Inquiry about the Monks in Egypt (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

From September 394 to early January 395, seven monks from Rufinus of Aquileia's monastery on the Mount of Olives made a pilgrimage to Egypt to visit locally renowned monks and monastic communities. Shortly after their return to Jerusalem, one of the party, whose identity remains a mystery, wrote an engaging account of this trip. Although he cast it in the form of a first-person travelogue, it reads more like a book of miracles that depicts the great fourth-century Egyptian monks as prophets and apostles similar to those in the Bible. This work was composed in Greek, yet it is best known today as Historia monachorum in Aegypto (Inquiry about the Monks in Egypt), the title of the Latin translation of this work made by Rufinus, the pilgrim-monks' abbot. The Historia monachorum is one of the most fascinating, fantastical, and enigmatic pieces of literature to survive from the patristic period. In both its Greek original and Rufinus's Latin translation it was one of the most popular and widely disseminated works of monastic hagiography during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Modern scholars value it not only for its intrinsic literary merits but also for its status, alongside Athanasius's Life of Antony , the Pachomian dossier, and other texts of this ilk, as one of the most important primary sources for monasticism in fourth-century Egypt. Rufinus's Historia monachorum is presented here in English translation in its entirety. The introduction and annotations situate the work in its literary, historical, religious, and theological contexts. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations 10 Select Bibliography 12 Introduction 32 Rufinus’s Life and Writings 34 The Anonymous Greek Historia monachorum and Rufinus’s Latin Historia monachorum 43 The New Prophets and Apostles 52 The Egyptian Monks as Redeemers 64 Evagius of Pontus and his Teachings in the LHM 72 About This Translation 86 Inquiry about the Monks in Egypt 88 Prologue 90 Chapter 1: John of Lycopolis 95 Chapter 2: Or 121 Chapter 3: Ammon 125 Chapter 4: Bes 127 Chapter 5: Oxyrhynchus 129 Chapter 6: Theon 132 Chapter 7: Apollo 134 Chapter 8: Amoun 156 Chapter 9: Copres 160 Chapter 10: Sourous 174 Chapter 11: Helle 177 Chapter 12: Elias 183 Chapter 13: Pityrion 185 Chapter 14: Eulogius 187 Chapter 15: Apelles and John 188 Chapter 16: Paphnutius 193 Chapter 17: Isidore’s Monastery 200 Chapter 18: Sarapion 202 Chapter 19: Apollonius 204 Chapter 20: Dioscorus 209 Chapter 21: Nitria 211 Chapter 22: Kellia 214 Chapter 23: Ammonius 216 Chapter 24: Didymus 219 Chapter 25: Cronius (Cronides) 220 Chapter 26: Origen 221 Chapter 27: Evagrius 222 Chapter 28: Macarius of Egypt 224 Chapter 29: Macarius of Alexandria 228 Chapter 30: Amoun of Nitria 234 Chapter 31: Paul the Simple 237 Chapter 32: Piammon (Piammonas) 241 Chapter 33: John of Diolcos 243 Epilogue 244 Indices 248 General Index 250 Index of Holy Scripture 257 Index of Greek and Latin Words and Phrases 260 Index of Other Ancient Sources 261 Maximos the Confessor's penetrating theological vision found expression in an unparalleled synthesis of biblical exegesis, ascetic spirituality, patristic theology, and Greek philosophy. On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture, presented here in a complete English translation, contains Maximos's theological interpretations of sixty-five difficult passages from the Old and New Testaments. These sermons by Ambrose of Milan (340-397 AD) provide a window into the preaching and scriptural exegesis of the legendary bishop, whose exposition of the Old Testament was instrumental in the conversion of Augustine of Hippo and in the development of Latin theology.