Benedict Theology

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Benedict’s Monastic Theological Formation: A Garden of Nuts
Thomas X. Davis
In his audiences in Saint Peter’s Square on October 28 and November 4, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI1 made reference to the distinction between monastic theology and scholastic theology in the twelfth-century Latin West. The Pope cited Dom Jean Leclercq’s groundbreaking study of monastic culture, The Love of Learning and The Desire for God,2 as the source for naming this distinction. Leclercq’s partitioning of theology into monastic and scholastic on the basis of its milieu—monastic cloisters or cathedral schools—initiated a notable response from various scholars as to the validity of such partitioning. In a later article, Dom Jean addressed these responses, stating that a more nuanced, and perhaps more complex, picture was needed.3 For example, he proceeded to distinguish not two but three possibilities. Theology can be said to be contemplative, coming from the cloisters, pastoral, from the cathedral schools, and speculative, if it derives from professional scholars of the era. Leclercq likewise presented other scholars’ suggestions, such as theology from within if it comes from monastic experience. While the article did not mention it, this classification suggests that the thought emanating from the schools would be theology from with1. Benedict XVI, 28 October 2009, “Monastic Theology and Scholastic Theology”; 4 November 2009, “Two Theological Models in Comparison: Bernard and Abelard,” http://www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/index_en.htm. 2. Jean Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture, trans. Catharine Misrahi (New York: Fordham UP, 1961). 3. Jean Leclercq, Naming The Theologies of the Early Twelfth Century, Medieval Studies 53 (Toronto: PIMS, 1991) 327–36.

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out, obviously! Another idea was a warm theology (based on a personal experience and devotion) from the cloisters. Would its opposite be a cool theology from the schools? In view of monastic women of the period, there would have to be a theology of nuns along with a theology of monks. Alf Hardelin, professor at the University of Uppsala, proposed that the monks’ theology could be styled a “practical theology”—a formula needing to be correctly understood, as he himself added .4 Otherwise, theology of the schools could be thought of as impractical. Leclercq proceeded to offer criteria for discerning between these different theologies that are simply ways of approaching Christian doctrine. Monastic theology had as its aim the enrichment of contemplative prayer. Twelfth-century scholastic theology, making use of dialectic, presented Christian doctrine in a systematized form addressed to theological problems and pastoral needs. It is essential to realize that these approaches to or ways of doing theology can already be found in theological writings of the Church’s earliest centuries. Among the so-called pre-scholastic writings of the Fathers there are definitely systematic presentations of Christian belief.5 Patristic writings usually focus on one or another aspect of belief. It is John of Damascus (c 676–749), considered the last of the Greek Fathers, who is reputed to be the first to gather Christian doctrine into a kind of manual or organized format, an approach that the scholastics of the High Middle Ages would continue. His De fide orthodoxa is an encyclopedic compilation of the Catholic faith for that era. These categories, created to distinguish the theologies of the Middle Ages, have a certain value in themselves, although such divisions may be simplistic.6 Do they have any usefulness and significance relative to monastic formation as presented in the teaching of chapter 73 of the Rule of Saint Benedict? Benedict clearly professes in this chapter that any book or any teaching of the Catholic fathers presents a direct way to reach our
4. See Jean Leclercq, Naming 330. 5. Adam H. Becker, Fear of God and the Beginning of Wisdom (Pittsburgh: U of Pennsylvania P, 2006) 5, 39. East-Syrian theological formation has two approaches: pedagogical and a more formal one styled scholasticism. The School of Nisibus was acquainted with and used a Neo-Platonist version of Aristotelian logic and epistemology, Becker 128–30. 6. Constant J. Mews, “Scholastic Theology in a Monastic Milieu in the Twelfth Century: The Case of Admont,” Manuscripts and Monastic Culture, Medieval Church Studies 13, ed. Alison I. Beach (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007) 238.

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Creator for any monk or nun eagerly moving in that direction.7 Benedict seems to be implying that it makes no difference whether theology is done in a monastic manner or scholastic manner, provided that the goal is to enrich one’s monastic life style so as to advance rapidly to one’s Creator. The reason for this approach might be that Benedict understands any manner of theology as an interpretation of faith, an interpretation whose goal is to deepen one’s prayer with its awe of life unfolding in the presence of Divine Light. Theology thereby nourishes spiritual “progress in monastic life and in faith.”8 Benedict wants the monk or nun to become a theologian through listening to solid patristic theologians: “If you are a theologian, you truly pray. If you truly pray, you are a theologian.”9 Good theology articulates our knowledge of God since it is a verbal expression of an understanding of divine attributes and activity that flows from spiritual experience,10 that intimate place where God and self dwell together. Benedict bonds together experience and understanding in the very last sentences of the Prologue to his Rule: participation in the passion of Christ (experience) and perseverance in Christ’s teaching (understanding):
It is by progressing in the monastic life and faith with a heart expanded by the sweetness of unspeakable delight that the way of God’s commandments is rapidly covered. It is by never abandoning his teaching and by persevering in his very teaching in the monastery that we participate by patience in the passion of Christ and thereby merit to be co-heirs in his kingdom.11
7. RB 73.2, 4. This is one of the few references in the Rule to God as Creator. I would like to think that this Creator reference has a highly concentrated implication for monastic contemplation that Gregory the Great will develop in Bk 2, ch. 35 of his Dialogues. Here Gregory speaks of a person’s seeing the Creator with a mind enlarged or expanded by Divine Light. For Benedict, this could be profound personal insights coming from God as a result of lectio divina and contact with teachings of Catholic fathers (a truly direct route to the Creator) resulting in significant implications for union with God. 8. Processu vero conversationis et fidei, RB Prol 49. 9. Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos, Chapters on Prayer #60, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 4 (Spencer: Cistercian, 1970). A footnote to par. 60 states that this is the key passage for Evagrian contemplation. This offers an insight into Benedict’s approach to reading the patristic authors; he is in the tradition of Evagrius. 10. Bernard of Clairvaux, Porro in huiusmodi non capit intelligentia nisi quantum experientia attingit (SC 22.2). This phrase is not easy to translate, but the idea is that in such matters unless experience knows what is going on, understanding won’t get it either. 11. Processu vero conversationis et fidei, dilatato corde inenarrabili dilectionis dulcedine cur-

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Essential to any authentic spiritual progress are a personal sharing through the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s experience in his Paschal Mystery and a personal commitment to Christ’s teaching that reveals this mystery of the Divine and unfolds through Tradition. Theology developed by insights of human ingenuity enriches a monastic theologian, transforming, so to say, his or her prayer into a more profound reconciliation at deeper levels of consciousness, that place of intimacy. Regardless of how well developed a theology may be, it must always present what Sacred Scripture and Tradition, both channels of Revelation, make it possible to reveal. This is what it means to be Catholic. Faith and continual progress in the monastic life cannot be separated from one another. They constitute a particular way of understanding with one’s consciousness penetrated by faith in God. One travels this way to a more profound intimacy with God. Yet this progress can contain a kind of Scylla-Charybdis risk: spiritual experience terminating in devotional sentimentality, or understanding ending in a compilation of theological conclusions. These developments are not what our monastic predecessors would call amor ipse intellectus est 12 or fides querens intellectum.13 The account of the Apostle Thomas as presented in the Gospel of John14 is an example of faith, spiritual experience, understanding, and judgment as the matrix for theology. The Apostle demands the experience of touch as a foundation for his faith in the Resurrection. He gets more than he had asked for. The presence of the Risen Christ touched him so intimately that his faith and inner realization (spiritual experience) coalesced into one burst of joyous understanding and judgment: “My Lord and my God.” This burst is a profound, ecstatic theology. One can only muse how Thomas would now proceed to develop in terms of
ritur via mandatorum Dei, ut ab ipsius numquam magisterio discedentes, in eius doctrinam usque ad mortem in monasterio perseverantes, passionibus Christi per patientiam participemur, ut regno eius mereamur esse consortes (RB Prol. 49–50). 12. ‘Love itself is understanding.’ For an integral study of this phrase see David N. Bell, The Image and Likeness, CS 78 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1984) 217–49. 13. A number of sources are available to understand the phrase: faith seeking insight. For example: Victor W. Roberts, “The Relation of Faith and Reason in St. Anselm of Canterbury,” ABR 25:4 (1947): 494–515; Deborah Vess, “Continuity and Conservatism in the Cathedral Schools of the Twelfth Century: The Role of Monastic Thought in the So-Called Intellectual Revolution of the Twelfth Century,” ABR 45 (1994): 161–83; William Collinge, “Monastic Life As a Context For Religious Understanding in St. Anselm,” ABR 35 (1984): 378–88. 14. Jn 20:24–29.

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this experience, understanding, and judgment that revelation he had previously received from Christ: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.15 Benedict sees the opus dei, lectio divina, and reading before Compline16 as the principal opportunities for listening17 to patristic voices so as to nourish these different elements essential to the monastic way.18 There are several challenges here. First, listening requires both a conscious awareness that can lead one to understanding with openness to the workings of the Spirit and a capacity for thinking in a positive critical way. Such listening ought to be an intimate spiritual experience, for it is none other than listening to Christ as one’s pedagogue. At the same time, this listening to patristic voices presenting Christ’s doctrine can be seen as a more formal, scholastic if you wish, presentation. In this approach, Benedict integrates the monastic or pedagogical with scholastic or formal manners of doing theology. Living the monastic way of life with its core element of listening gives birth to this integration. “For one proceeding with enthusiasm toward perfection of the monastic life, there are the teachings of the holy Fathers. Their realization leads a person to perfection’s summit.”19 These words of Chapter 73 of The Rule of Saint Benedict appear to refer to the entire range of ecclesiastical
15. Jn 14:6 16. Lectio divina, see RB 48 and 49; and for reading before Compline, see RB 42. 17. The well-known verses from Ps 40:6–7, “Sacrifice and offering you do not desire but you have given me an open ear. . . . Then I said, ‘Here I am,’” present a profound understanding of listening. The literal meaning for the ear reference is “an ear you have dug for me” (Robert Davidson, The Vitality of Worship [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998] 134). This deep well of an ear carries the Word of Christ into the very depths of what it means to be human. An entirely new relationship is opened up between a person and Christ, and intimate personal relationship, a person as present to the Divine Pedagogue. This concept of being present to the Divine Pedagogue is the heart of the Prologue of RB, essential to the Prologue’s message. 18. See Adalbert de Vogüé, “To Study the Early Monks,” MnS 12 (1976): 55–83. Dom Adalbert develops the importance of listening to the voices of early monks through their writings. He shows how they speak to different elements of the monastic life style, and then lists the English translations of these writings. It is my desire that this present article will carry forward this orientation given by Dom Adalbert. However, I enlarge the scope to be more inclusive of patristic authors in general and offer an approach founded on experience that leads to understanding. Once these two elements are in place, a person is able to make appropriate decisions relative to the needs of contemporary monastic life. 19. The author’s translation of RB 73: Ceterum ad perfectionem conversationis qui festinat, sunt doctrinae sanctorum patrum, quarum observatio perducat hominem ad celsitudinem perfectionis. The word “realization” strives to emphasize concepts of experience, understanding, and a creative implementation of this insight since the Latin observatio can mean paying close attention so as to understand and grasp something.

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and patristic writings with a decisive emphasis on the purity of Catholic doctrine.20 Later in this same chapter, Benedict makes reference to collective monastic writings along with the Sacred Scriptures as the most reliable means and inspiration for this monastic pursuit. Adalbert de Vogüé, in “To Study the Early Monks,” presents references to English translations of early patristic writings dedicated to monastic life as a map for young monks and nuns being formed in this unique school and to hand on through this same formation to newcomers.21 Vogüé lists major themes of our monastic tradition and points out the principal writings that expounded them. The program is thus organized in a doctrinal framework.22 He has created a fine work, or, as he calls it “the alpha and omega of the spiritual universe,”23 for anyone desiring to live under the gaze of God, in God’s presence, and in expectation of God. Today, this “spiritual universe” is constantly being expanded with translations of works previously not available. One can almost say that there is an explosion of discoveries in the entire repertoire of patristic writings, including those at which Benedict might have looked askance since they are not entirely noted for their purity of Catholic doctrine.24 The accepted date for Benedict’s death is 547 CE. In the East, the patristic era ends with John Damascene (749 CE). In the West, it ends with the passing of Bede the Venerable (c. 736), when the first schools, new centers of learning, were being introduced into the empire of Charlemagne. This makes two centuries of patristic writings unknown to Benedict. If we accept Saint Bernard, the Doctor Mellifluus,25 as the last of the Fathers, then the repertoire of patristic writings extends to 1153 CE.

20. Michaela Puzicha, “The ‘Fathers,’ in the Benedictine Rule: Appeal to the Ideal and Critical Continuity” ABR 61 (2010): 18–29. 21. See n. 18. 22. Vogüé 56. 23. Vogüé 77. 24. In RB 73.4 Benedict speaks of the holy Catholic fathers (sanctorum catholicorum patrum). In using these words, Benedict implies fathers who hold the authentic Catholic faith universally accepted as opposed to heretical teachings (Puzicha 22). 25. The encyclical of Pope Pius XII, Doctor Mellifluus, was issued on Whitsunday 1953.

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A Personal Spiritual Universe
the rule of Saint Benedict was the foundation of my own “spiritual universe” because it was Benedictines who taught practically all my primary and secondary schooling. Such an education offered many occasions for contacts with the Rule, its basic values and aspects. Although I sensed vaguely that the Rule was a spiritual way highly concentrated and distilled from the spiritual teachings that preceded it, I didn’t understand or comprehend either this feeling or where or what these teachings were. This personal universe began to expand, strange as it may seem, during first-year Greek classes in a minor seminary. The professor, a Benedictine monk, was in the process of writing his own textbook. The lasting impression he gave me, unwittingly, was not to be content with what others say about something, but to learn to think for yourself, outside of the box, so to speak. From the first day, this professor had students reading the Gospel of John in Greek. He would explain the grammar, make indepth observations on meanings of Greek words that English translations simply cannot convey, and then proceed to give insights into the Gospel itself. This approach taught me that to listen to a text requires an open mind searching for insights. Reading a text in the original language is optimal, and if this isn’t possible, then it is necessary to have a good translation. Creative thinking, reading original texts, or at least with reference to the original language, and seeking insights, were three gifts from this course. During my novitiate at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky I discovered A Treasury of Russian Spirituality,26 a discovery that made my patristic universe much larger than just the short patristic readings proper to the second nocturn for Vigils did. Prior to the aggiornamento of Vatican Council II, English translations of Cistercian and patristic authors were extremely scarce. It made a lasting impression to read that Father Yelcaninov had been spiritually nourished in his Lenten reading of Isaac the Syrian.27 I had no idea who this Isaac was, yet I found it intriguing and appealing for a spiritual life to be nourished by such a source. In my spiritual and Lenten readings I had been acquainted with only modern
26. G. P. Fedotov, A Treasury of Russian Spirituality (New York: Sheed, 1948). 27. Fedotov 456.

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devotional and popular contemporary spiritual books of the early 1950s. After simple profession, when access to the Greek Patrology was possible, I searched out this Isaac. I could read his work only in Latin translation,28 and did my best with my Latin ability and his thought. There were passages that did help me through difficult vocational moments and in prayer. Fondness for Isaac has endured, and I learned that patristic texts do assist in addressing one’s difficulties and prayer in spiritual progress. It was Thomas Merton, as director of the junior monks, who gave a sound monastic formation by introducing us to the writings of our Cistercian heritage. We were original recipients of what would eventually become his orientation series. As a monastic formator, he was creative, insightful, and able to instill in us a lasting enthusiasm for the Cistercians and other patristic sources. As this kind of formator, he left a lasting impression. Merton’s approach to theology and spirituality by means of Cistercian writers constituted quite a contrast to that of manuals of scholastic theology and popular devotional book, to which we were accustomed. I soon focused on William of Saint Thierry. To me William’s thought seemed more organized and tidy than that of other Cistercians. I could handle his Latin a little better, too. With his interpretation of faith and profound insights into monastic maturing based on life in Christ and the Trinity, William presented Christ as the monk’s pedagogue who fosters the monk’s inner spiritual development. William was my introduction to Gregory of Nyssa and the other Cappadocians, Gregory’s brother Basil and Basil’s friend Gregory of Nazianzus. Dom Adalbert de Vogüé wrote his article in Monastic Studies for a monastic formation in the context of lectio divina. His objective was to provide a program for formation29 that would promote progress in a monk or nun’s spiritual journey towards perfection’s summit.30 As I look back on personal experiences, I’ve gleaned some insights that might help to promote such a type of self-formation. A willingness to expand one’s spiritual universe in a patristic dimension is the starting point. Use of original texts either for reading or reference promotes insights, discov28. De contemptu mundi; PG 86:811–18. 29. Vogüé 55. 30. RB 73.2.

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ery of deeper meanings, and an understanding that are expressed in creative thinking. Faith in patristic writings’ ability to address situations one meets in spiritual progress is essential. Having a formator who is creative, insightful, and enthusiastic can serve as a tremendous example and help. However, I believe that this kind of self-formation itself is able to give birth to creativity, insightfulness, and enthusiasm that gradually reshape our life and become our interpretation of faith. Perfection is the quality of something’s having been brought to completion, without flaws, possessing all those elements needed to be integral and thereby having a certain excellence. From the perspective of The Rule of Saint Benedict, perfection is an ever-growing awareness of God’s love for us and our love for God.31 At its summit, the place of intimacy, this mutual love32 gradually touches every aspect of our life, and then extends to every person (with no exceptions) and all creation. Steady progress towards this highest summit of love is far more comprehensive than spirituality based just on personal growth in human maturity, or seeking a kind of refuge, or consolation, or solution to one’s difficulties. This progress consists in patiently embracing the sufferings of Christ, worthily following Christ the Lord, our true King, into His glory, a glory that is perfection’s summit:
The ordeals of life, sadness, encountering the death of those we love, for example, take the human being back to its most natural state, to its most essential longing. Consciousness of limitation brings it back to the need for the Transcendent, to the need for meaning. To call on God is not to console oneself—it is to discover the condition God originally wanted for us—the spark of humility.33

“For humility is the garment of divinity.”34 This climb becomes an in31. Here I am indebted to Terrence Kardong’s “Benedict’s Puzzling Theme of Perfection,” ABR 47 (1996): 3–13. 32. Bernard speaks eloquently of this intimacy and mutual love in his SC 45.7–8. 33. Tariq Ramadan, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (New York: Oxford UP, 2004) viii. If we lift this quote of Ramadan from Muslim spirituality and place it in a Catholic Trinitarian context, it will articulate quite well what it means to progress via the passion of Christ to that point of humility that Benedict claims casts out fear and becomes the fullness of love: His omnibus humilitatis gradibus ascensis, monachus mox ad caritatem Dei perveniet illam quae perfecta foris mittit timorem (RB 7.67). 34. Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh 82, trans. A. J. Wensinck (Wiesbaden: Sandig, 1969) 384. This book’s preface, originally written in 1922, states that Isaac stands chronologically and ma-

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ward progress into intimacy and into that place of solitude where there is no longer anyone but God and self. The secret is to have this mutual love’s magic touch transform our daily life so that its every event is not only an occasion of awareness of Divine Providence and God’s presence, but also an occasion able to guide and lead the self further into that freedom proper to a profound love and reconciliation with the Divine in the deepest recesses of the heart. As our inward ascent is realized, its joyful peace pervades the way a person lives.35 Patristic lectio divina can open up dark recesses of our lives, transforming them into moments of light wherein we see a glimpse of God working in and for us. I can shut myself away with you, O Truth, alone. Making the secret place of your face my hiding place, I speak to you more intimately and in more homely fashion; throwing open to you all the dark corners of my conscience.36 In 1968 New Clairvaux’s novice director asked Thomas Merton [Fr. M. Louis of Gethsemani, Vina’s founding house] for ideas relative to novitiate formation. Merton’s advice was, in effect, to study and read the Fathers. Vina proceeded to implement a novitiate formation program based on texts from both patristic and other spiritual authors extending into our modern times with the emphasis being to read the writings of persons themselves, not just articles about them. The objective of this program was to expand the spiritual universe of those in formation by offering them solid spiritual nourishment for spiritual progress. In the 1970s this program was altered to apply to texts of patristic and monastic authors ending with the Cistercians. In the following brief survey of patristic and monastic authors, I have attempted to refresh and expand Vogüé’s list, extend it through to the Cistercians, and include one or another significant writer outside the scope of patristic literature. There is no reason to hesitate to include some patristic writings that are not precisely monastic along with ecclesial writings that may not be “rooted in the soil of Nicene Christology.”37 I have
terially on the threshold of Muslim mysticism. Some of his essential spiritual characteristics are prominent among Muslims. 35. I believe this concept is the underlying teaching of William of Saint Thierry’s Mirror of Faith No. 27–30. CF 16 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1979) 70–74. 36. William of Saint Thierry, “Meditation 9,” Willam of St Thierry, On Contemplating God, Prayer, and Meditations, trans. Sister Penelope, The Works of William of St Thierry, 1, CF 3 (Spencer: Cistercian, 1977) 147. Conscience can also be understood as ‘consciousness’. 37. Puzicha 25.

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opted to group patristic writers in basic geographic categories rather than in a linear or thematic approach usually found in patristic textbooks. This listing is by no means exhaustive.38 The Internet gives an almost effortless access to a vast library of patristic texts, translations, and resources for any patristic author. With this electronic information, better educational opportunities, and solid spiritual guidance in monastic communities, monks and nuns are surely able to progress in the monastic life and in a solid Catholic faith, being theologians whose prayer life is rooted in a sound Christology. We must not hesitate to seek truth wherever it may be.

Sources
sacred scripture:39 It goes without saying that Sacred Scripture, the revealed Word of God, is the very center and heart of our spiritual universe. It always remains the primary matrix for lectio divina. It possesses a unique character of immediacy. This means that there is no gobetween or intermediary between the Word of God and the listener, the reader. Authors of the various books of the Bible simply present revelation while making no claims about these books in terms of content and credibility. They rarely interpret the motivation of the actors or interpret what happens within the Scripture narratives themselves. The mystery of Christ, manifested through the entire corpus of Scripture, is directly presented to the person who becomes a listener of the Word by reading it, reflecting upon it, and meditating on it. The fruit of lectio divina is to find ourselves inserted into the long tradition of the patristic and monastic writers themselves. As with them, so with us, the Word of God falls upon all types of soil: that trodden down into a foot path, or rocky without depth, or covered with thorns, or just plain old good soil capable of yielding a harvest of different quantities.40 Our interpretation is allowing this Word to transform our lives and behavior. non-canonical writings: This category consists of the earliest
38. Cistercian Publications is an immense resource of patristic and spiritual writings. The bibliographies and footnotes in these books, in turn, open a vast network of further writings. 39. The contents of this paragraph come from unpublished notes of a conference given at Vina July 22, 2010, by Fr. Olivier-Thomas Venard, op, of the École Biblique, Jerusalem. 40. Mt 13:4–9.

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apocryphal writings, the Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered 1947–1956), and Nag Hammadi library (discovered 1945).41 While these writings and documents may not be classified as patristic, they are significant discoveries. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi library have opened up new avenues for textual criticism. Together with the Apocrypha, these Gnostic and piously devotional writings indicate how various trajectories or lines of thought coming from Scripture and Tradition have been interpreted in a manner different from the canonical and patristic interpretations. early apostolic writings: This title identifies writings of persons who were believed to have known and been disciples of the apostles and evangelists. These authors and texts will be mentioned further on in this article in respect to their native locale. J. B. Cotelier and J. Clericus first used the term when publishing these texts in 1672 and 1699 respectively. These texts offer a refreshingly simple interpretation of the teachings received from the apostles and evangelists. They offer praise and thanksgiving for these teachings. They invoke the power of God so as to interpret them according to demands of daily living. writings of the apologists: The challenge for these patristic writers was to defend the faith while revealing the emptiness and falseness of pagan religions. They employed different schools of Greek philosophy to accomplish this goal. This approach inaugurated the use of philosophy in theological interpretation of the faith. The Apostolic fathers and apologists were located in cities that would become centers of Christian learning: Antioch, Rome, Athens, Smyrna, and Alexandria. These centers, along with the schools of Edessa and Nisibis, were more than simply intellectual resources. Their learning rested on actually living a Christian life-style: a truly Christian philosophical way of life. the era of martyrs, roughly 155 to 320 ce: The numerous written accounts of many women and men giving their lives as witness for their belief in Christ reveal an interpretation of faith that is somewhat overpowering. Those words, “I am a Christian,” pronounced by these martyrs before the executioners expose the depths of what it means to be baptized with the Baptism of Christ.
41. James M. Robinson suggests that these documents formed a Pachomian library. The Nag Hammadi Library in English, trans. and intro. members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont, California; James M. Robinson, general editor (San Francisco: Harper, 1977) 13.

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the catechetical school of alexandria—the didascalium: This ancient school is possibly the earliest Christian center of learning dedicated to scriptural study in the context of a disciplined life style. Tradition claims that Mark the Evangelist introduced Christianity to Alexandria around 41 CE. The well-educated Apollos42 came from this city, a major center of Jewish learning. Alexandria is home to the Septuagint. Two noted Jewish religious philosophers, Aristobulus and Philo, developed a philosophical mysticism based on the teachings of Pythagoras and Plato, respectively. They undoubtedly set the stage for the Christian allegorical and mystical exegesis of the Sacred Scriptures that would be the foremost characteristics of this school. The Septuagint and the allegorical method of scriptural interpretation, seeking the spiritual sense of the written Word, still influence us today. Alexandria’s leading patristic writers were Athenagoras, Pantaenus, Clement, Origen with his strong neo-Platonism, Didymus the Blind, Dionysius the Great, Alexander, and the two great doctors and defenders of the Catholic faith, Athanasius and Cyril. One opinion is that the Letter of Barnabas and the ancient Christian homily formerly called the Second Letter of Clement stem from in or around Alexandria. Neo-Platonism, the Greek philosophy that has had a tremendous everlasting influence on Christianity, flourished in Alexandria, for it was here that Ammonius Saccas lived and educated his famous pupil, Plotinus (c. 204–275 CE.) writings from northwest africa—the maghreb: Today, this area is roughly co-extensive with Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. Carthage, in Tunisia, has the distinguished honor of being the home of Tertullian, who has been denominated the Father of Latin Christianity. It was the Episcopal see of Cyprian and the site of Perpetua and Felicity’s martyrdom. Fulgentius of Ruspe lived in this area. Algeria claims one of the greatest doctors of the Church, Augustine of Hippo. The New Testament Scriptures and the Septuagint were accepted as the Biblical canon in the 393 Synod of Hippo with the two councils of Carthage under the aegis of Augustine. Christianity in this area began its decline with the invasion of the Vandals, Arian Christians, and the Islamic invasion. Its Christian roots were never fully eradicated until well into 1300s. monastic documents from egypt: Egypt is credited with being
42. Acts 18:24.

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the birthplace of Christian monasticism, although Syria, Palestine, and Cappadocia have ancient monastic traditions as old as Egypt. Countless men and women strove to encounter God in the mystique of a vast desert and to live accordingly in simplicity and austerity, having only what such an encounter required. Tradition acknowledges Anthony as the Father of Christian monasticism and Pachomius as the Founder of coenobitic monasticism. Evagrius and Cassian have bequeathed an inestimable richness of monastic desert spirituality. The Paradise of the Fathers, along with different monastic histories, especially the Lausiac History, apophthegmata, and other collections of monastic words or sayings, contain insights of the abbas and ammas addressing aspects of one’s spiritual progress. monastic documents from sinai: The southern section of the Sinai Peninsula was populated with monastic cells much like the Egyptian deserts because of Sinai’s major role during the Exodus of the Chosen People. The site of the burning bush (Ex 3) with its important theophany and revelation was a natural locale for hermits to dwell in silence and solitude. When and from where these desert dwellers came remain the secret of history. Probably they were from Egypt and Palestine, possibly even Syria, for in 362 Julian Saba, the father of Syriac monasticism, travelled from Syria with a small group of monks to visit Sinai, where they remained for a long period of time. The Philokalia gives writings from Nilus, Philotheos, Gregory, Theodosius, Anastasius, and Hesychios, monks of Sinai. A famous name connected with Sinai is John Climacus. His work The Ladder is a significant document for spiritual growth. Today many Eastern monks read it during Lent for their nourishment. monastic writings from gaza: Egypt influenced Gaza and its environs even before the Christian era. Hilarion, native to this area, went to Egypt for education, came under the influence of Antony of Egypt, and was converted to the Christian faith. Upon his return, Hilarion introduced the Egyptian style of monasticism into the Gaza area. What distinguishes Gazan monasticism is its Egyptian spirituality as lived in a coastal setting rather than a strictly desert one. These monastic sites were relatively close to the Mediterranean seashore, some even with sea views and areas shared with local population. Abba Isaiah of Scetis settled here, his teaching and monastic lifestyle reinforcing this Egyptian dimension. The noted elders Barsanuphius and John added an especially unique fea-

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ture of spiritual direction by correspondence. Dorotheus and his disciple, Dositheus, show a more coenobitic aspect of Gazan monastic life. There are John Rufus’s lives of Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and the monk Romanus. Gaza can boast of a Church historian, Sozomen, and the early Christian philosopher theologian, Procopius. monastic and theological writers of palestine: Monastic life spread throughout the area styled Holy Land from the 300s until 614 ce. The Judean desert and the desert along the Jordan River below sea level appear to have been the most populated monastic areas. Jerusalem and its environs had many monasteries in both the city and surrounding areas. There were clusters of monks living in the environs of major cities like Caesarea, Eleutheroplis (Beth Govrin), Scythopolis (Beth Shean), and Nicopolis (Latroun area). Chariton arrived in the Judean desert around 275. He came from present day Konya, Turkey and is credited with establishing near Bethlehem a form of monastic life combining cenobitic and anchoritic elements: hermits clustered around a church and other communal buildings. The lives of Euthymius, Sabas, John the Hesychast, Cyriacus, Theodosius, Theognius, and Abraamius, written by Cyril of Scythopolis, give a good understanding of Palestinian monastic spirituality. Chariton’s Life can be added to this list. Palestinian monastic life has several rather distinguishing characteristics, some explained, in part, by the proximity of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Galilee: 1) a focus on the life of Our Lord and the sacred places, 2) entering into a deeper solitude after the liturgical feast of the baptism of Jesus after the example of Jesus, who was led into the desert after his baptism, 3) a cenobitic formation for novices, and 4) with respect to Egyptian monasticism, a more pronounced emphasis on liturgy. The Persian conquest of 614 effectively began the decline of these monasteries. While not natives of Palestine, John Moschus and Jerome, the great Biblical doctor of the Church, lived in Bethlehem and its environs. John Moschus is buried in Saint Theodosius’s monastery, a few miles from Bethlehem. Epiphanius and Eusebius of Caesarea were natives of this country. Justin is usually linked with Rome although he was a native Palestinian. The great John of Damascus ended his days in the noted monastery of Mar Saba, not far from Bethlehem. jerusalem: Cyril, doctor of the Church and bishop of Jerusalem, is

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distinguished for his catechetical and mystagogic lectures. Other noteworthy persons of this city who left significant spiritual writings are Sophronius, Hesychius, Macarius, and Methodius. Although Egeria travelled extensively, her focus associates her intimately with Jerusalem. syriac writers: Syriac Christianity spread out over a large area and eventually crystallized into different churches depending on their theological stance. This area includes what is today parts of southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, etc. Ancient cities like Antioch, Nisibis, Edessa, Mosul, Gundeshapur, and Seleucia-Ctesiphon were centers of advanced philosophical and theological learning. The Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon reveal Christendom, especially in these areas, as embroiled in serious theological controversy over the human and divine natures of Christ. However, the vast repertoire of Syriac writings from these churches presents a profound mystical spirituality along with penetrating theological insights. Here is a partial list of significant authors:
First three centuries—Tatian’s Diatessaron, Bardaisan, Odes of Solomon, Acts of Thomas. Fourth century—Aphrahat, Ephrem, Book of Steps. Fifth and sixth—John the Solitary (Apamea), Narsai, Jacob of Serugh, Philoxenos of Maggbug, Stephen Sudhaili, Edessan Martyrs, Babai the Great, Abraham of Nathpar, Martyrius. Later centuries – Isaac the Syrian (Nineveh), John Saba (Dalyatha), Joseph Hazzaya, Barhebraeus, Dadisho, Abdisho, and other anonymous selections.43

Also, there are the magnificent writings of Pseudo-Macarius and Pseudo-Dionysius. TheWisdom of the Pearlers is an excellent anthology of Syriac spirituality.44 Tur Abdin and Mar Mattai are some of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence. syrian monasticism around antioch: Antioch can boast of having one of the oldest Christian churches. The birth of monasticism in the mountains near the city and in the famous desert of Chalis could possibly
43. Sebastian Brock, trans. and ed., The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual life, CS 101 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1987). This edition offers a substantial selection of Syriac writers. 44. The Wisdom of the Pearlers, trans. Brian E. Colles, CS 216 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 2008).

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owe its inspirations to the first generation of Christ’s followers. Its origins, for the most part, are undocumented. While it does seem to have come to birth wholly independent of outside influences, there were interchanges at a later date. It is possible that personal initiative, personal strength, and the following of one’s own conscience led adherents to take many of the Gospel counsels and precepts to the extreme. These anchorites adopted a most severe interpretation of the Gospel, and some ended up like an animal living among animals. Stationary ascetics stood on their feet, upright, in an immobile position, not speaking, eyes lowered, not reclining for sleep, nor kneeling, for as long as possible. A few were dendrites, living permanently in trees, rarely coming out of them. Shepherd monks lived in the open fields like sheep, moving on all fours like animals and eating grass. This type of asceticism did manage to produce two monks who became bishops. The akmētoi strove to reduce the need for sleep so as to chant the divine praises as a laus perennis. The dementes, holy fools, spent daylight in a demented state with its bizarre behavior and the night time in intense personal prayer. Hypethrites lived out in the open, always under the open sky in roofless enclosures. Vagabond ascetics wandered ceaselessly from place to place. The ones we are most familiar with were stylites, living atop a column never to descend. Simeon the Stylite is one such example.45 The coenobitic way of life eventually came into existence. Impressive, massive ruins remain of these monasteries, as do stones from stylites’ columns. John Chrysostom and Theodoret of Cyrrhus46 speak about and elaborate on these ascetic feats. the catechetical school of antioch: It was natural that the ancient church of Antioch, a church established already in New Testament times, on the basis of its preparation of catechumens for baptism, would evolve into a center for scriptural study in the milieu of an ascetical, disciplined life style. This scriptural study was founded on a historical and literal approach to the text itself; it resisted allegorical interpretation. Old
45. The Lives of Simeon Stylites, trans. Robert Doran, CS 112 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1992). Some think the stylites’ column inspired the Muslim minaret. 46. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, A History of the Monks of Syria, trans. R. M. Price, CS 88 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1985); Paul Naaman, The Maronites—The Origins of an Antiochene Church: An Historical and Geographical Study of the Fifth to the Seventh Centuries, trans. the Department of Interpretation and Translation, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik [Lebanon], CS 243 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian, 2011).

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Testament types prefigured their realities in the New Testament. Diodore of Tarsus seems to have re-founded the catechetical school as a semimonastic school. John Chrysostom, a great doctor of the Church, was educated here, along with Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Chrysostom’s bitter and controversial enemy, Severian of Gabala. Debate concerning the divine and human natures of Christ was to become central to this school. The Islamic capture of Antioch in 637 spelled the school’s demise. Antioch can lay claim to Ignatius, Eustathius, and it may have been in this vicinity that both the Didache and the Didascalia were written. the schools of nisibis and edessa: Mar (Bishop) Jacob of Nisibis created a catechetical formation program in Nisibis based upon the program of Diodorus of Antioch dedicated to Biblical studies. Jacob had attended the Council of Nicaea. Another outstanding Doctor of the Church, Ephrem, contemporary with Mar Jacob, probably had little involvement with this formation and its school. As a result of the war between the Roman Empire and the Persian (Sassanid) Empire, Nisibis was ceded to Persia. This was the occasion for Ephrem, along with other Christian refugees, to move to Edessa in 363. The school was reconstituted, now called the School of the Persians, as many young Persian men came to study in Edessa. Ephrem’s thought, which constituted the nucleus of the school’s formation, was replaced with neo-Platonic and exegetical approaches of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Evagrius Ponticus, along with the philosophy of Aristotle. This eventually led to an epistemological debate concerning the way one comes to know God: either through monastic experience and mystical prayer or by a rational, philosophical process guided by formal training of the intellect. Rabulla, a bishop of Edessa, introduced the use of the four Gospels in a format as we know them today. In 489 the Byzantine emperor Zeno closed the school. Some of the school’s members returned to Nisibis, now beyond the limits of the Byzantine Empire, to create, for all practical purposes, a new school of Nisibis. Because of various circumstances, this school was short lived. Its demise resulted in the formation of other important centers such as Mt. Izla, Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and Gundeshapur. the armenian writer Gregory of Narek, monk, philosopher, and

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mystic, left a compilation of prayers and soliloquies that bear witness to deep prayer and union with God. the cappadocians: Among the more widely known patristic and monastic sources are Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzus. Chapter 73 of The Rule of Saint Benedict refers to Basil by name. The Cappadocians had a profound influence on monastic life and prayer, made significant contributions to Trinitarian theology, particularly in regard to the Holy Spirit and to the development of mystical, theological prayer. writers of asia minor: The area styled Asia Minor is larger than present-day Turkey. It held an important place in the New Testament due principally to the evangelization of the Apostle Paul. Even more than Syria and Egypt had, this area, too, came under Hellenistic influence. This culture and civilization, with its different Greek philosophical schools, are fundamental in understanding the development of theological dogma, prayer, and mysticism. Many persons identified with this area gave their definitive and influential expressions to the message of the Gospels. A few are Athenagoras, Papias, Polycarp of Smyrna, Eusebius of Nicomedia, who baptized Constantine, Amphilocus of Iconium, Apollinaris of Laodicea, Melito of Sardis, and Marcellus of Ancyra. constantinople: This city was so rich in theologians and writers that it is almost impossible to name all of them. Practically every major Eastern theologian and monastic writer involved in the Christological issues of the early Church Councils and later dwelt for a time in Constantinople. Most noted among them are Maximus the Confessor, Germanus, Photius, Theodore of Studium, Leontius, Evagrius Scholasticus, Simeon the New Theologian, and the great doctors of the Eastern Church. Gregory Palamas laid the foundations for a spiritual approach based on hesychasm, divine light, and the energies of God. Athenagoras of Athens, Gregory Thaumaturgas, Gregory the Illuminator, and Diadochus of Photikē are likewise to be listed among the great Greek patristic writers from Constantinople.47 athos: The volumes of the Philokalia, which contain patristic writ47. For Diadochus of Photikē see Following the Footsteps of the Beloved: The Complete Works of Diadochus of Photikē, intro., trans., and notes Cliff Ermatinger, CS 239 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian, 2010).

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ers from diverse countries, are usually thought of in connection with the monks of Mt. Athos. Peter Damaskos occupies a large section in the Philokalia. Some monks much later than the patristic period, for example Nicodemos and Staretz Silouan, deserve mention. The Athonite tradition is a hesychast tradition. russian writings: Spiritual documents coming from Russia reveal how vast this spiritual universe is. Nilus of Sora, Tikhon, Seraphim of Sarov, the Optima Elders, and The Way of the Pilgrim introduce a hesychastic, apophatic spiritual tradition that is based on divine energies and the experience of divine light and that is still alive today. Merton’s introduction to Russian Mystics48 presents a good overall view of this universe reaching down to our present times. writings of the western church: If the Russian spiritual universe is vast, what is to be said of Western European patristic writings? Rome and its environs are the locus of the letter of Clement, Hermas, possibly Diognetus, Hippolytus, Novatian, and Justin. The popes, especially the greats, Leo and Gregory, have had definitive theological and spiritual influence in the Church extending even to our times. There are Ambrose, Paulinus, Boethius, Cassiodorus, Rufinus, Peter Chrysologus, Prosper of Aquitania, Maximus of Turin, and probably Ambrosiaster. The eminent monastic persons are Martin of Tours, Benedict, Columban, Cassian, and the Jura fathers. Sulpicius Severus, Vincent and the Lerins school, Hilary, Caesarius of Arles, Irenaeus of Lyons, Hilary of Poitiers, Gregory of Tours, Isidore in Spain, the little-known Visigothic fathers, Bede in England,49 Boniface, Anselm of Bec, Hildegard, the Mechthilds, and Gertrude the Great, along with other monastic men and women, constitute major lights in this universe. hymns of the western church: The Psalms were an essential element of the Temple and Synagogue services. For the Church, the Psalms provide insights into the mystery of Christ. In addition to Psalms, the early Christian liturgies, Coptic, Syriac and Byzantine, developed the use of hymns as a rich source of theology and spirituality. Tradition claims that it was Ambrose and Hilary of Poitiers who introduced hymns into
48. Sergius Bolshakoff, Russian Mystics, CS 26 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1977). 49. Anglo-Saxon Spirituality, trans. Robert Boenig, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 2000). This is a fine volume of Anglo-Saxon writings.

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our Western liturgical practice. Porfyrius, Sedulius, Paulinus, and Prudentius are known for their hymns. The Solesmes hymnal50 is an excellent collection of these early musical pieces that present in simple poetic form the divine theological mysteries of creation, redemption, and sanctification. irish and writings: Irish monasticism and spirituality, both extremely ancient, are noted for their interpreting desire for God through extreme penitential asceticism, abandonment of homeland, family, and friends as a form of bloodless martyrdom, and a spirituality of intense presence of God manifested via the wonders of the created universe. The great monasteries no longer exist, but their heritage is preserved in the teachings of Patrick, Brigit, Brendan, Kevin, Columba, and Columbanus, with Aiden and Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, to mention only a few eminent Celtic saints.51 the cistercians: The Cistercian monastic experience placed enormous emphasis on simplicity of life style, a more authentic daily monastic routine, manual labor as making a contribution towards self-support, and a thorough search for truth about oneself as a way to profess a more genuine observance of The Rule of Saint Benedict. The more outstanding among Cistercian writers are Stephen Harding, Bernard of Clairvaux, William of Saint Thierry, Ælred of Rievaulx, Isaac of Stella, Baldwin of Forde, Adam of Perseigne, Guerric of Igny, Gilbert of Hoyland, and John of Forde. The writings of this period, thoroughly based on Sacred Scripture, Augustine, and Gregory the Great, present a coherent doctrine forming an integrated spiritual patrimony. This unique spiritual repertoire is captured in a fabulous architecture properly styled Cistercian.

Conclusion
We know that the nucleus of any formation process or spiritual progress is to be formed, not merely to be informed. This is what Chapter 73 of The Rule of Saint Benedict proposes. Read patristic writings so as to understand and love what we read. Then the truths they contain will be50. Liber Hymnarius, Abbaye Saint Pierre de Solesmes (Tournai/Paris: Desclée, 1983). 51. Celtic Spirituality, trans. Oliver Davies, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1999). This, too, is a fine volume. See James McSherry, Outreach and Renewal: First Millennium Lessons for a Third Millennium Church, CS 236 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian, 2011).

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long both to the writer and to the listener. A person who reads in this way enters into a relationship with the author and works with the author, who thereby assists that monk or nun to shape and mould his or her life in seeking God, our Divine Pedagogue, and in searching for Truth Itself. The metaphor that I’ve been using in this article is Dom Adalbert’s spiritual universe. This expresses quite well the expanding of one’s consciousness into a serious spiritual progress towards our Creator as presented in Chapter 73 of Saint Benedict’s Rule. However, there is another metaphor that I used in the title for this article, one with which I would like to end: a garden of nuts. This is the Martin Luther’s metaphor, taken from the Song of Songs 6:11, for the Psalms.52 Luther says the Psalms can be difficult to understand or comprehend. But once their shell is cracked through persevering study and reading, a sweet kernel is found within, one that deeply nourishes spiritual progress. I believe this metaphor might well express the difficulty many persons today have in reading these patristic writings. Many texts are not easy to read, perhaps even going so far as to turn off the reader. If such a reader perseveres with prayer and grace in the Holy Spirit and becomes a listener, he or she will discover a kernel within. Monastic theological formation, that straight course to the Creator rising from patristic writers, will bring to birth a realization53 of justice:54 a love or uprightness consisting of a union of wills, one spirit, wherein one is unable to will anything other than what God wills. Abbey of New Clairvaux P. O. Box 80 Vina, CA 96092

52. See Martin Luther’s First Lecture on the Psalms. 53. Realization as understood in footnote 19: Realization (observatio) is to experience, understand, and make a discernment or judgment to live according to what is correctly understood. 54. Terrence Kardong, “Justice in the Rule of Benedict,” SM 24 (1982): 43–73.

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