Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons (Volume 229 Cistercian Studies Series)

Evagrius Of Pontus

ISBN 10: 0879073292 / ISBN 13: 9780879073299

Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2009

190 (x) pp. with Bibliography and Indexes. Translated with an Introduction by David Brakke. There is some blue ink underlining in the text. Binding tight, no tears. Seller Inventory # 049797

Synopsis:

How did the monks of the Egyptian desert fight against the demons that attacked them with tempting thoughts? How could Christians resist the thoughts of gluttony, fornication, or pride that assailed them and obstructed their contemplation of God? According to Evagrius of Pontus (345 '399), one of the greatest spiritual directors of ancient monasticism, the monk should talk back to demons with relevant passages from the Bible. His book Talking Back (Antirrhêtikos) lists over 500 thoughts or circumstances in which the demon-fighting monk might find himself, along with the biblical passages with which the monk should respond. It became one of the most popular books among the ascetics of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine East, but until now the entire text had not been translated into English. From Talking Back we gain a better understanding of Evagrius's eight primary demons: gluttony, fornication, love of money, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory, and pride. We can explore a central aspect of early monastic spirituality, and we get a glimpse of the temptations and anxieties that the first desert monks faced.

David Brakke is professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences of Indiana University. He studied ancient Christianity at Harvard Divinity School and Yale University. Brakke is the author of Athanasius and Asceticism and Demons and the Making of the Monk: Spiritual Combat in Early Christianity, and he edits the Journal of Early Christian Studies.

About the Author: David Brakke is professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences of Indiana University. He studied ancient Christianity at Harvard Divinity School and Yale University. Brakke is the author of Athanasius and Asceticism and Demons and the Making of the Monk: Spiritual Combat in Early Christianity, and he edits the Journal of Early Christian Studies.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for ...
Publisher: Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN
Publication Date: 2009
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good +
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: First American