Ascetics, Authority, and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian (Oxford Historical Monographs)

In his Ascetics, Authority, and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian , first published in 1978, Philip Rousseau presents a survey of asceticism in the western church until about 400, including a selective study of Jerome, and then, moving into the fifth century, a reading of Sulpicius and Cassian. Rousseau explores such societal changes as the eventual triumph of the coenobitic movement and its growing effect within the church, not least on the episcopate. He focuses primarily on the development among ascetics of a certain concept of spiritual authority; on the attraction of that concept for a wider audience; and on its enduring formulation within a literary tradition of great influence. For this second edition, Rousseau has supplied a new introduction, with extensive bibliographical references, that charts the ways in which scholarship on early Christian asceticism has developed since his compelling and influential original argument. For this second edition, Rousseau has supplied a new introduction with extensive bibliographical references in which he charts the ways in which scholarship on early Christian asceticism has developed since his compelling and influential original argument. "In his Ascetics, Authority, and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian, first published in 1978, Philip Rousseau presents a survey of asceticism in the western church until about 400, including a selective study of Jerome, and then, moving into the fifth century, a reading of Sulpicius and Cassian. Rousseau explores such societal changes as the eventual triumph of the coenobitic movement and its growing effect within the church, not least on the episcopate. He focuses primarily on the development among ascetics of a certain concept of spiritual authority; on the attraction of that concept for a wider audience; and on its enduring formulation within a literary tradition of great influence." "For this second edition, Rousseau has supplied a new introduction, with extensive bibliographical references, that charts the ways in which scholarship on early Christian asceticism has developed since his compelling and influential original argument." ""A scholarly, well-documented and extremely interesting work ... [A] most valuable contribution towards understanding the ascetic movement in late antiquity."--Journal of Theological Studies" ""Rousseau captures an essential turning point in the history of western spirituality and shows how the influence of eastern ideas made the crucial difference."---Classical World" ""Ascetics, Authority, and the Church is preeminently a book about literature in its historical setting; a skillful demonstration of how the creation of a written tradition ... was central to the process of bridging the gap between the charismatic power of the holy man and the settled monastic community, of preserving the essential tradition of spiritual authority through changing patterns of ascetic life."---Journal of Roman Studies"--Jacket Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Contents INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION PART ONE: THE DESERT I: DISCOVERING THE DESERT FATHERS II: MASTERS AND DISCIPLES III: THE GROWTH OF ASCETIC SOCIETY IV: ASCETICS IN THE CHURCH V: THE WRITTEN WORD PART TWO: WESTERN BEGINNINGS I: EXILES AND PILGRIMS II: ASCETIC LITERATURE PART THREE: JEROME I: ANTIOCH, CONSTANTINOPLE, AND ROME II: LETTERS FROM BETHLEHEM III: JEROME ON THE PRIESTHOOD AND EPISCOPATE IV: JEROME'S LIVES PART FOUR: MARTIN OF TOURS I: A BISHOP AND HIS BIOGRAPHER II: AN APOSTLE IN GAUL III: MARTIN'S AUDIENCE PART FIVE: CASSIAN I: AN EXILE IN REVERSE II: HERMITS OR COENOBITES? III: ADAPTING EGYPT TO THE WEST IV: AUTHORITY V: MONKS AND THE WORLD VI: CASSIAN THE WRITER EPILOGUE: THE NEXT GENERATION APPENDICES APPENDIX I: GREEK, COPTIC, AND LATIN LIVES OF PACHOMIUS APPENDIX II: GREEK AND LATIN VERSIONS OF THE HISTORIA MONACHORUM AND THE LIFE OF ANTONY APPENDIX III: THE MONASTIC TEACHING OF EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS APPENDIX IV: CASSIAN'S DEPENDENCE ON ORAL TRADITION BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

In his Ascetics, Authority, and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian, first published in 1978, Philip Rousseau presents a survey of asceticism in the western church until about 400, including a selective study of Jerome, and then, moving into the fifth century, a reading of Sulpicius and Cassian. Rousseau explores such societal changes as the eventual triumph of the coenobitic movement and its growing effect within the church, not least on the episcopate. He focuses primarily on the development among ascetics of a certain concept of spiritual authority; on the attraction of that concept for a wider audience; and on its enduring formulation within a literary tradition of great influence.

For this second edition, Rousseau has supplied a new introduction, with extensive bibliographical references, that charts the ways in which scholarship on early Christian asceticism has developed since his compelling and influential original argument.