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Barsanuphius (Sudakov)
Barsanuphius (; ; ; died after 543), also known as Barsanuphius of Palestine, Barsanuphius of Gaza or Barsanuphius the Great (in Eastern Orthodoxy), was a Christian hermit and writer of the sixth century. He is considered one of the Desert Fathers. Together with John the Prophet, they gave spiritual direction and advice to a variety of people in the region through letters, of which over 850 have been preserved and influenced especially Orthodox monasticism. Barsanuphius is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Life Hermit Born in Egypt, Barsanuphius entered the hilly region of Thavata close to Gaza at some point in the early sixth century and begun to live as a recluse in a cell near the village. The reasons for his move are uncertain, but it is possible that he did so due to the pro-Chalcedonian stance of the region compared to his native Egypt. He was already an experienced ascetic before his arrival and experienced in the trad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denomination. In Anglican Communion, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheranism, Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but a selected few are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official Ecclesiastical polity, ecclesiastical recognition, and veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. In many Protestant denominations, and following from Pauline usage, ''saint'' refers broadly to any holy Christian, without special recognition or selection. While the English word ''saint'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the divine, or how they are cultivating a life attuned to spiritual things. The director listens and asks questions to assist the directee in his or her process of reflection and spiritual growth. Advocates of Spiritual direction claim that it develops a deeper awareness with the spiritual aspect of being human, and that it is neither psychotherapy nor counseling nor financial planning. Historians of philosophy like Ilsetraut and Pierre Hadot have argued that spiritual direction was already practiced and recommended by the main schools of philosophy, as well as by physicians like Galen, as part of spiritual practices in Ancient Greece and Rome. Roman Catholic forms While there is some degree of variability, there are primarily two forms of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil The Great
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church such as Arianism and Apollinarianism. In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius, he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by the traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity. Basil, together with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, toge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anagogical
Anagoge (ἀναγωγή), sometimes spelled anagogy, is a Greek word suggesting a climb or ascent upwards. The anagogical is a method of mystical or spiritual interpretation of statements or events, especially scriptural exegesis, that detects allusions to the afterlife. Certain medieval theologians describe four methods of interpreting the scriptures: literal/historical, tropological/moral, allegorical/typological, and anagogical. The four methods of interpretation point in four different directions: The literal/historical backwards to the past, the allegoric forwards to the future, the tropological downwards to the moral/human, and the anagogic upwards to the spiritual/heavenly. The Gazan ascetics Barsanuphius, John the Prophet and Dorotheus of Gaza considered the Bible anagogical in nature by considering it to have its purpose to lead people to Christ. In their view, it was not simply a moral-teaching manual that could be roughly paraphrased with a rough equivalent, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning 'five books') in Greek. The second-oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im). The third co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discernment (Christianity)
In Christianity, discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well (or the activity of so doing). In the case of judgement, discernment can be psychological, moral, or aesthetic in nature. Discernment has also been defined in these contexts: scientific (discerning what is true about the real world), normative (discerning value including what ought to be), and formal (deductive reasoning). The process of discernment, within judgment, involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced judgments about its properties or qualities. Discernment in the Christian religion is considered a virtue and a lifelong task, a discerning individual is considered to possess wisdom and be of good judgement through a profound spiritual alignment and engagement; especially so with regard to subject matter often overlooked by others. Christianity In Christianity, the word may have several meanings. Discernment can describe the process of determining God's de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Christian Monasticism
Eastern Christian monasticism is the life followed by monks and nuns of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East and some Eastern Catholic Churches. History Christian monasticism began in the Eastern Mediterranean in Syria, Palestine and Egypt where the Desert Fathers pioneered traditions that would influence both the Hesychast traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy as well as Western monastic traditions pioneered by John Cassian and codified in the Rule of St Benedict. The Early Church The mystical and other-worldly nature of the Christian message very early laid the groundwork for the ascetical life. The example of the Old Testament Prophets, of John the Baptist and of Jesus himself, going into the wilderness to pray and fast set the example that was readily followed by the devout. In the early Christian literature evidence is found of individuals who embraced lives of celibacy and mortification for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, these individua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Of Jerusalem
Peter of Jerusalem was the Patriarch of Jerusalem from 524 to 544. He held to the Chalcedonian belief. Life Patriarch Peter, as John III's successor and following in his Chalcedonian position, convened in September 536 a synod in Jerusalem in which he proclaimed his orthodoxy and adherence to the . He agreed in the deposition of[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus () was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Church's history from the First Council of Ephesus (431) to the emperor Maurice’s reign until Scholasticus' death. Life Evagrius Scholasticus was born in Epiphania, a Syrian town located next to the Orontes River in the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire. Glenn Chesnut gives his date of birth as either 536 or 537; Michael Whitby says "about 535". His first written work addressed the plague outbreak which infected a vast segment of the population. Evagrius himself was infected by the outbreak during his youth yet managed to survive it. According to his own account, close members of his family died from the outbreak, including his wife at the time. Michael Whitby reasons that Evagrius was born into a wealthy aristocratic family with close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coptic Language
Coptic () is a dormant language, dormant Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language. It is a group of closely related Egyptian dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third century AD in Roman Egypt. Coptic was supplanted by Arabic as the primary Vernacular, spoken language of Egypt following the Arab conquest of Egypt and was slowly replaced over the centuries. Coptic has no native speakers today apart from a number of priests, although it remains in daily use as the Sacred language, liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church and of the Coptic Catholic Church. It is written with the Coptic alphabet, a modified form of the Greek alphabet with seven additional letters borrowed from the Demotic (Egyptian), Demotic Egyptian script. The major Coptic dialects are Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Fayyumic, Lycopolitan (Asyutic), and Oxyrhynchite. Sahidic Coptic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monastery Of Seridus
The monastery of Seridus was a monastic community that flourished during the 6th and early 7th century in Palestine. Founded by Seridus of Gaza after whom the monastery was later named, it housed in the first half of the sixth century the well-known hermits Barsanuphius and John the Prophet who attracted many visitors. History The monastery was founded around the year 520 south of the Besor Stream and in the vicinity of Thabatha, Saint Hilarion's home town, not far from the monastery of Saint Hilarion which was possibly the first monastery in the region. Similar to the many other monasteries around Gaza, the monastery consisted of a coenobium surrounded by hermit cells. The monastery was famous for the presence of two particular hermits: Barsanuphius of Gaza and John the Prophet. They led the monastic community through the abbot Seridus who acted as personal attendant and amanuensis to Barsanuphius. John the Prophet moved to the monastery probably between 525 and 527 on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination vary by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The liturgy used at an ordination is commonly found in a book known as an Order of Mass, Ordinal which provides the ordo (ritual and rubrics) for celebrations. Christianity Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches In Catholicism and Orthodoxy, ordination is one of the seven sacraments, variously called holy orders or ''Christian laying on of hands, cheirotonia'' ("Laying on of Hands"). Apostolic succession is considered an essential and necessary concept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
