The monasteries of the Jerusalem desert were famous throughout the Byzantine Christian world. This book provides a study of the monastic movement in Palestine during the Byzantine period, from the accession of Constantine to the fall of Jerusalem to the Persians in 614.
In this book, Binns examines the monastic movement in Palestine during the Byzantine period, from the accession of Constantine to the fall of Jerusalem to the Persians in 614. The monasteries of the desert--in Jerusalem, Egypt, and Syria--played an influential role in Byzantine society, and the "desert fathers" are well known even today as key figures in the history of Christian spirituality. Binns uses contemporary sources to discuss both how the monks actually lived, and their contributions to doctrinal and spiritual debates.
'...a wonderful portrait of a way of life which was fully integrated into the life of the Church and of the Empire. This book earns a special place in the libraries of both students and scholars of history, Patristics, and Theology. Anybody interested in ancient Christian spirituality and desert monasticism will find in this book a thought-provoking opus. Indeed Binns has successfully given the master stroke in illustrating a more balanced view of monastic life: ascesis and apostolate...'
