Anna M. Silvas

The Asketikon of St Basil the Great comprises a new English translation and studies which re-examine the emergence of monasticism in Asia Minor. The Regula Basilii, translated by Rufinus from Basil's Small Asketikon, is closely compared with the Greek text of the longer edition, as a means to tracing the development of ideas. Silvas concludes that the antecedents of the monastic community of the Great Asketikon are best sought not in some kind of sub-orthodox modus vivendi of male and female ascetics living together and increasingly curbed by an emerging neo-Nicene orthodoxy less favourable to women ('homoiousian asceticism'), but in the local domestic ascetic movement in Anatolia as typified in the developments at Annisa under the leadership of Makrina.

The Asketikon of St Basil the Great

Questions of the Brothers, the Syriac translation of Basil of Caesarea’s Small Asketikon, is edited for the first time from ancient manuscripts and translated into English. Silvas highlights the unique character of the Syriac translator’s own contribution to the text

Syriac Text and English Translation

Basil of Caesarea. Questions of the Brothers

Deep prayer. Cleaving to our Lord Jesus Christ. Immersion in the Scriptures. Baptismal and eucharistic faith in quest of ever-deeper understanding. Historical un-naivety. A theological care for the truth that abides. An interest in diagnosing cultural and civilizational shifts. Attention to the words and teachings of the Church Fathers. Linguistic sensitivity. All these operational elements come together in this book, which seeks to search out the "Nuptial Mystery" of the human condition--"from the beginning" when we were first created, through the dramatic damage contracted in the Fall, as it plays itself out in the struggles of human history, towards the beckoning fulfillment of all things in the world that is to come. This is not just another book on marriage, but an education in a way of theologically "seeing" the Mystery of Christ written into our human vocation as male and female, called to spousal covenant, open to the primacy of God, fruitful with a fruitfulness coming from God, and leading us to the bridegroom on the cross, come to espouse his bride, the church.

The Scriptures and the First Thousand Years

The Mystery of Christian Marriage through the Ages

Kent Eilers

Ashley Cocksworth

This anthology is a collection of readings on the Christian life. They were carefully selected from every era of history and from across the spectrum of Christian traditions. They include letters, sermons, treatises and disputations, poems, songs and hymns, confessions, biblical commentary, and even part of a novel. In each case, the subject is life with God, life in God, life for God—life infused and enlivened by God’s grace. The editors introduce each selection, highlighting relevant aspects of the author’s biography, spirituality, and historical context. Introductions are also provided for the major eras of the church which present theological, historical, and cultural perspectives to help the reader best engage the selections. For individuals and groups, classrooms and seminars, this collection will generate dialogue between past and present, and between traditions familiar and unfamiliar. It is not merely a book on the Christian life but for the Christian life, making yesterday’s witness to life with God a resource for the Church today.

Anna M. Silvas

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