The Desert Ammas and Abbas Class

The Desert Ammas and Abbas taught by The Rev. Dr. Daniel Prechtel. May 7 and 14 in the Parish Hall and on Zoom at 10:10a (click here to enter call).

A profound movement beginning around the 3rd century gave birth to what we now know as monasticism and had a deep impact on the Christian faith. In this course we will explore what forces influenced those hermits and ascetics that came to be known as the “desert fathers and mothers” to form a variety of communities in the wilderness regions in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. We will get impressions of what life was like and what prayer practices evolved. We will sample some of the “sayings” of the desert elders that have endured over the centuries and the fascinating people behind those sayings. And we will learn about the sophisticated spiritual psychology and anthropology of highly educated monastics, Evagrius Ponticus and John Cassian.