Three works of fifth-century monastic leader Neilos of Ancyra, for the first time in English translation, introduced and annotated by a leading scholar of early ChristianityNeilos of Ancyra (sometimes mistakenly called Nilus of Sinai) was a learned and wise rhetorician, who lived in the fourth–fifth century and became a renowned monastic guide and later a bishop in Anatolia (modern Turkey). He wrote a number of works and one thousand letters. In The Teachings o...

"Hyperechios’ sayings deserve to be known better and making them available in English translation makes them fully accessible to scholars/readers of all abilities.” —Greg Peters, American Benedictine Review“[S]tellar scholarship . . . a marvel . . . . This volume is a great basis for lectiodivina, for a retreat, for a class in the spiritual life and its vision and tools.” —Michael Plekon, Cistercian Studies Quarterly...

Why do we tell stories? Why are stories so indigenous to religion? Stories. Sacred stories. The three Western Scriptures express themselves most fully, and deeply, in stories. The original idea of "story" is "inquiry," the "result of research, information, knowledge," "telling, exposition, account, history." Its verb makes verbal these nouns: "to seek to know oneself, inform oneself, do research, inquire," "interrogate," "examine, explore, observe." All history is story. Most Scripture is ...

Egypt, the birthplace of communal monasticism, has a rich store of monasteries and monastic art. Coptic Monasteries takes the reader on a tour of the best preserved and most significant of these ancient religious centers, documenting in exhaustive detail the richness and the glory of the Coptic heritage. An informative introduction by Tim Vivian brings to life the early Christian era, with background information on the origins of the Coptic Church as well as its rites and ceremoni...

Congregations are shrinking and in decline. Fewer people are part of communities of faith. Michael Plekon's previous book, Community as Church, Church as Community, traced the factors behind this as well as the resurrection of parishes that have reimagined themselves in diverse ways. Pastors have played essential roles in such transformation. But where are the ordained today? Ministry Matters is a sustained meditation on the vocation, lives, and work of pastors today. We listen to an ecume...

Four translations of major accounts of the life of the fourth-century Egyptian desert father St. Bishoi, in one volumeSaint Bishoi of Scetis (d. ca. 417) enjoys tremendous popularity throughout the Christian east, particularly among the Copts. He lived during a remarkable era in which a litany of larger-than-life monastics lived and interacted with one another. Even then, Bishoi stood out as the founder of one of the four great monasteries of Scetis (Wadi al-Natrun...

2025 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, History of Theology, Church Fathers and MothersRevised edition of Tim Vivian’s Becoming Fire continues to inspire readers with ancient wisdom for modern Christian contemplation.The sayings of the desert monks of the fifth and sixth centuries continue to inspire readers with their wisdom, and those who read them as the ancients did, slowly...

The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers offers a new translation of the Greek alphabetical Apophthegmata Patrum, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. For the first time in an English translation, this volume provides:extensive background and contextual notessignificant variant readings in the alphabetical manuscripts and textual differences vis-à-vis the systematic and anonymous Apophthegmatareference not...

2022 Catholic Media Association second place award in theology: history of theology, church fathers and mothersThe Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers offers a new translation of the Greek alphabetical Apophthegmata Patrum, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. For the first time in an English translation, this volume provides:extensive background and contextual notessignificant variant read...

Saint John the Little was a monk and hegumen of Scetis (Wadi Natrun) during the first great period of early Egyptian monasticism. The Apophthegmata preserve some fifty sayings by or about him (see CS 59, 85 '96). In addition, Zacharias, eighth-century Bishop of Sakha, wrote his Life, more than seventy percent of which is composed of material not found in the Apophthegmata. John bears witness to the formative period of early Egyptian monasticism. His ...

In this New York Times–bestselling study, the co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail explores further mysteries surrounding Jesus Christ.What if everything we have been told about the origins of Christianity is a lie?What if a small group had always known the truth and had kept it hidden . . . until now?What if there is evidence that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion?In Holy Blood, Holy Grail Michael Baigent and his c...

In the fourth century, the deserts of Egypt became the nerve center of a radical new movement, what we now call monasticism. Groups of Christians-from illiterate peasants to learned intellectuals-moved out to the wastelands beyond the Nile Valley and, in the famous words of Saint Athanasius, made the desert a city. In so doing, they captured the imagination of the ancient world. They forged techniques of prayer and asceticism, of discipleship and spiritual direction, that have remained cen...