John Moschus ( el, Ἰωάννης Μόσχος, c. 550 – 619; name from the grc, ὁ τοῦ Μόσχου, o tou Moschou, (son) of Moschos, was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

monk and ascetical writer.

Biography

He was born about 550 probably at

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. He was given the epithet "''ὁ ἐγκρατής''" ("''The Abstemious''"). He lived successively with the monks at the monastery of St. Theodosius southeast of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, among the hermits in the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

, and in the New Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified near

Teqoa :''Khirbet ad-Deir, part of Teqoa, should not be confused with Khirbet ad-Deir in Hebron Governorate.'' Teqoa ( ar, تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located southeast of Bethlehem in the West Ba ...

, east of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...

. About the year 578 he went to Egypt with Sophronius (afterwards Patriarch of Jerusalem) and came as far as the Great Oasis of the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the north-eastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates t ...

. After 583 he came to

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

and spent about ten years in the

Lavra A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern Ch ...

of the Aeliotes, he then visited the monasteries near Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. In the 580s he returned to Egypt to meet refugees at a time when the Byzantine influence on the region had started to wane and where several monasteries in the

Wadi El Natrun Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt d ...

had been razed by

Mazices The Mazices were Berbers of North Africa who appear in classical and late antique Greek and Latin sources. Many variants of the name are known: Maxyes in Herodotus; Mazyes in Hecataeus; Mazaces; Mazikes; Mazazaces; etc. They are all derived from ...

where 3,500 monks who had lived there had now been dispersed into the Levant. In 604 he went to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

but returned to Egypt in 607. Later he went to Cyprus and in 614-615 to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, where he died in 619. On his deathbed he requested Sophronius to bury him, if possible, on Mt. Sinai or else at the Monastery of St. Theodosius near Jerusalem. Mt. Sinai being then invaded by the

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

, Sophronius buried him at St. Theodosius. John Moschus' feast day in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

is shared with that of Sophronius ().

Writings

The Spiritual Meadow

He is the author of one of the earliest hagiological works, entitled in Greek "Leimōn pneumatikos" and known in Latin as "Pratum spirituale" (Spiritual Meadow), occasionally abbreviated "Prat. Spirit.", also quoted as the Leimonarion, or as the "New Paradise", which he wrote during the 610s. In it he narrates his personal experiences with many great

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

s whom he met during his extensive travels, mainly through

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

, Sinai and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, but also

Kilikia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, and repeats the edifying stories which these ascetics related to him. The work teems with miracles and ecstatic visions and it gives a clear insight into the practices of Eastern monasticism, contains important data on the religious cult and ceremonies of the time, and acquaints us with the numerous heresies that threatened to disrupt the Church in the East. It was first edited by

Fronton du Duc Fronton du Duc ( la, Ducæus; 1558 – 25 September 1624) was a French Jesuit theologian. Life Fronton du Duc was born at Bordeaux in France. At first he taught in various colleges of the Society of Jesus, and wrote for the dramatic representati ...

in ''Auctarium biblioth. patrum,'' II (Paris, 1624), 1057–1159. A better edition was brought out by

Cotelier Jean-Baptiste Cotelier or Cotelerius (born December, 1629, Nîmes; died 19 August 1686, Paris) was a Patristic scholar and Catholic theologian. Life His early education was under the personal direction of his father, at one time a Protestant mini ...

in ''Ecclesiae Graecae Monumenta'', II (Paris, 1681), which is reprinted in J.-P. Migne, ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1 ...

''. LXXXVII, III, 2851–3112. A Latin translation, by Ambrose Traversari, is printed in Migne, ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published between ...

'', LXXIV, 121–240, and an Italian version made from the Latin of Traversari (Venice, 1475; Vicenzo, 1479).

The vita of John the Almoner

Conjointly with Sophronius, Moschus wrote a life of John the Almoner, a fragment of which is preserved in the first chapter of the "Vita S. Joanni Eleemosynarii" by

Leontios of Neapolis Leontios ( el, Λεόντιος Νεαπόλεως) was Bishop of Neapolis (Limassol) in Cyprus in the 7th century. He wrote a ''Life'' of John the Merciful, commissioned by the archbishop of Constantia Arcadius; a ''Life'' of Simeon the Holy Fool ...

, under the name of

Simeon Metaphrastes Symeon, called Metaphrastes or the Metaphrast (; ; died c. 1000), was a Byzantine writer and official. He is regarded as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day falls on 9 or 28 November. He is best known for his 10-volume Greek ...

(P.G., CXIV, 895-966).

References

Sources

External links

Spiritual Meadow - English translation of The Spiritual Meadow by Benedict Baker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moschus, Joannes 550 births 619 deaths 6th-century Byzantine monks 7th-century Byzantine monks 7th-century Christian saints Syrian Christians Ascetics Byzantine theologians Christian hagiographers Byzantine saints Syrian Christian saints 7th-century Christian theologians 7th-century Byzantine writers