Cassian, Contemplation and the Coenobitic Life
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10087793 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Rousseau (University of Auckland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 113-126 |
| Publication date | 1975-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Ecclesiastical History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0469 • E-ISSN: 1469-7637 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0022046900045942 |
| OpenAlex | W2320133964 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
Cassian was not a systematic writer; or, perhaps to be more just, he was not afraid to allow his ideas to develop, and even change. He suffers, therefore, more than some at the hands of historians of spirituality. It is temptingly easy to present him as the instigator of a twotier system: of an asceticism that distinguished contemplation from the ‘practical’ eradication of vice, or the régime of the hermit from that of the coenobite; and that distinguished them as activities of greater and lesser merit, raising the contemplation of the hermit above the more preoccupied discipline of community life. Those who think of Cassian in these terms have also to face the fact that most western ascetics, in the centuries that followed, came together in groups to conquer sin; and yet they thought Cassian (as did Benedict) in some sense their master. Indeed, there are signs that Cassian himself witnessed the growing popularity of the coenobitic life. Given this apparent contrast, therefore, between his supposed interpretation of the spiritual life and the relentless development of communal asceticism, many feel impelled to regard him as a remote perfectionist, or at best—where signs of resignation to community life appear—as a weary and reluctant realist
Aesthetics · Art · Asceticism · Character (mathematics · Contemplation · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · Interpretation (philosophy · Literature · Popularity · Spirituality · Theology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,32 |
| Citation span | 1976 - 2021 (46) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |