Overview

A collection of the lives of pioneering Christian saints Written between the mid-fourth and late sixth centuries to commemorate and glorify the achievements of early Christian saints, these six biographies depict men who devoted themselves to solitude, poverty and prayer. Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew from society to pursue lives of chastity and asceticism in his accounts of Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus. In his Life of Martin, Sulpicius Severus describes the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary, while Gregory the Great tells of Benedict, whose Rule became the template for monastic life. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, these Lives have provided inspiration as models for centuries of Christian worship.

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9780140435269

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Monks are hardly famed for living the most exciting lives. But in the days of the early Church, amid a climate of harsh persecution from rulers and religious opponents, they were among the most innovative and radical of their generation. One monk, Ammon, took a mutual vow of celibacy with his wife that lasted 18 years, after which he retreated to a community of monks, visiting her just twice a year. The tales recounted here by near contemporaries of these first saints are often compelling, always fascinating and highly enlightening. (Kirkus UK)

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Carolinne White tutors in patristic and medieval Latin at Oxford University and has published a translation of the correspondence between St Jerome and St Augustine of Hippo (1990). CAROLINNE WHITE works at St Hugh's College, Oxford, dividing her time between research projects and tutoring in patristic and medieval Latin. She has worked on many projects in her field, and published several works, and now lives in north Oxfordshire. Carolinne White divides her time between research projects and tutoring in patristic and medieval Latin at Oxford University. She has worked on the supplement to the Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon and the Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources and has published a translation of the correspondence between St Jerome and St Augustine of Hippo (1990) alongside other work.

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