Perrone, The Anxious Self in the Letters of Barsanuphius
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“TREMBLING AT THE THOUGHT OF SHIPWRECK”:
THE ANXIOUS SELF IN THE LETTERS OF
BARSANUPHIUS AND JOHN OF GAZA
But we dream we are rooted in earth
(G. M. Hopkins, The Wreck of the Deutschland )
A ‘spirituality of anxiety’?
In early Christian literature too sea metaphors enjoyed a lasting success, as evidenced
among the many examples by Augustine’s elaborate prologue to De beata vita. In this very
first account of his conversion to Christianity, now viewed as the true wisdom vainly sought
by the philosophers, Augustine sketches his spiritual biography as a perilous navigation
across the sea of life to the harbour of beatitude.1 The same image appears in monastic texts,
often in connection with biblical narratives among which Jesus’s stilling of the storm (Mk. 4.
35-41 par.) assumes an especially paradigmatic value. Syncletica, one of the ‘Desert mothers’,
also regarded the sea as an allegory of the life of men, both monks and seculars, while
symbolically interpreting the soul as a boat dangerously sailing over it.2 In one of her sayings
1 Augustine, De beata vita 1. 1-5 (ed. W.M. Green, CCSL 29 [Turnhout, 1970], pp. 65-67).
2 Apoph. coll. syst. XI. 74 ( Les apophthegmes des Pères. Collection systématique. Chapitres X-XVI, intr.,
texte critique, trad. et notes par †Jean-Claude Guy, SC 474 [Paris, 2003], p. 178): hJ yuch; kaqav per nau'" pote;
me; n e[xwqen ejk tw'n trikumiw' n katapontivzetai, pote; de; uJ po; th'" e[ ndoqen ajntleiva" uJ pobruv cio"
giv netai.
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she warns against the idea that monks might feel more confident than laymen, since they have
chosen to navigate in more quiet waters. Though the monks voyage “under the guidance of
the Sun of justice” and the seculars do so “in the night of ignorance”, in many cases the latter
are saved in the middle of a storm by turning to God whereas the former sink into the abyss
for their lack of care. Amma Syncletica recalled Paul’s words: “if you think you are standing
firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10. 12).3 The message, then, was that even for
monks there can never be ‘freedom from care’ (ajmevrimnon); one has always to be on his
guard, lest he lose the path to perfection.
The correspondence of the two Old Men of Gaza, Barsanuphius and John, in the first half
of the sixth century, shares similar images and feelings. The initial group of letters, those
addressed to John of Beersheva, is framed in terms of the appealing prospect of reaching “the
harbour of hesychia” as the ultimate goal of a monastic career in progress. Yet before John of
Beersheva attains to such a peaceful existence there are enough occasions for Barsanuphius,
as his spiritual director, to exploit sea metaphors in the exhortations addressed to him.4 If the
3 Apoph. coll. syst. XI, 75 (178): Ei\ pe pavlin: Oujk e[comen ej ntau'qa to; ajmevrimnon. Fhsi; ga;r hJ Grafhv:
JO sthvkwn blepev tw mh; pev sh/ (1 Cor. 10. 12): ej n ajdhvlw/ plevomen, qavlassa ga;r oJ bivo" hJmw'n uJ po; tou'
iJ eroyavltou Daui;d ei[rhtai: ajlla; ta; th'" qalavssh" ta; me; n kai; qhrivwn plhvrh ta; de; kai; galhnav. JHmei'"
ou\ n ej n tw/ ' galhnw/ ' mevrei th'" qalavssh" dokou'men pleei' n, oiJ de kosmikoi; ej n toi'" kindunwvdesin: kai;
hJmei'" me; n hJmevra" plevomen uJ po; tou' hJlivou th'" dikaiosuv nh" (Mal. 4. 2) oJdhgouvmenoi, ejkei'noi de; ej n
nukti; aj po; th'" ajgnwsiva" ferovmenoi. jAllÆ ej ndevcetai pollavki" to; n kosmiko;n ej n ceimov ni kai; ejn
kinduvnw/ tugcav nonta bohvsanta kai; ajgrupnhvsanta sw'sai to; eJautou' skav fo", hJma'" de; ejn galhv nh/
o[ nta" uJ po; ajmeleiva" buqisqh' nai to; phdavlion th'" dikaiosuv nh" afev nta".
4 See, for example, Letter 15, 15-18: eij" th; n zavlhn ejblhvqh" th'" qalavssh" uJ pomei'nai kinduvnou"
pollouv", kai; sunaqlh'sai pro;" th;n trikumivan tw' n kumavtwn. Kai; ou{tw" nikhvsa" bohqou'nto" tou' Qeou',
sunevrch/ hJmi' n eij" to;n th'" galhv nh" limevna. My references are to the following edition, quoting the letters by
number and line: Barsanuphe et Jean de Gaza. Correspondance (= C), Vol. I: Aux solitaires, Tome I: Lettres 1-
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waves represented by material and spiritual difficulties now and then threaten to submerge
John on his voyage to hesychia, these letters convey a more confident tone by stressing the
consoling view of the “harbour of peace”.5
Elsewhere Barsanuphius has recourse to a prima
facie less encouraging imagery by insisting, like Amma Syncletica, on the dangers of
navigation and the eventual fate of shipwreck:
Those who sail at sea, even if they happen upon calm weather, yet while they are in the ocean, always expect
storm, danger, and shipwreck. Therefore, they could never benefit from a short period of calm. Then, and
only then, do they feel safe, when they actually enter the harbor. In the same way, a sinful person who is still
in the world must always tremble at the thought of shipwreck.6
If this is not yet in itself a ‘spirituality of anxiety’, it certainly lays down essential premises
for an attitude of this kind. The monks, who are expected to maintain throughout their life a
sharp consciousness of their being ‘sinners’, cannot as such avoid the constant fear that they
71, ed. François Neyt, Paula de Angelis-Noah, tr. Lucien Regnault, SC 426 (Paris, 1997); Vol. I: Aux solitaires,
Tome II: Lettres 72-223, SC 427 (Paris, 1998); Vol. II: Aux cénobites. Tome I: Lettres 224-398, SC 450 (Paris,
2000); Vol. II: Aux cénobites. Tome II: Lettres 399-616 , SC 451 (Paris, 2001); Vol. III: Aux laïcs et aux évêques.
Lettres 617-848, SC 468 (Paris, 2002). For an English translation I shall use: Barsanuphius and John. Letters I-
II, translated by John CHRYSSAVGIS, 2 vols (Washington D.C., 2006), citing volume and page numbers.
5 See my contribution: ‘Eij" to;n th"̀ hJsuciva" limevna. Le lettere a Giovanni di Beersheva nella
corrispondenza di Barsanufio e Giovanni di Gaza’, in Mémorial Dom Jean Gribomont (1920-1986) (Roma,
1988), pp. 463-86.
6 C 412, 19-27 (II, 47): OiJ ejn th/ ' qalavssh/ plevonte", ka] n sumbh/ ' aujtou;" galhniavsai, ajllÆ e[ ti ejn tw/ '
pelavgei uJ pavrcousi kai; prosdokw'sin th; n zavlhn kai; to;n kiv ndunon kai; to; nauavgion. Kai; oujde; n auj tou;"
wj fevlhsen hJ pro;" mikro;n galhv nh, tov te ga;r kai; movnon e[ cousi to; ajsfalev", o{ tan eij" auj to;n eijsevlqwsi
to; n limev na, polloi; de; kai; ej n auj tw/ ' tw/ ' stomivw/ ejnauavghsan. Ou{tw gou'n kai; oJ aJmartwlov", ej fÆ o{son
ejsti; n ej n tw/ ' kovsmw/, pav ntote trevmein oj feivlei to; nauavgion.
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might make themselves the experience of shipwreck.7 Not incidentally Barsanuphius’s
statement occurs in a rather large group of letters that seem to exude an anxiety of the highest
degree. We shall of course try to find out to what extent such anxiety depends upon the
psychological situation of the correspondent. But we can already assume that his anxious self
does not constitute an individual case. Rather than being a peculiarity, it exemplifies a quite
common state of mind, which, on the one hand, was instilled as a paradigm of ascetic
behaviour and, on the other, was more generally shared in the spiritual atmosphere of Late
Antiquity, thus blending by the way personal and institutional religion. Its root or, better to
say, its main expression resides in a state of mind lacking an exact orientation on both
practical and theoretical issues while anxiously seeking it. In other words, it is a perplexity
concerning how one should act morally and religiously (or, more precisely in the latter case,
dogmatically) and consequently implies, at a deeper level, a fundamental anguish about one’s
own salvation.
A person of delicate conscience:
the inner troubles of a layman with a monastic vocation
Letters 399-449 are attributed to an unnamed filov cristo", that is, “a Christ-loving
layperson”, a description regularly used in the correspondence.
8
Due to such addressee they
7 On the constant recollection of sins in ancient monasticism see Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony, Aryeh Kofsky,
The Monastic School of Gaza (Leiden – Boston, 2006), p. 129.
8 Filov cristo" is the most common term starting already with the prologue (l. 12 [I, 22]: filocrivstoi"
lai>koi'", “Christ-loving laypersons”), though the correspondence also uses kosmikov", ‘secular’, to distinguish a
layperson from a cleric or a monk (see, for example, C 716, 5-6 [II, 257]: ou[ te klhrikov" eijmi ou[te schm̀a
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have been exploited by Lucien Regnault to argue the thesis that there was no substantial
difference between the spiritual ideals of the monks and those of the laymen they inspired.9
As a matter of fact, this is a series of letters that has practically nothing to do with secular
affairs. Unlike the larger section of the correspondence devoted to laymen,10 it deals
exclusively with spiritual matters. Because of this distinctive characteristics one wonders
whether the identity of the correspondent does not gradually transform itself in the course of
the epistolary exchange, so that increasingly we come to face somebody with a monastic
vocation, if not a person already having a monastic status. The evidence offers some support
for this conclusion, as will be seen in what follows.
Beginning to trace a ‘portrait’ of the anonymous correspondent, we may first of all note the
tendency to a refinement of conscience that characterizes his dialogue with Barsanuphius
e[ cwn, ajllÆ a[nqrwpo" kosmikov", “I am neither a clergyman, nor do I have the monastic habit, but I am merely
a... layman”).9 Cf. Lucien Regnault, ‘Moines et laïcs dans la région de Gaza au VIe siècle’, in Christian Gaza in Late
Antiquity, ed. by Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony and Aryeh Kofsky (Leiden-Boston, 2004), pp. 165-72. According to
Regnault these letters prove that “les destinataires vivaient vraiment sous la conduite de leur Père spirituel”. The
editors of the correspondence introduce our group under the title: “À un laïc en quête d’une vie de prière et de
combat” (SC 450, p. 15).
10 According to Leah Di Segni, ‘Monastero, città e villaggio nella Gaza bizantina’, in Il deserto di Gaza:
Barsanufio, Giovanni e Doroteo. Atti dell’XI Convegno ecumenico internazionale di spiritualità ortodossa, ed.
by Sabino Chialà and Lisa Cremaschi (Comunità di Bose, 2004), pp. 51-80, the letters addressed to laymen
constitute more than a third of the total (p. 54). For an investigation of their topics see Jennifer L. Hevelone-
Harper, Disciples of the Desert. Monks, Laity and Spiritual Authority in Sixth-Century Gaza (Baltimore –
London, 2005); Lorenzo Perrone, ‘Aus Gehorsam zum Vater: Mönche und Laien in den Briefen von
Barsanuphius und Johannes von Gaza’, in Foundations of Power and Conflicts of Authority in Late-Antique
Monasticism, ed. by Alberto Camplani and Giovanni Filoramo (Leuven, 2007), pp. 217-43.
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from the outset. After confessing his sins to the Great Old Man (C 399), he declares a concern
regarding a spiritual insensitivity that results in his experiencing a lack of tears (C 400). To
the extent that we can ‘filter’ the ipsa vox of Barsanuphius’s disciple through the summaries
made by the redactor, he seems already here to comply with the monastic ideal of pev nqo",
‘grief’ or ‘sorrow’, the virtue encompassing most of all the penitent recollection of sins
together with katav nuxi", ‘compunction’ (C 428).11 He then goes on to ask for advice in
practical behaviour, though at the level of general principles rather than of concrete issues (C
401). If this reveals some ‘theoretical’ interest in defining the requisites of a morally
sustainable deed, Barsanuphius prefers to deal with him as an ascetic ‘worker’ ( ejrgav th"),
relying at the same time on his ability to follow an exegetical argument, which results in a sort
of monastic ‘midrash’.12 Yet the disciple is still a beginner in the study of the Bible, as
11 According to the definition of John the Prophet in C 730, 7 (II, 262): pev nqo" ejsti; n hJ kata; Qeo; n luv ph,
h} n tivktei hJ metav noia, “Mourning is godly sorrow, which is produced by repentance”. On the link between pev nqo" and tears see especially John’s response to Dorotheus in C 285, 4: Ouj to; pev nqo" dia; tw'n dakruvwn,
ajlla; ta; davkrua dia; tou' pev nqou" givnetai, “It is not tears that cause mourning, but rather mourning that
causes tears” (cf. also C 71, 125). On katavnuxi" see infra, n. 22. Iréné Hausherr, Penthos. La doctrine de la
componction dans l’Orient chrétien (Roma, 1944), remains the classic work on the subject. For recent research
and further bibliography see Martine Dulaey, ‘Les larmes dans les premiers siècles chrétiens: Ambroise et
l’Occident latin’, Adamantius, 16 (2010), 320-337.
12 Barsanuphius draws on several Old Testament passages (Is. 58. 5; Dt. 22. 9-11; Eccl. 9. 8) to support the
thesis that good deeds should always exclude any form of personal will. Apart from the helpful comments by
Luciana Mortari in her introduction to the Italian translation (Barsanufio e Giovanni di Gaza, Epistolario, a cura
di Maria Francesca Teresa Lovato e Luciana Mortari [Roma, 1991], pp. 56-64), the peculiar exegesis of the
correspondence still needs a thorough investigation. On the merits and limits of its characterization as ‘monastic
exegesis’ see my contribution: ‘Prayer as a Mirror of Monastic Culture in Byzantine Palestine: The Letters of the
Hesychast Euthymius to Barsanuphius’, Proche-Orient Chrétien, 60 (2010), 257-90.
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witnessed by his learning the Psalms by heart (C 402). Perhaps this fact could be valued as a
first sign that he has by now entered a monastic apprenticeship, but is not yet a sufficient clue
to it.13
Later on the correspondent will display a greater familiarity with the Psalms, though he
will still avoid raising questions about the interpretation of biblical passages. Moreover, in
this initial stage he modestly confesses that he is normally “slow in learning”. He further
scrutinizes himself regarding the purity of his intentions, then goes over to an issue of
theodicy: why are sinners rewarded with good by God (C 403)? A concern of the same kind
will later appear in the theologically interesting problem: does the Holy Ghost dwell in
sinners, and how are they preserved by God (C 420)?
The high spiritual standards of the disciple are again revealed in a question on what is the
worthy manner of thanksgiving. This question provokes a longer treatment by Barsanuphius,
well aware of the prospect of euj caristiva as a fundamental expression of prayer (C 404).14
After that the disciple touches a standard theme of monastic literature: the recognition of
demonic activity; but, in a more subtle approach, he considers the possibility that demons may
do good (C 405-406). At this point Barsanuphius addresses him, for the first and only time, as
ajgaphtev, ‘beloved one’, a term normally reserved for monastic brethren.15 Yet subsequently
we hear that he performs “a small act of charity” ( euj poii?a): does he retain his wealth as
13 For instance, in C 711 a layman confesses that when he recites the Psalms, he does not always understand
the meaning of the words.
14 On the importance assigned to the prayer of thanksgiving in monastic literature see especially Cassianus,
Conl. IX, 15, who regards it as the highest form in the range of prayers listed in 1 Tim. 2, 1.
15 C 406, 16-17 (II, 43): Tou' to de; mavqe, ajgaphtev, o{ti oJ Qeo;" oujk aj fei' tina peiraqh' nai uJ pe;r o}
duvnatai, “Learn this, too, beloved one: God does not allow anyone to be tested beyond his strength” (slightly
modified translation).
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already given an answer to his problem (C 412).20 Otherwise he replies firmly to him, when
he mentions a visionary experience (C 414) that includes also the appearance of Christ (C
415): A ‘sinner’ (aJmartwlov") – as the disciple professes himself to be21
– does not enjoy
visions from heaven; the demons must therefore be their instigators. Such demonic
phenomena continue to occupy the mind of the disciple in the letters that follow (C 416-419),
leading to a reported sight of demons besieging his heart like wild beasts, albeit
unsuccessfully. Our correspondence now turns to a more common casuistry related to the
monastic way of life. It is a set of letters in which the correspondent appears more and more
engaged in the monastic experience. We notice the place accorded to prayer (C 421-422) and
psalmody (C 423-424), though the disciple does not refrain from his usual attitude of spirit. It
is again out of his anxious approach that he asks whether he should continue to recite the
formulaic so-called ‘Jesus Prayer’ even when he is experiencing a peaceful time (C 425).
Worrying, on the one hand, about becoming an object of praise among people (C 426), on the
other hand, he regards the triad ‘prayer, reading and psalmody’ (C 427) as a means to realize
katav nuxi", ‘compunction’ (C 428).22 However, even the recitation of Psalms becomes for
20 See the beginning of the response in C 412, 5-6 (II, 46): Kai; h[dh ei\ povn soi o{ ti, eja;n sumbh/ ' se ei[ ti
dhvpote ajgaqo; n poih'sai..., “I have already told you that, if you happen to do anything good...”.
21 C 414, 1-2 (II, 48): jEa; n ou\ n giv nwntai ojptasivai aJmartwlw/ ', a\ra oujk oj feivlei o{lw" pisteuv ein o{ ti ejk
Qeou' eijsinÉ
22 C 428, 1-2 (II, 54): Pw'" ti" kta' tai katav nuxin ej n proseuch/ ' kai; aj nagnwvsei kai; yalmw/diva/É, “How
can one acquire compunction in prayer, reading and psalmody?”. The term occurs several times in our group of
letters (C 411, 428, 442, 444, 445), especially in connection with the attitude demanded by the ‘Jesus Prayer’ (C
442, 444). On the individual will as a hindrance to katav nuxi" see C 237, 13 (I, 242): J O kwluvwn ou\n th; n
katavnuxin ejlqei' n soi, to; qevlhmav sou ejstin, eja; n ga;r mh; kov yh/ oJ a[ nqrwpo" to; i[dion qevlhma, ouj ponei' hJ
kardiva, “So what prevents compunction from coming to you is your own will; indeed, if a person does not cut
off the individual will, the heart does not feel pain”; 43 (I, 242): Ta; triva tau' ta kov yon, qevlhma, dikaivwma,
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devotion to them, at least with a bow (C 433).26 His wandering about, as is implied here,
means perhaps that he is not staying in a monastic precinct? In any case, he has not changed
his habitual disposition, when he afterwards complains about attacks of ‘cowardice’ (deiliva)
that drive him to enter (a church or a cell?) for prayer (C 434-435). What, then, does
‘cowardice’ mean here if not, as elsewhere in the correspondence, a frightening concern or
discouragement with regard to his own salvation, which moreover harmonizes well with the
psychological profile of Barsanuphius’s disciple that we have traced so far?27 Not
26 C 433, 1-4 (II, 57): {Otan euJreqw' ej n tov pw/ e[nqa eijsi; leiv yana aJgivwn martuvrwn, ojclei' taiv mou oJ
logismo;" w{ste pollavki" aj piev nai kai; proskunei'n auj tav. Kai; oJsavki" eja; n parevlqw diÆ auj tw'n, uJpobavllei
moi th; n kefalh;n kli' nai, “Whenever I am in some place where there are relics of holy martyrs, my thought is
troubled so that I want to approach and venerate them many times. And whenever I pass by them, my thought
suggests that I should bow my head”. The term leiv yana appears again in C 742, where a layman asks how he
should behave in entering a martyr’s shrine (marturivw/).
27
See C 435, 2-3 (II, 58): Kai; o{te qevlw eijselqei' n kai; eu[xasqai peri; th'" ejmh'" swthriva", uJ pobavllei
moi th; n deilivan, “When, however, I want to enter [the cell] and pray for my own salvation, [the devil] suggests
cowardice to me”. According to C 232, 1-4 (I, 236), deiliva concerns the salvation: Poiv hson e[leo" metÆ ejmou',
devspota, kai; eij pev moi pw'" duv namai swqh' nai eij" to;n kairo;n tou' ton, o{ ti logismo;" deiliva" ajnevbh eij"
th; n kardivan mou, “Be merciful to me, master, and tell me how I can be saved at this time; for a thought of fear
has arisen in my heart”. In view of such concern Barsanuphius’ response underlines the essential aspects of the
ascetic praxis (C 232, 7-10 [I, 236]: Kata; pavnta kairo;n eja; n duv natai oJ a[nqrwpo" kov yai aujtou' to; qevlhma
ej n pa'si, kai; e[cein tapeinh;n kardivan kai; to; n qav naton dia; panto;" pro; oj fqalmw'n, duv natai swqh' nai
cavriti Qeou'. Kai; o{ pou eja;n h/ \, ouj katakurieuvei aujtou' hJ deiliva, “At every moment, if a person is able to
cut off the individual will in all things, and possesses a humble heart, holding death at all times before one’s
eyes, that person can be saved by the grace of God. And wherever that person may be, fear cannot dominate
him”). Our correspondent already in C 417 associates deiliva with fovbo". In C 683, 2-3 (II, 239-240) a pious
layman fears that he may be misguided by the devil: J O logismo;" ejmbavllei moi deilivan, o{ti Duv natai oJ
diavbolo" poih'saiv se aJmarth'sai, ka]n su; mh; qevlh/", “My thought sows cowardice within me, telling me that
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surprisingly, in view of his penchant for repetitive acts of devotion, he then confesses a
‘compulsion’ ( ej noclei' moi) to sign himself night and day with the sign of the cross (C 436).
And when he subsequently asks if it is permitted to sign oneself with the left hand, in the
event that the right hand is out of use, Barsanuphius’s response is not devoid of humour:
“Well, as for me, whenever I want to perform the sign of the cross over my right hand, I
certainly have to use my left hand to do so” (C 437).28
The set of ‘practical’ letters continues with a series of questions on how to pray (C 438-
440), especially when there are no ‘fathers’ available to guide one (C 440). Although this
detail could again lead us to suppose that we still are dealing with a layman, what follows
suggests that he has meanwhile become a monk. For we next encounter him sitting (in his
cell), reading and doing some handiwork, that is, carrying out the activities typical of a
monastic routine, while he is once again anxious about the way he should pray in such
situations, or when he has his head covered and is walking around (C 441). 29
the devil can force me to sin, even if I do not want to”. The role of deiliva in connection with sexual temptation
determines a longer response by Barsanuphius to Dorotheus in C 258, establishing the necessity of spiritual fight
and the limits of temptation. While deiliva often recurs in the correspondence of the two Old Men of Gaza, it is
mentioned only occasionally in Dorotheus’s Instructions. Interestingly, he provides an ‘Aristotelian’
categorization for it in Instr. X, 106: hJ aj ndreiva mevsh ejsti; th'" deiliva" kai; th'" qrasuv thto".
28 C 437, 5-6 (II, 59): jEgw; tevw" o{ tan qevlw sfragivsai th;n dexiav n mou, th/ ' ajristera/ ' tou'to poiw'.
29 C 431, 1-6 (II, ): { Ote kavqhmai ei[ te ajnaginwvskwn ei[ te ejrgovceiron poiw' n kai; qevlw proseuv cesqai,
diakrivnw kaqhvmeno" tiv poih'sai. To; auj to; pavscw ka] n e[ cw th; n kefalh; n ejskepasmev nhn. Kai; o{ te de;
peripatw' kai; qevlw proseuvxasqai, aj paitei' me oJ logismo;" prosevcein eij" ajnatolav", “When I am sitting
down, whether reading or doing my handiwork, and want to pray, I am not sure if I should in fact be sitting. The
same happens even if I have my head covered. And when I am walking about and want to pray, my thought
demands that I turn eastwards in order to do so”. Compare this text with Dorotheus’ description of the monastic
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The epilogue to the correspondence provides further evidence for the inference we have
already anticipated: The disciple is definitely a monk, even if he is driven “to say with every
word, deed, and thought” that “he has sinned” (C 443).30
In fact, he now not only recites the
Psalms, though not without some distraction (C 443-444), but also listens to the recitation of
another brother (C 445) or “stands with the rest of the brothers during the chanting of the
Psalms” (C 447). However, the fact that he is in the choir of monks does not diminish his
anxious state of mind, inasmuch as he now feels sexually attracted to a brother reciting the
Psalms (C 446). In the last two letters he does not conceal his feeling of “a great burden in his
soul” (C 448), while he finally begs Barsanuphius to explain to him how he should “hurry
toward God without turmoil” (C 449).
The ascetic paradox:
Self-examination as self-annihilation
The above survey has shown the rich variety of topics emerging in this set of letters, as
frequently happens with the wealth of detail to be found in the correspondence of the two Old
Men of Gaza. It would be risky to presume that we possess the key to the ‘story of a soul’,
despite our impression of having followed, as it were, the ‘film’ of the spiritual adventure of
condition in Ep. 1: o{ te me;n kavqhtai ejn tw/ ' kellivw/, eu[cetai, meleta/ ', poiei' mikro;n ejrgovceiron, frontivzei
kata; duv namin tw' n logismw' n.
30 C 442, 1-3 (II, 61): Levgei moi oJ logismo;" o{ ti Eij" pavnta aJmartavnei" kai; oj feivlei" ejn eJkavstw/ lovgw/
kai; e[rgw/ kai; ej nqumhvsei levgein o{ti {Hmarton, “My thought tells me that I am sinning in everything [that I
do], and that I must say with every word, deed, and thought: ‘I have sinned’”.
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Barsanuphius’s disciple.31 Yet we are able to isolate some dominant features therein, that not
only characterize an individual state of mind as particularly ‘anxious’, but more properly
circumscribe a definite vision of the ‘ascetic self’. In fact, most of the problems raised by the
anonymous correspondent, as well as the responses by his master, develop a discourse that
essentially turns on one fundamental issue: Under what conditions can deeds be qualified as
good from an ascetic point of view? Although Barsanuphius provides from the start what, in
his eyes, should be regarded as the decisive criterion for a morally positive action, the disciple
is confronted with the difficulties arising from its more or less direct application to a range of
particular cases. We might even say that by doing so he verifies the extent to which the
general principle laid down by his master can be implemented. Of course, this does not
happen simply as a result of ‘theoretical’ interest; the framework traced by our overview
provides ample evidence of his need to overcome a constant concern for his salvation. The
source and the means through which Barsanuphius’s disciple comes to manifest such concern
is self-examination of conscience, which is otherwise conducted precisely on the basis of the
ideals and values recommended by the monastic school of Gaza32.
31 According to an observation by Lucien Regnault reported in Bitton-Ashkelony and Kofsky, The Monastic
School of Gaza, p. 128.
32 For a thorough-going presentation of Gaza asceticism see Bitton-Ashkelony and Kofsky, The Monastic
School of Gaza. I tried to isolate its core in ‘The Necessity of Advice: Spiritual Direction as a School of
Christianity in the Correspondence of Barsanuphius and John of Gaza’, in Christian Gaza in Late Antiquity, pp.
131-49. Cf. also the important contribution of Claudia Rapp, ‘‘For Next to God, You Are My Salvation’:
Reflections on the Rise of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity’, in The Cult of the Saints in Late Antiquity and the
Middle Ages: Essays on the Contribution of Peter Brown, ed. by James Howard-Johnson and Paul Antony
Hayward (Oxford, 1999), pp. 63-82. A new investigation into the history of Gaza monasticism is Rosa Maria
Parrinello, Comunità monastiche a Gaza. Da Isaia a Doroteo (secoli IV-VI) (Roma, 2010).
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making it a sort of ‘categorical imperative’ for an action that aims to be ‘pure’,36 calling on
the disciple “to be vigilant” against any intrusion of personal will into it. With his appeal to
nh' yi", ‘vigilance’, the Great Old Man indicates the inner disposition that is required to
enforce constant observance of the commandment on the ‘cutting of the will’. By practicing
his own self-examination the disciple will strictly follow Barsanuphius’s instruction, even if
this self-scrutiny leads him to generalize and overemphasize his suspicion as to the reasons
that may lay behind his deeds.
Consequently, nothing can be accepted as good. Even if at first sight it is perceived as
such, it demands careful inspection by the disciple. For instance, the facility with which he
learns the Psalms leads him to ponder its possible causes: Does it come “from God or from
the demons”?37 Moreover, while admitting his progress in learning, the disciple betrays the
awareness that to allow personal satisfaction could involve the risk of vainglory. A similar
alternative appears elsewhere, when he asks: “Is it possible for the demons to do good to
anyone? And how is it revealed whether this good comes from the demons? And what is the
School of Gaza’, Liber Annuus, 56 (2006), 321-346, mentions affinities between Augustine and Evagrius resting
on the critical approach of the former to free will as “human egoistic will” (p. 322).
36 C 401, 22-24 (II, 39): jEa;n ou\ n e[ch/ to; ginovmenov n ti tou' ijdivou qelhvmato" tou' poiou' nto", ejrrupwvqh
to; e[rgon kai; oujk e[stin ajresto;n tw/ ' Qew/ ', “if what is done also contains something from our own will, then
that work is polluted and is unpleasing to God”.
37 C 401, 2-4 (II, 39): \Ara ejk tou' Qeou' sunevbh moi tou' to h] ejk tw' n daimov nwn, i{ na e[lqw eij"
kenodoxivanÉ, “Tell me whether this has happened to me from God, or else from the demons in order that I might
come to vainglory”. Barsanuphius wisely replies (6-8 [II, 40]): { Osa parevcei soi oJ Qeov", mavqe meta;
tapeinwvsew", to; ga;r maqei'n eujcerw'" ta; lovgia tou' Qeou' oujk aj po; tou' diabovlou giv netai, spevrma gavr
eijsin tou' Qeou', “Whatever God grants you, receive it with humility. For to learn the words of God easily does
not actually come from the devil, but they are in fact a seed from God”.
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difference between this and a divine gift?”38 It should be noted that this series of questions
comes shortly after Barsanuphius has stated as a general rule that “every good gift, as it is
evident, comes from God”.39
The Great Old Man then delivers a comprehensive response
which takes into consideration the opinion that demons may cause some good to one in order
to deceive him. It all depends on the process of unmasking their tricks (while experiencing
this deceitful good), which anyway demands a capacity for “knowledge and discernment”.40
The master’s response, observing among other things that “sinners only perceive the
difference at the end”, could not succeed in calming the disciple. This was even more the
case, insofar as he certainly embraced Barsanuphius’s recommendation of ajkrivbeia, ‘closer
examination’, and diavkrisi", ‘discernment’, both qualities held in high esteem not only
among monks but more generally in the religious atmosphere of that time. The disciple
therefore solicits a further clarification on “the supposed good of the demons” for the purpose
of escaping the danger hidden in it.41 Barsanuphius’s pedagogical reply here skilfully mixes
principles with practice, finally emphasizing the recourse to prayer for discernment through
38 C 405, 1-4 (II, 41): \Ara dunatov n ejsti tou;" daivmona" ajgaqopoih'saiv tiniÉ Kai; pw'" fanerou'tai o{ ti
daimoniwvdh" ejstivÉ Kai; tiv" hJ diafora; auj tou' kai; tou' qei>kou' ajgaqou' 'É
39 C 403, 5 (II, 40): Pa'sa dovsi" ajgaqhv, dhlonov ti ejk tou' Qeou' ejstin.
40 C 405, 6-9 (II, 41-42): jEndev cetai me; n dovxa giv nesqaiv tini ajgaqo; n pro;" aj pavthn ejk tou' ponhrou',
ajlla; pa' n ajgaqo;n ginovmenon ejk tou' diabovlou pro;" th; n aj pavthn tou' ajnqrwv pou, yhlafwvmenon meta;
ajkribeiva", euJrivsketai metaschmatismov", “There is a possibility, theoretically, that good can come to
someone from the evil one with the purpose of deceit. Every good, however, that comes from the devil in order
to deceive us, upon closer examination, is found only to be disguise”.
41
C 406 (II, 42-43).
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God if the disciple does not himself succeed in exposing the demonic operation.42 In such a
case the master’s initial plea for activating the self through responsible ‘discernment’ again
ends in a form of self-denial, supported by the recognition of being still in the condition of a
‘sinner’.
Inner conflict between opposing thoughts with regard to the recognition of something as
good offers new opportunities for Barsanuphius’s counselling, though his advice falls short of
appeasing the disciple. The Great Old Man declares that a clear criterion for identifying a
good thought consists in the ‘affliction’ (qli' yi") that accompanies it, provided one first prays
to God and then carefully inspects his actual propensities in face of the conflicting thoughts.43
But then the disciple wonders whether a good deed accomplished by him without any
affliction should still be valued as such.44 In response, Barsanuphius restates his general
principle, without any concession, by once more inviting the disciple to carry out a ‘close
examination’ (ajkribologhvsasqai) of his mind in order to discover how and why the
affliction remains concealed, and to eventually bring to light the implicit danger of self-
estimation.45 Being conscious that such a peril is always present helps to define the limits
within which one should set the positive admission occasionally made by Barsanuphius
42 C 406, 18-19 (II, ): jEn panti; ou\n prosfevrwmen auj tw/ ' th; n iJkesivan, kai; auj to;" diakrinei' hJmw' n to;
ajgaqo;n aj po; tou' nomizomevnou ajgaqou', “So in all things, let us offer supplications to him, and he will
distinguish for us the good from the supposed good”.
43 C 407 (II, 43). Note here Barsanuphius’s suggestion to ‘make a test’ (l. 7 [II, 43]: ejk touv tou
dokimavzetai, “this is the way of testing”).
44 C 408, 1-2 (II, 43): Tiv ou\ n o{ tan givnhtai to; ajgaqo;n ajqliv ptw", oujk e[sti kata; Qeovn'É “So what
happens when good occurs without any affliction; is it not from God?”.
45 C 408, 7-8 (II, 44): jEavn ti" ajgaqo;n poih'sa" eu{rh/ to; n logismo;n a[qlipton, oujk ojfeivlei qarrh'sai
o{ ti a[neu qliv yew" parevrcetai, “If someone does something good and finds that the thought has not been
afflicted, then that person should not feel confident that it will completely pass without affliction”.
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according to which “a person can think of something good from a movement of the natural
thought”. If the disciple may have imagined thus to find a positive role for personal initiative,
his master’s reply once more suppresses it: Even in such cases one has to ascribe the good
thought to God as Creator and avow that one is not able to fulfill it without the help of his
commandment.46 So there is no way of escaping the aporetic dimension of asceticism: On the
one hand, the self is called upon to improve itself by becoming more and more ‘good’ through
the critical involvement of his conscience; on the other hand, he has no right to experience it
personally in any way.
Having tried several times to preserve forms of individual responsibility, eventually the
disciple seems to have learnt the lesson of his master and become more eager than ever to
follow it, not eschewing an excess of zeal. Therefore, when he now does something good, he
wants to know in what manner he can humiliate himself;47 and, in observing a commandment,
he wishes to learn how he can comply both with “knowing that he has done a good thing” and
admitting that “he remains estranged from it” to avoid pride.48 In his growing concern for
46 C 409, 4-10 (II, ): Sumbaivnei me;n pollavki" aj po; kinhvsew" tou' fusikou' logismou' ej nqumei'sqaiv tina
to; ajgaqov n. jAlla; kai; tou' to ej pigrav fein dei' tw/ ' Qew/ ', hJ ga;r fuvsi" poivhma aujtou' ejsti. Ginwvskein de;
oj feivlomen o{ ti oujk a[gomen auj to; eij" tevlo", eij mh; dia; th'" tou' Qeou' ejntolh'", “It often happens that a
person can think of something good from a movement of the natural thought. It is necessary, however, to ascribe
this as well to God; for nature is his creation. And we should know that we cannot even bring it to fruition except
through the command of God”.
47 C 410, 1-3 (II, 45): {Otan poiw' ti ajgaqov n, pw'" ojfeivlw tapeinw'saiv mou to;n logismov n'É Kai; pw'"
bastavzw th;n ejmautou' me vmyin, pravxa" to; ajgaqov n'É, “When I do something good, how should I humble my
thought? And how can I bear blame on myself when I have done something good?”.
48 C 411, 1-3 (II, 46): { Otan poiw' ejntolhvn, pw'" duvnamai fugei'n th;n uJ yhlofrosuvnhn i {na oi\da o{ ti kai;
ajgaqo;n pra'gma ej poivhsa kai; ajllov triov" ei\mi aujtou'É, “When I keep a commandment, how can I avoid pride
so that I may know that I have done a good thing and yet at the same time remain estranged from it?”.
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The quest for certainty:
ascetic and dogmatic trajectories
Perhaps our group of letters best exemplifies the ‘aporetic dimension’ resulting from Gaza
asceticism when calling for the self-control of the conscience. It is true that the main term for
it, suneivdhsi", never figures in these letters, so that one might at first glance wonder whether
the conscience is really considered to be a positive factor as in the Instructions of Dorotheus.
The most famous disciple of Barsanuphius and John of Gaza classically viewed the
‘conscience’ as the inner witness and judge of our moral conduct. The way in which
Dorotheus explains its functioning may even give rise to the impression that the conscience is
fully entitled to act as an autonomous and self-sufficient organ of control independently
capable of tracing a clear ‘distinction’ (diavkrisi"!) between good and evil. In principle, for
Dorotheus, the conscience always stands in contrast to “our evil will” instructing us on how
we should behave and reproaching us when we do not follow its dictates. 53 Yet this ideal
53 See Dorotheus, Didasc. III, 41 ( Dorothée de Gaza. Œuvres spirituelles, intr., texte grec, trad. et notes par
Lucien Regnault et Jean de Préville [Paris, 1963], p. 210, 9-12): au{ th aj ntivkeitai pav ntote tw/ ' qelhvmati
hJmw' n tw/ ' kakw/ ' kai; ejlevgcei hJma'" eij" o} oj feivlonte" poih'sai, ouj poiou'men: kai; pavlin, eij" o} mh;
oj feivlonte" poih'sai, poiou'men, kai; au{th kathgorei' hJmw' n; III, 42 (214, 29-31): Au{th ga;r ejlevgcei
hJma'"... eij" to; kalo; n kai; eij" to; kakov n, kai; deiknuv ei hJmi' n tiv poih'sai kai; tiv mh; poih'sai. Kai; au{th
pavlin kathgorei' hJmw' n kai; ejn tw/ ' me vllonti aijw' ni; IV, 54 (238, 28-30): JH me;n suneivdhsiv" mou marturei'
moi o{ti dia; diovrqwsin qevlw eij pei'n, ajllÆ aijsqavnomai o{ti kai; e[swqev n tiv pote wJ" logismo;" mevmiktai.
Dorotheus emphasizes the importance of suneivdhsi" by connecting this concept to his view of the history of
salvation: “Christ actually awaked our dormant inner man, or conscience – namely, the power of distinction
(diavkrisi") between good and evil. Dorotheus elsewhere specifies that this conscience (suneivdhsi") was a
divine gift bestowed upon Adam in paradise..., which constitutes the ideal natural law ( fusiko;" novmo") as
opposed to the later mundane written law. It was precisely the aim of Christ to teach men how to discern the
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model is not devoid of tensions and limitations for Dorotheus himself. Essentially, one cannot
rely solely upon the voice of one’s own conscience lest it mislead one into believing that he
can govern himself alone.54
Since Adam’s fall it is indeed the conscience of a frail humanity,
in spite of the way to its restoration opened up by Christ’s salvific deed. So men always need
the help of God and with it of “those who govern” their conscience, more specifically the
monks among them, that is, their spiritual directors. Therefore, even within the pattern traced
by Dorotheus, the conscience comes to play a necessarily subordinate role, inasmuch as it has
to be thought of as operating in the framework of spiritual direction.55
The same situation is actually implied in the correspondence of the two Old Men of Gaza,
inasmuch as they generally refrain from positively exploiting the word suneivdhsi" (or its
synonym suneidov"). Undoubtedly, they are acquainted with its larger use in the New
mental mechanisms of committing sin and how to cleanse the passions leading to sin through the cultivation of
ascetic virtues” (Bitton-Ashkelony and Kofsky, The Monastic School of Gaza, p. 143). For a comprehensive
assessment see Rosa Maria Parrinello, ‘Coscienza e direzione spirituale. Ruolo e funzione della suneivdhsi" nel
monachesimo palestinese’, in Maestro e discepolo. Temi e problemi della direzione spirituale tra VI secolo a.C.
e VII secolo d.C., ed. by Giovanni Filoramo (Brescia, 2002), pp. 275-316.
54 Dorotheus, Didasc. V, 61 (250, 4-9): blev pete tiv didavskei hJma'" hJ aJgiva Grafhv: ajsfalivzetai hJma'",
i{ na mh; stoicw'men eJautoi'", i{ na mh; e[cwmen eJautou;" sunetouv", i{ na mh; pisteuvwmen o{ti dunavmeqa
eJautou;" dioikh'sai. Crh/ vzomen bohqeiva", crh/ vzomen tw'n meta; Qeo;n kubernw' ntwn hJma'". Oujdev n ejstin
ajqliwvteron, oujde; n eujalwtov teron tw' n mh; ejcovntwn tina; oJdhgou' nta aujtou;" eij" th;n oJdo; n tou' Qeou'. As a
consequence, the ‘examination of conscience’, one of the recommended ‘spiritual exercises’ common both to the
disciples of philosophical schools (Pythagoreans and Stoics) and to the monks came to be connected with the
monastic system of spiritual direction as exemplified, for instance, in John Climacus (see Giovanni Climaco, La
scala del paradiso, Introduzione, traduzione e note di Rosa Maria Parrinello [Milano, 2007], pp. 90-107).
55 According to Irénée Hausherr, Direction spirituelle en Orient autrefois (Roma, 1955), pp. 172-77,
practically no monk is exempted from the system of spiritual direction.
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Testament, but they prefer to have recourse to the particular meaning to be found in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians: It is then not so much one’s own conscience in its capacity for self-
government but rather “the conscience of the others” (1 Cor. 8. 12; 10. 29), prone to be
offended by any independent behaviour of ourselves that does not take into account their
sensitivities.56 Tellingly enough, this was the recommendation John the Prophet, the Other
Old Man of Gaza, used to impart every evening to his servant and disciple Dorotheus at the
end of his service by repeating to him a saying of Abbah Isaiah: “To have respect for the
conscience of the neighbour generates humility”57. Apart from this relational application, only
occasionally do we find its more active and personal meaning, as in a letter from Dorotheus to
56 See, for instance, C 3, 3-5 (I, 25): Sugcwvrhsov n moi dia; to; n Kuvrion, o{ti ej piqumw' tou' ijdei'n se, ajlla;
dia; tw'n a[llwn suneivdhsin, oujc euJrivskw ejleuqerivan, “Forgive me for the Lord’s sake, for I also desire to see
you, but for the sake of the others’ conscience, I am not at liberty to do this”. C 772 deals with the interpretation
of 1 Cor. 8. 4. 11. C 17, 29-30 (I, 36) significantly modifying Jas. 1. 14 (e{ kasto" de; peirav zetai uJpo; th'"
ijdiv a" ejpiqumiva" ejxelkov meno" kai; deleazov meno" ) as follows: Oujk oi\da" o{ ti { Ekasto" peiravzetai uJpo;
th'" ijdiva" suneidhvsew" , kai; tou' to tivktei aujtw/ ' th;n qli' yinÉ, “Do you not know that one is tempted by
one’s own conscience, and this is what brings about personal distress?”. An appeal to suneidov" as the judging
instance can be found in C 462, 30-32 (II, 76): jAllÆ o{mw" to; suneido;" marturei' moi, o{ ti ouj qevlw se
planh'sai o{lw" ej n oujdeni; pragmati, “My conscience, however, bears witness that I do not want to deceive
you at all in any matter”; C 593, 13-14 (II, 171): jEa;n de; sunecw'", eij pe; auj tw/ ': Ouj kataginwvskei sou to;
suneidov"É, “If, however, he visits continually, then ask him: ‘Does your conscience not bother you?’”.
Interestingly the correspondence never quotes the important passage on the conscience as inner ‘judge’ in Rom.
2, 15: oi{ tine" ejndeivknuntai to; e[ rgon tou' nov mou grapto;n ejn tai'" kardiv ai" aujtw'n, summarturouv sh"
aujtw'n th'" suneidhv sew" kai; metaxu; ajllhv lwn tw'n logismw'n kathgorouv ntwn h] kai; ajpologoumevnwn .
57 Dorotheus, Didasc. IV, 56 (240, 15-17): {Apax, a[delfe, oJ Qeo;" fulavxh/ th;n ajgavphn. Ei\ pon oiJ
Patevre": To; fulavxai th;n suneivdhsin tou' plhsivon tivktei th; n tapeinofrosuv nhn. Cf. Abbah Isaiah,
Asceticon XVI, 4 (ed. Augoustinos, Tou' oJsiv ou Patro;" hJmw'n aj bba' jHsaivou Lovgoi KQ [Jerusalem, 1911], p.
92): to; mh; plh'xai th; n suneivdhsin tou' plhsivon tivktei th; n tapeinofrosuvnhn.
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John. Raising in his turn a dilemma that comes quite close to the spiritual situation described
by our anonymous correspondent, Dorotheus confesses to the Other Old Man:
Father, it is not that I consider myself to be beneath all creatures; however, when I examine my conscience, I
find myself responsible and obliged to be beneath all creatures. Is this, then, also a mocking [illusion] of the
demons?58
Only in this passage ‘conscience’ occurs in connection with the more typical verb for self-
scrutiny: ejreunw', ‘examine’. Nevertheless it is precisely the extensive use of this verb that
proves the extent to which self-examination was a recurrent exercise within the monastery of
Seridus. To ‘examine’ or ‘search’ thus implies the overall inspection of one’s own thoughts,
words and deeds, even if the text does not explicitly mention one of the many aspects
susceptible to such self-examination: for instance, ‘soul’ ( yuchv),59 ‘heart’ (kardiva),60
58
C 276, 1-5 (I, 276): Oujc o{ ti Pav ter, e[cw ejmauto; n o{ ti eijmi; uJ pokavtw pavsh" ktivsew", ajllÆ o{ tan
ejreunw' th; n suneivdhsin, euJrivskw eJauto;n uJ peuvqunon tou' ei\ nai uJ pokavtw pavsh" ktivsew". \Ara ou\n kai;
tou'to cleuvh daimovnwn ejstivnÉ
59 C 237, 10-12 (I, 241): To; ga;r eijselqei' n eij" to; kellivon th'" yuch'" ejsti kai; ejreunh'sai auj th; n kai;
sunavxai to;n logismo; n hJmw' n aj po; panto;" ajnqrwv pou, “For entering into the cell is a matter of the soul, of
searching it out and of gathering our thought from every person”.
60 C 20, 5-6 (I, 39): jEreuv nhson ou\n th;n kardivan sou ajpo; panto;" pravgmato", “Therefore, examine
your heart in regard to every matter”; C 614, 5-8 (II, 200): [Adelfe, ejreuv nhson th; n kardivan sou eij" to;
kellivon sou kata; seautov n, kai; euJrivskei" povqen soi sunevbh hJ sklhrov th" th'" kardiva" sou, “Brother,
when you are alone in your cell, examine your heart, and you will discover whence this hardness came to your
heart”. See also C 549, 30-31 (II, 134); 825, 7 (II, 311). As will be clear subsequently, special attention should
be paid to C 250, 7-9 (I, 254): Kai; ejreunw' th;n kardivan, eij kavqhmai koinovbion wJ" oiJ ajdelfoi; kai; ouj
plhroforou'mai, “I am examining my heart as to whether I am staying in the monastic community like the
brothers, but I have no assurance”.
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term plhroforiva and the verbal expressions connected with it. Originally a word from the
New Testament, none of its occurrences therein (1 Thess. 1. 5; Col. 2. 2; Hebr. 6. 11 and 10.
22) are quoted in the correspondence of the two Old Men,65
but both the substantive
plhroforiva and even more the verb plhroforevw enjoy a rich usage.66 In addition, it is one
of the most significant uses in the ascetic literature of Late Antiquity, though the term is not
exclusive to monasticism. Due to the frequency with which plhroforiva occurs in our source,
we must restrict ourselves to some paradigmatic evidence, again going back first of all to the
anonymous correspondent, whose letters present two occurrences. The first has a negative
implication, insofar as it points to what Barsanuphius judges to be a manifestation of demonic
activity by means of visions;67 in this case, it has the meaning of evidence that offers a false
assurance and on that account does not deserve to be trusted. The second occurrence attributes
to the term a positive value by inculcating a spiritual attitude of primary importance for
65 C 493, 20 (Pepoiqovte" ou\ n prosevlqwmen auj tw/ ') perhaps presents only an allusion to Hebr. 10. 22
(prosercwv meqa meta; ajlhqinh'" kardiva" ejn plhroforiva /).
66 According to the statistics of TLG the correspondence has 71 entries including the following forms: the
substantive plhroforiva (17), the verbal forms of plhroforevw (53), the adjective plhroforhtikov" (1) which
is a hapax legomenon. On the New Testament usage see Gerhard Delling, in Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament , VI (Grand Rapids, 1968), pp. 310-311: “Lit. a. ‘supreme fulness’, though in non-Christian literature
we find only b. ‘certainty’” (p. 310).
67 C 415, 4-6 (II, 48): Tov te pollw/' plevon th;n auj tw'n ponhrivan kai; th; n plavnhn aj postrev fesqai kai;
aj naqemativzein oj feivlwmen. Mhdev pote ou\ n planhqh/ '", ajdelfev, eij" th; n toiauv thn daimoniwvdh
plhroforivan, “It is especially then that we should turn away from and anathematize their wickedness and deceit
even more so. Brother, never be deceived, therefore, by such demonic assurance”.
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monastic perfection: the constant awareness of being a sinner.68 In this case plhroforiva
signifies a firm, unequivocal ‘conviction’, the opposite of the ambiguity to be found in the
first passage.
Outside of our set of letters the quest for certainty on moral behaviour predominates. A
letter that is part of a series to be considered a sort of ‘breviary’ of the ars interrogandi of the
two Old Men of Gaza eloquently illustrates the impact of plhroforiva for their spiritual
experience.69 It is the case of a layman who, before addressing the magistrate regarding a
matter involving another party sought for the advice of his spiritual fathers and these told him
what to do. He tried to act accordingly, but the matter took a course that differed from their
response, so that he fell into despair and no longer knew how to behave:
I was greatly afflicted and did not know what to do. Should I transgress? I feared to disobey. Should I wait?
For the result was not the same as they had said. What does this mean, father? Moreover, what should I have
done or thought after falling into such dismay and need? Could it be that the fault was mine, without myknowing it?70
The man is caught in the plight of an anxious dilemma (aj poriva!), revealing once more the
paradoxes of the ascetic self. While examining the alternatives at his disposal, he is not
68 C 442, 8-9 (II, 61): j Ofeivlomen pavntote plhroforivan e[ cein o{ti eij" pavnta aJmartav nomen kai; ej n
lovgw/ kai; ej n e[rgw/ kai; ejn ej nqumhsei, “We should always be convinced that we are in all things sinful, alike in
deed, word, and thought”.
69 For this very interesting breviarium see C 361-372, 373, 374-378, 379-389.
70 C 364, 8-13 (II, 9): jEqlibovmhn pav nu kai; oujk h[ /dein tiv poihvsw: Parexelqei' nÉ ej fobouvmhn th;n
parakohv n. jEpimei' naiÉ oujc eu{riskon th;n e[kbasin oJmoivan th/ ' aj pokrivsei. Tiv ejsti tou' to Pav terÉ Kai; ti v
ej crh'n me poih'sai h] logivsasqai eij" tosauvthn aj porivan kai; a j navgkhnÉ Mhv ti de; to ; aJmavrthma ejx ejmou'
h\ n kai; ejlav nqanev meÉ
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willing to consider the possibility of appealing to an autonomous decision of his own
conscience. Though this conscience indeed appears to be very alert, it is so in response to an
external injunction, which results in being its ruling principle even in case of a failure. Apart
from that, the layman basically reinforces his attitude of inner subordination by not excluding
a misunderstanding of his own as the reason for his troubled conscience.
Responding to him, John the Prophet traces a manifesto of the ascetic ideal of the monastic
school of Gaza and indicates the ways in which one arrives at the desired ‘certainty’. Self-
blame should, as expected, come before any other consideration. If the response of the fathers
did not function, it certainly depended first of all upon the fact that the “heart took pleasure in
the matter” instead of leaving it entirely to the will of God.71 But John does not exclude that
the combination of factors involved in the concrete situation may have changed meanwhile
and this explains “why God is changing the details of the mandate”. Finally, if the spiritual
father is not at hand, there is nevertheless a method to involve him and maintain at the same
time the universally binding system of spiritual direction. One should pray to God in the name
of his director of conscience and ask that he himself may warrant the ‘certainty’ that the
spiritual father normally provides as God’s earthly intermediary:
You should pray to God and invoke the name of your elder, saying: “God of my elder, do not allow me to
wander away from your will or from your servant’s mandate, but inform ( plhrofovrhson = ‘assure’) me as
to what I should do”. Then you should do whatever he informs ( plhroforei') you, believing that God
71 C 364, 17-19 (II, 9): Prw' ton me; n mevmyasqai eJauto;n oj feivlei", mhvpote hjdunhvqh hJ kardiva sou ejn tw/ '
pravgmati kai; oujk aj fh'ka" to; pa' n tw/ ' Qew/ ', “First, you should blame yourself, in case your heart took
pleasure in the matter and you did not leave the matter entirely up to God”.
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the Great Old Man elaborates an original model in order to cope with the problem of doctrinal
traditions and their validity from a dogmatic point of view. The problem is due mainly to the
fact that two such venerated Church Fathers as Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa
apparently cling to Origenist errors. Now Barsanuphius, though considering the genealogy of
Christian doctrines within the classic framework of a diadochè, a succession of schools as in
ancient philosophy, does not limit himself to appreciating the element of tradition as such. In
Barsanuphius’s opinion a theologian is led to develop his own ideas thanks both to his
‘studies’ (maqhvmata) and to the ‘tradition’ ( paravdosi") of teachings he has received from
his masters. But his theses have to be submitted to an ultimate criterion: their ‘confirmation’
by the direct ‘inspiration’ or ‘revelation’ of God (these three words all being practically
equivalent to plhroforiva) assured to a theologian the moment he asks for it through prayer.
Otherwise what we have to do with is personal ideas or school doctrines, which may even be
erroneous. Thus the spiritual factor, which of course for the Great Old Man essentially
supports and determines the intellectual one in theological elaboration, becomes the decisive
measure of dogmatic correctness75. Only when the theologian is illumined by the Spirit of
the Present , ed. by Josef Patrich (Leuven, 2001), 245-259, esp. pp. 251-255. For the Palestinian background to
the controversy see Daniël Hombergen, The Second Origenist Controversy. A New Perspective on Cyril of
Scythopolis’ Monastic Biographies as Historical Sources for Sixth-Century Origenism (Roma, 2001).
75 C 604, 130-137 (II, 187): {Otan ou\ n ajkouvsh/" tino;" auj tw' n o{ ti para; Pneuvmato" aJgivou h[kousen
a{ per lalei', tou'to plhroforiva ejsti; kai; oj feivlomen pisteu'sai. { Otan de; levgh/ peri; ejkeiv nwn tw' n lovgwn,
oujc euJrivskei" auj to; n levgonta tou'to, ouj ga;r aj po; plhroforiva", ajllÆ ajpo; maqhmavtwn kai; paradovsew"
tw'n pro; aujtou' didaskavlwn ejstiv. Kai; prosevcwn th/ ' gnwvsei auj tw'n kai; th/ ' sofiva/, oujk ej puvqeto tou' Qeou'
peri; touvtwn, eij ajlhqh' ejstin, “Therefore, when you hear that one of them received from the Holy Spirit
whatever he speaks, then this is a clear assurance and we ought to trust him. When, however, this person speaks
on those matters, it does not seem that he refers to the same kind of assurance, but rather to the teachings and
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God do his doctrines fully meet the truth. Note that in delivering this answer Barsanuphius is
himself relying upon the ‘assurance’ ( plhroforiva) he received from God three days before
the monk submitted his question.76
There is no doubt that here we catch the interference or, better to say, the combination of
ascetic and dogmatic trajectories, both ultimately going back more or less directly to the
phenomenon of the late antique ‘holy man’ and the related system of spiritual guidance. To
support this argument one has merely to recall a work that originated not long before the
correspondence of the two Old Men in that same milieu of Gaza, that is, the Plerophories
collected by John Rufus in the first decade of the sixth century. 77 As programmatically stated
by its title, the work of the bishop of Maiuma pursues his extreme anti-Chalcedonian
polemics by exploiting a factor of the same nature as that invoked by Barsanuphius in his
response concerning Origenism. Indeed, in most of the stories the protagonists have no other
way to escape their lack of certainty in face of the dogmatic issues (which of course has
moral, religious, and political consequences often of the most dramatic kind) than by having
recourse to an ‘assurance’ delivered from heaven – that is, properly a revelation or an oracle
from God himself. Even if John Rufus does not always openly connect the plerophoric
activity to the system of spiritual direction, it is clear that the charismatic way for getting out
tradition of those who preceded him. In this way, while paying attention to their knowledge and wisdom,
nonetheless they did not ask God about these matters, as to whether or not they are true”.
76 C 604, 91-93 (II, 186): Kai; ajkouvsate th; n kata; Qeo; n plhroforivan, th; n pro; triw'n hJmerw'n tou'
grav yai uJma'" th;n ejrwthsin genomev nhn moi, “So listen to the assurance, which I received from God three
days prior to the time that you actually submitted your question to me in writing”.
77 Cf. Lorenzo Perrone , ‘Dissenso dottrinale propaganda visionaria: le Pleroforie di Giovanni di Maiuma’,
Augustinianum, 29 (1989), 451-95; Jan-Eric Steppa, John Rufus and the World-Vision of Anti-Chalcedonian
Culture (Piscataway NJ, 2002).
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of the dogmatic impasse was rooted in the spiritual experience of ancient monasticism, in
Egypt and in Syria-Palestine.78 Not incidentally, the monk who queried Barsanuphius on
Origenism assented to his reply by quoting some anecdotes from the Sayings of the Fathers,
in which he was able to find eloquent parallels to the indications provided by the Great Old
Man.79
By way of conclusion:
Swimmers in dangerous waters
To retrace the conceptual genealogy of the ‘anxious self’ in Gaza monasticism would
demand a broader approach than the present occasion allows. Yet the novelty of its ascetic
input has been recognized by Aryeh Kofsky, while Guy Stroumsa has evoked the historical
constellation that gave birth to it by focussing on the transition from ‘teacher of wisdom’ to
‘spiritual master’ in Christian Late Antiquity.80 Certainly, the system of spiritual direction as
developed by the two Old Men of Gaza and continued by their disciple Dorotheus proved a
78 The Life of Peter the Iberian, written by the same author, provides further evidence of this, as I have tried
to show in ‘Pierre l’Ibère ou l’exil comme pèlerinage et combat pour la foi’, in Man near a Roman Arch. Studies
presented to Prof. Yoram Tsafrir , ed. by Leah Di Segni, Yizhar Hirshfeld, Josef Patrich, Rina Talgam
(Jerusalem, 2009), pp. 190*-204*.
79 C 605 quotes Apoph. Daniel 7-8. A full story of the term plhroforiva would demand investigation of its
use in the sense of ‘piece of evidence’ (i.e. quotation or document), as already shown in Cyril of Alexandria’s
homily after the deposition of Nestorius. Cf. ACO I, 1, 2, 93.32: bouvlei kai; eJ tevran plhrofori van ej pi;
tauvtai" devxasqai'É Note also Cyril’s recourse to the locution: eij" plhroforivan, ‘for documentation’ or ‘in
order to prove’ (ACO I, 1, 7, 65.5).
80 Kofsky, Renunciation of Will in the Monastic School of Gaza; Guy Gedaliahu Stroumsa, The End of
Sacrifice. Religious Transformations in Late Antiquity (Chicago – London, 2009).
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powerful response to the new ‘age of anxiety’ that Eastern Christianity largely was in the
aftermath of the council of Chalcedon. The wide audience enjoyed by Barsanuphius and John
– comprising monks, clergymen, and seculars – bear witness to the remarkable spread of their
charismatic role and ascetic ideals. In the midst of religious and political conflicts they
succeeded remarkably in avoiding the dogmatic pressures of their time. They did so either by
pointing to the primacy of ascetic values as the most urgent duty of Christians, both monks
and seculars, or by appealing to a spiritual power as the means to attain ultimate assurance on
the truth of a doctrine. The disconcerting elusiveness of their supposedly Chalcedonian stance
provides ample evidence of their ability to peacefully sail through a period full of challenges
and turmoil.81
Dorotheus concludes his first Instruction with the exemplary story of a monk of Ascalon
who was sent by his geron to the monastery of Seridus. On his way back he unexpectedly
faced a torrent swelling after a fresh storm. The company escorting the monk, among whom
was Dorotheus himself, vainly tried to dissuade him from crossing the stream at the risk of his
own life. But the monk was loath to disobey his geron’s injunction to get back to his
monastery before sunset. After undressing, he jumped into the water and in full view of his
trembling spectators, started to swim until he reached the other shore. Dressed once again, he
bowed his head towards the relieved brethren and then ran on quickly to his further goal82.
Indeed, a moving icon of the ‘anxious self’, no less captivating than Dositheus, the heroic
81 Aryeh Kofsky, ‘What Happened to the Monophysite Monasticism of Gaza?’, in Christian Gaza in Late
Antiquity, pp. 183-194, rightly stresses this problem, though I do not share his view of a ‘crypto-
Monophysitism’.
82 Dorotheus, Didasc. I, 22 (180, 19-23): JHmei'" de; iJstavmeqa ejkplhv ttomenoi kai; trevmonte" mhv pw"
aj poqav nh/: e jkei'no" de; e[meine kolumbw' n kai; euJrivsketai paracrh'ma eij" to; a[llo pevran kai; e j nduvetai ta;
iJmav tia auj tou' kai; bavllei hJmi' n ejkei'qen metav noian kai; lambavnei paravqesin kai; aj pevrcetai trevcwn.
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disciple of Dorotheus, with all his deeds of obedience. If, then, the monastic ideals of Gaza
entertained the ‘anxious self’ in an unprecedented way, they also gave him a unique chance to
avoid drowning in dangerous waters.
Lorenzo Perrone
“Alma Mater Studiorum” – Università di Bologna
Dipartimento di Filologia Classica e Italianistica
Via Zamboni 32, I-40126 Bologna