Open Collections

Schachterle, Joshua

Database of Religious History (DRH)

Originally titled The Institutes of the Cenobia and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Vices, this document was written in the 5th century by a monk named John Cassian in order to help found a monastery in the Roman-controlled region of Gaul (modern-day France). Cassian's instructions on how to correctly practice monasticism on both the practical and spiritual levels were based on his experience living as a monk in Egypt, one of the cradles of Christian monasticism. First chapters include teachings on how monks should dress, pray, and work on a daily basis. The remaining chapters instruct monks on how to deal with the eight principal vices, which would later be renumbered and renamed as the seven deadly sins. The book, along with the second volume known as the Conferences, would come to have a long history. It brought the traditions of Egyptian monasticism to the West and influenced Benedict of Nursia's monastic rule deeply, which would, in turn, impact the entire history of Western monasticism.

Other

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0438229

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/