John Moschus (, c. 550 – 619; name from the ), surnamed Eucrates, was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

monk and ascetical writer of Georgian origin. He is primarily known for his writing of the Spiritual Meadow. The Spiritual Meadow, alongside the Bibliotheca of Photios, are the main sources from which his life is known.

Biography

He was born about 550, probably at

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. 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 is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, among the hermits in the Jordan Valley, and in the New Lavra of St

Sabbas the Sanctified SabasPatrich (1995). (439–532), in Church parlance Saint Sabas or Sabbas the Sanctified (), was a Cappadocian Greek monk, priest, grazer and saint, who was born in Cappadocia and lived mainly in Palaestina Prima. He was the founder of several ...

near Teqoa, east of

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

. 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 northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...

. After 583 he came to

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

and spent about ten years in the

Lavra A lavra or laura (; 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. Lavra monasteries operate within the Orthodox and other Eastern Chri ...

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"; , "measure of the hearts") is a Depression (geology), depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron- ...

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 (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

but returned to Egypt in 607. Later he went to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and in 614-615 to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 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 file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

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

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

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 is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

s whom he met during his extensive travels, mainly through

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, Sinai and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, but also Kilikia and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, 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 in ''Auctarium biblioth. patrum,'' II (Paris, 1624), 1057–1159. A better edition was brought out by Cotelier in ''Ecclesiae Graecae Monumenta'', II (Paris, 1681), which is reprinted in J.-P. Migne, ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (''PG'', or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–18 ...

''. 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 betwe ...

'', 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 () 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; a lost ''Life'' of Spyridon, an apo ...

, under the name of Simeon Metaphrastes (P.G., CXIV, 895-966).

References

Citations

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 Christian ascetics Byzantine theologians Christian hagiographers Byzantine saints Syrian Christian saints 7th-century Christian theologians 7th-century Byzantine writers

Biography

Writings

''The Spiritual Meadow''

The ''vita'' of John the Almoner

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

Sources

External links