|
St. Athanasios the Great
Translated and with annotations by Monk Chrysostomos
“This life of St. Synkletike presents a brief account of her early years and her initial monastic struggles.There then follows a lengthy discourse on her teachings, given to certain female disciples (aspiring or tonsured nuns, as the teachings themselves confirm). The teachings are presented as though she gave them orally, after great initial reluctance, in a single session, though it is likely that this long discourse is actually a compilation of teachings given over a long period of time. Finally, the life recounts her last days and the patient endurance she showed amid the illnesses that led to her death. [...]Concerning the authorship of this work, it was traditionally attributed to St. Athanasios of Alexandria (†373), who wrote the life of St. Anthony the Great, the so-called ‘Πατὴρ τοῦ Μοναχισμοῦ’ (father of monasticism). While the prevailing consensus, today, is that St. Athanasios did not, in fact, write the Life of Amma Synkletike, this matter is, in the end, one of secondary importance. Those things that matter, for anyone seeking the spiritual counsel of this great desert Mother, are the content of her life and the timeless relevancy of her insights.”
—“Translator’s Introduction”
CONTENTS
Introduction
1‒3. Author’s prefatory words
4‒10. Early life
11‒20. Monasticism
21. The beginning of her teachings
22. On love
23‒29. On chastity and fornication
30‒35. On poverty
36. On avarice
37‒39. On concealment of one’s virtue
40‒42. On sorrow
43‒44. On the loftiness of the monastic calling
45‒46. On evil thoughts
47‒48. On attentiveness
49‒51. On conceit
52‒55. On despair and pride
56‒59. On humility
60‒61. On toil for virtue
62. On anger
63‒65. On rancor and calumny
66‒67. On guarding the senses
68‒70. On disdain
71‒76. On love, poverty, and almsgiving
77‒78. On secular life and monasticism
79. On teaching
80. On tonsure and renunciation
81‒88. On fate and discernment
89. On spiritual “accounting”
90‒91. On the future life
92‒93. On concern for the soul
94. On remaining in one’s place of repentance
95. On fasting
96. On desire, pleasure, and sorrow as the source of all vice
97. On different forms of monasticism
98‒99. Concerning patience amid illnesses
100‒101. On moderation
102. On asceticism amid illness
103. The conclusion of her teachings
104‒107. The beginning of her illness
108‒109. Teachings on carelessness
110‒113. The Saint’s end
Index
Item Number: BKM926
Publication Data: Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2015
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 82
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.3 cm × 13.8 cm × 0.6 cm
Additional Information: full-color illustrations
ISBN: 978‒1‒938943‒04‒1
$8.95 (USD)
|
