provides a fresh perspective on the concept of repentance in early Christianity. Alexis Torrance focuses on writings by several ascetic theologians of the fifth to seventh centuries, and also examines texts from Scripture, early Christian treatises and homilies, apocalyptic material, and canonical literature.