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Evagrius of Pontus (ca. 345-399) was a Greek-speaking monastic thinker and Christian theologian whose works formed the basis for much later reflection on monastic practice and thought in the Christian Near East, in Byzantium, and in the Latin West. His innovative collections of short chapters meant for meditation, scriptural commentaries in the form of scholia, extended discourses, and letters were widely translated and copied. Condemned posthumously by two ecumenical councils as a heretic along with Origen and Didymus of Alexandria, he was revered among Christians to the east of the Byzantine Empire, in Syria and Armenia, while only some of his writings endured in the Latin and Greek churches.
A student of the famed bishop-theologians Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea, Evagrius left the service of the urban church and settled in an Egyptian monastic compound. His teachers were veteran monks schooled in the tradition of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Anthony, and he enriched their legacy with the experience of the desert and with insight drawn from the entire Greek philosophical tradition, from Plato and Aristotle through Iamblichus.
Evagrius and His Legacy brings together essays by eminent scholars who explore selected aspects of Evagrius's life and times and address his far-flung and controversial but long-lasting influence on Latin, Byzantine, and Syriac cultures in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Touching on points relevant to theology, philosophy, history, patristics, literary studies, and manuscript studies, Evagrius and His Legacy is also intended to catalyze further study of Evagrius within as large a context as possible.
“The indisputable merit of this book is that it presents, with impressive thoroughness, Evagrius’ reception in different ages of church history and in various geographical and linguistic environments. It contains studies that fill gaps by integrating the discoveries and results of research in the last decades.” —Catholic Historical Review
“This volume is an excellent and timely collection, both revising the historical picture of Evagrius and offering implicit—though perhaps not always intentional—commentary on important issues in modern Christianity. . . . The essays in Evagrius and His Legacy are incredibly diverse. . . . by and large the chapters. . . . are lucid, compelling, informative, and even entertaining.” —Reading Religion
"These rich essays, disrupting standard classifications of Evagrius as either 'monk' or 'heretic,' convincingly demonstrate the long reach—temporal and geographical—of his influence. This ground-breaking book opens new avenues in Evagrian scholarship and sets agendas for the future." —Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor of Religion, Emerita, Duke University
"Joel Kalvesmaki, Robin Darling Young, and their colleagues have been leading a renaissance in the study of Evagrius of Pontus. These outstanding essays model an approach to Evagrius’s thought and its appropriation that moves beyond the categories of orthodoxy and heresy to a renewed appreciation for one of early Christianity’s most creative theologians. A collection that ranges as widely as its subject’s fertile mind." —David Brakke, Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University
"The scholarship on Evagrius Ponticus has seen a veritable explosion in the last ten to fifteen years. Now recognized as a major fourth-century intellectual figure, Evagrius and his role within contemporary networks continue to be reassessed. Evagrius and His Legacy is a valuable contribution to that effort; focused and excellently structured, this splendid volume represents the state of the art of Evagrian scholarship while leading the way toward further inquiry." —Susanna Elm, University of California, Berkeley
"Kalvesmaki argues that Evagrius created and popularized the genre of kephalaia (chapters) in the Byzantine world and charts its usage from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries, thereby showing that Evagrius exercised influence in terms of not only his ideas but also literary technique." —Church History
"The introduction is eminently useful for new students as well as more seasoned scholars less familiar with this provocative and engaging thinker, whose influence—albeit cloaked at times—has been profound over the centuries in the Byzantine, Latin, Syriac, and Armenian ascetic and intellectual traditions." —Comitatus
"Editors Joel Kalvesmaki and Robin Darling Young explain that more remains to be investigated about Evagrius and his influence on later Christian tradition. Their agile and informative introduction to the volume argues for scholars to do more than class Evagrius as a 'monk' or a 'heretic,' and most of the essays that follow offer promising alternate approaches to this important Christian author." —Speculum
"Besides being an estimable contribution to a pivotal moment in Evagrian studies, Evagrius and His Legacy is recommended for anyone interested in the development of Christian monastic thought, Origenism, late Greek and early Byzantine Christianity, and Syriac Christianity, as well as other non-Greek eastern Christianities. More broadly, scholars of epistolography, reception history, Christian spirituality, and Orthodoxy will find benefit here." —Augustinian Studies
Robin Darling Young is associate professor of theology and religious studies at Catholic University of America.
Joel Kalvesmaki is editor in Byzantine studies at Dumbarton Oaks.
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Ornament and Intellect of the Desert by Robin Darling Young & Joel Kalvesmaki
- Evagrius and Cappadocian Orthodoxy by Brian E. Daley, Sj.
- Thoughts that Cut: Cutting, Imprinting, and Lingering in Evagrius of Pontus by Kevin Corrigan
- Evagrius Ponticus, Exegete of the Soul by Luke Dysinger, OSB
- Evagrius and Authority by Blossom Stefaniw
- Evagrius Ponticus and Maximus the Confessor: The Building of the Self in Praxis and Contemplation by Julia Konstantinovsky
- The Role of Letters in the Works of Evagrius by Robin Darling Young
- Philoxenos of Mabbug and the Simplicity of Evagrian Gnosis: Competing Uses of Evagrius in the Early Sixth Century by David A. Michelson
- Evagrius beyond Byzantium: The Latin and Syriac Receptions by Columba Stewart, OSB
- Evagrius: East of the Euphrates by Anthony J. Watson
- Evagrius in the Byzantine Genre of Chapters by Joel Kalvesmaki
- Origenism and Anti-Origenism in the Late Sixth and Seventh Centuries Dirk Krausmüller
- The Evagrian Heritage in Late Byzantine Monasticism by Gregory Collins, OSB
Bibliography
Select Works of Evagrius
Select Editions and Translations of Ancient and Medieval Works
Other Primary and Secondary Studies
Contributors
Index