Apophthegmata Patrum
Encyclopedia
The Apophthegmata Patrum is the name given to various collections of Sayings of the Desert Fathers, consisting of stories and sayings attributed to the Desert Fathers
from approximately the 5th century CE.
The collections consist of wisdom
stories describing the spiritual practices and experiences of early Christian hermits living in the desert of Egypt. They are typically in the form of a conversation between a younger monk and his spiritual father, or as advice given to visitors. Beginning as an oral tradition
in the Coptic language, they were only later written down as Greek text. The stories were extremely popular among early Christian monks, and appeared in various forms and collections.
The original sayings were passed down from monk to monk, though in their current version most simply describe the stories in the form of "Abba X said...." The early Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers
also received many visitors seeking counseling, typically by asking "Give me a word, abba" or "Speak a word, amma, how can I be saved?" Some of the sayings are responses to those seeking guidance. A rough form of the sayings in Ethiopian shows a more lengthy transmission of the sayings, and the way in which they were passed down. The earliest date ascribed to the written form is the end of the 4th century. Two versions from the 5th century, the Ethiopian Collection (Collection Monastica) and the Ascetica of Abba Isaiah show how the oral tradition became the written collections.
Many notable Desert Fathers and Mothers are mentioned in the collections, including Anthony the Great
, Abba Arsenius, Abba Poemen, Abba Macarius of Egypt
, and Abba Moses the Robber. The sayings also include those by three different ammas, or Desert Mothers, most notably Syncletica of Alexandria
. Sayings of the Desert Fathers influenced many notable theologians, including Jerome and Augustine.
Pelagius
and John the Deacon
wrote very early translations of the Sayings into Latin which became Parts V and VI of the Vitae Patrum and were edited by Rosweyde in 1615 CE. Martin of Braga
did a very early translation from Greek into Latin for some of the sayings, followed by a more extensive translation by Paschasius of Dumium, in approximately 555 CE. That work may contain only one-fifth of the original Greek text. Sayings of the Desert Fathers has been translated by Benedicta Ward more recently, with an introduction.
Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers were hermits, ascetics, monks, and nuns who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism...
from approximately the 5th century CE.
The collections consist of wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
stories describing the spiritual practices and experiences of early Christian hermits living in the desert of Egypt. They are typically in the form of a conversation between a younger monk and his spiritual father, or as advice given to visitors. Beginning as an oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
in the Coptic language, they were only later written down as Greek text. The stories were extremely popular among early Christian monks, and appeared in various forms and collections.
The original sayings were passed down from monk to monk, though in their current version most simply describe the stories in the form of "Abba X said...." The early Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers
Desert Mothers
The Desert Mothers were female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. They typically lived in the monastic communities that began forming during that time, though sometimes they lived as hermits...
also received many visitors seeking counseling, typically by asking "Give me a word, abba" or "Speak a word, amma, how can I be saved?" Some of the sayings are responses to those seeking guidance. A rough form of the sayings in Ethiopian shows a more lengthy transmission of the sayings, and the way in which they were passed down. The earliest date ascribed to the written form is the end of the 4th century. Two versions from the 5th century, the Ethiopian Collection (Collection Monastica) and the Ascetica of Abba Isaiah show how the oral tradition became the written collections.
Many notable Desert Fathers and Mothers are mentioned in the collections, including Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
, Abba Arsenius, Abba Poemen, Abba Macarius of Egypt
Macarius of Egypt
Macarius of Egypt was an Egyptian Christian monk and hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder, Macarius the Great and The Lamp of the Desert.-Life:...
, and Abba Moses the Robber. The sayings also include those by three different ammas, or Desert Mothers, most notably Syncletica of Alexandria
Syncletica of Alexandria
Amma Syncletica of Alexandria, a Christian saint and Desert Mother of the 4th century, was of a wealthy background and is reputed to have been very beautiful...
. Sayings of the Desert Fathers influenced many notable theologians, including Jerome and Augustine.
Pelagius
Pelagius
Pelagius was an ascetic who denied the need for divine aid in performing good works. For him, the only grace necessary was the declaration of the law; humans were not wounded by Adam's sin and were perfectly able to fulfill the law apart from any divine aid...
and John the Deacon
John the Deacon (Egyptian chronicler)
John the Deacon was a Monophysite Egyptian chronicler whose Life of the Patriarch Michael, finished c.768–70, is the most important source for the Christian Nubia in the first half of the eighth century. The later historian Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffaʿ made heavy use of it, and although John is one of...
wrote very early translations of the Sayings into Latin which became Parts V and VI of the Vitae Patrum and were edited by Rosweyde in 1615 CE. Martin of Braga
Martin of Braga
Saint Martin of Braga was an archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Hispania , a monastic founder, and an ecclesiastical author...
did a very early translation from Greek into Latin for some of the sayings, followed by a more extensive translation by Paschasius of Dumium, in approximately 555 CE. That work may contain only one-fifth of the original Greek text. Sayings of the Desert Fathers has been translated by Benedicta Ward more recently, with an introduction.
Examples
- The same Abba Theophilus, the archbishop, came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said to Abba Pambo, 'Say something to the Archbishop, so that he may be edified.' The old man said to them, 'If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.'
- Abbot Pastor said: If a man has done wrong and does not deny it, but says: I did wrong, do not rebuke him, because you will break the resolution of his soul. And if you tell him: Do not be sad, brother, but watch it in the future, you stir him up to change his life.
- A hermit saw someone laughing, and said to him, "We have to render an account of our whole life before heaven and earth, and you can laugh?"