Vanderspoel, 'Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ. The Monasteries of Palestine, 314-631', Bryn Mawr Medieval Review 9504
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/bmmr/bmmr-9504-vanderspoel-ascetics
@@@@95.4.1, Binns, Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ
John Binns, Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ. The
Monasteries of Palestine, 314-631. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1994. Pp. xii, 276. $55.00. ISBN 0-19-826465-8.
Reviewed by J. Vanderspoel -- University of Calgary
vandersp@acs.ucalgary.ca
Though its title might suggest otherwise, this book,
published in the series Oxford Early Christian Studies, is
mainly about Cyril of Scythopolis and the evidence for the lives
of the monks in the Judaean desert to be found in his treatments
of seven of these monks. Certainly, B. introduces other material
to the extent that this is available, but his own emphasis on
contemporary sources and Cyril's significance as the main written
source for Palestinian monasticism have left little alternative.
It might be said, however, that B. sometimes traverses beyond the
boundaries of the appropriate. For example, in Part II, on the
physical environment of the monks and monasteries, he has
chapters on Jerusalem, the desert, and Scythopolis. The latter
is important mainly as the birthplace of Cyril; yet it is
discussed at greater length than the desert which was the main
environment for the monks who are the main topic of the book.
Though a brief treatment of Scythopolis is reasonable, the
monasteries on which B. chose to focus largely lie on the
Jerusalem to Jericho road and the region to the south; Jericho is
nowhere treated in depth, while Scythopolis lies some 50 km. to
the north. The monks and monasteries of Cyril's birthplace
appear only in this chapter, apart from casual references, while
those elsewhere in Palestine, e.g., in the region of Gaza, appear
haphazardly. In short, the book is not to be regarded as a
complete study of monasticism in Palestine, but of a selected
portion. As noted, this is dictated to some extent by sources,
but another motive can perhaps be discerned. Throughout, B.
places much emphasis on the conflict between supporters of
Chalcedon and Monophysites and shows the ultimate victory of the
former in desert monasticism; Origenists enter the picture as
well. This tone is set early: some fifteen of seventeen pages of
the "Introduction" are, rather oddly, given over to the reception
of Chalcedon in the Judaean desert, as if this were the sole
issue of importance to B. and the only one of interest to his
readers. Elsewhere in Judaea, as B. himself points out later in
the book, many monks were Monophysites, but these are treated
rather briefly. One wonders, in consequence, whether B. is
silently promoting a Chalcedonian theological view.
Apart from an "Introduction" (1-17) and "Conclusion"
(245-246), the book as a whole is divided into three parts; each
part, again after an introduction, is divided into three
chapters, which are further subdivided into small sections
varying in length from a single paragraph to about ten pages. On
the whole, the final subdivision into sections is not entirely
successful, especially when a series of smaller sections follow
one another; the treatment seems piecemeal, since chapters are
not given the opportunity to break into a narrative flow. This
is often further amplified by the lack of connectives between one
section and the next, even when a section logically follows from
its predecessor. Indeed, even paragraphs and sentences often
suffer from this approach to the style of writing; individual
sentences sometimes seem intrusive, and I have never seen as many
paragraphs composed of a single short sentence; the effect is
rather jarring at too many places. I might add here that the
book reveals signs of insufficient proofreading; most instances
will not cause great difficulty, but a few require more
attention. For example, quoting G. F. Kirk (n.9) (G. E. Kirk in
the Bibliography), B. (105) speaks of higher rainfall and a
higher ratio of good years having "its greatest effort in
marginal lands," where "effect" is to be read. At 239, n.88,
from the reference to "A. H. M. Jones, Later Roman Empire,
i (Oxford, 1964), iii. 958", delete "i" (B. cites a four volume
edition which I do not know, but the page number is correct). On
the same page, "Peter Brown" should probably be replaced with "A.
H. M. Jones", since "This perception of the saints' change of
spiritual place has been summarized by Peter Brown" is followed
immediately by a quotation from Jones' book; if B. intends the
text as it stands, some confusion or a lack of clarity results.
Less problematic is the abbrevation PEFQ St for the
Palestinian Exploration Quarterly. PEQ is now
often used, though the full title of the journal is the
Palestinian Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement.
In his preface and in the conclusion to the book, B.
outlines the reasons for the chronological parameters of his
book. These can be stated quite succinctly: Macarius, who
consecrated the first church in a monastic community, became
bishop in 314; the official institution of desert monasticism
thus occurred no earlier than that year. At the other limit,
Antony wrote B.'s latest source, the Life of George of
Choziba in 631. Arguably, these are arbitrary limits and
present the reader with an apple and an orange. Chariton, whose
cave at Pharan Macarius consecrated, had been in the desert for
some years previously, and ascetics had inhabited the region
earlier. A Bishop Narcissus of Jerusalem fled to the desert in
the early third century and Hilarion, according to Jerome, lived
in a hut near the sea at Gaza from about 308, eventually forming
monastic communities in the region. Thus B., who records all
this (154-158), must emphasize the significance of Macarius'
consecration of Chariton's cave to find his terminus; the
availability of sources is irrelevant here. Equally difficult is
the year 631. If the official institution of desert monasticism
began after 314, it did not come to an end in 631. More to the
point, from the perspective of the Byzantine Empire, large parts
of Palestine and Jerusalem itself fell under the control of
Persians in 614 and were taken by Arabic forces in 638 (16-17).
Either date, but preferably the second, since imperial forces
were still attempting to recapture the region in the interval,
represents one significant change for desert monasticism, i.e.,
the loss of Byzantine and Christian control of the area. From
that perspective, the earlier terminus should be 324, when
Constantine defeated Licinius; B. seems strangely aware of that
possibility, since he has Chariton founding his monastery "when
bishops were assembling at Nicaea" (155), though he refers as
well (vi, 245) to the agreement between Constantine and Licinius
in 313 to cease persecution. The selection of chronological
limits is thus inescapably arbitrary, but B. largely focuses on
the period from 405, when Euthymius reached Jerusalem, to the
Council of Constantinople in 553, when the Origenists ceased to
be an effective force in the desert communities of Palestine.
His dates are, consequently, an attempt to place the writings of
Cyril into a longer perspective; from that point of view, they
are, in the end, suitable enough.
The first chapter of the first part of the book, a treatment
of "Sources", is given over to a discussion of "Cyril of
Scythopolis" (23-40). Two pages on "Cyril the Author" compare
and contrast his work with other biographies of monks, and B.
points out that Cyril was better acquainted with his subjects
than most writers in the genre. About four pages then treat
"Cyril the Child". B. argues that Cyril was born in 525 and
briefly discusses his childhood and his "call" at the age of six
to a monastic life. He passes to a treatment of "Cyril the
Disciple", a three-page expose of Cyril's early spiritual
advisers and disobedience to the injunction to enter the
monastery of Euthymius. The section closes with a brief
discussion of Cyril's view that his biographies of seven monks
were an "aspect of discipleship, carried out in obedience to the
memory of the saints" (32). A fourth segment, of four pages,
describes "Cyril as Monk" witnessing the physical violence of the
Origenist controversy in Jerusalem before moving to Euthymius'
monastery in 544 and two other foundations before his death,
probably in 559. In the process, B. points out that Cyril was
much affected by the "living" presence of the founding fathers of
the institutions, even when they had long been dead. The final
five pages of the chapter address "Cyril and the Christian
Historical Tradition". Here, B. both surveys the Christian
writing of history and Cyril's contributions to it, in
particular, the monk's acceptance of the standard theme of
orthodoxy versus heresy (as noted, perhaps silently emulated by
B. himself) and his adoption and development of "a new form of
writing in which classical history and hagiography contribute"
(40). In the process, B. explains, too briefly, one reason that
monks entered the written record. "They took the place which the
martyrs had had in the writing of Eusebius as witnesses to the
truth of the Gospel" (38). This is an important statement and
one worthy of further elaboration: with the cessation of the
creation of martyrs, new "heroes" were required. Though the
growth of martyr cults relieved the need somewhat, monks'
Lives offered contemporary examples of struggle against
forces of evil; heretics play the same role as Roman officials in
martyrs' Lives. This, in combination with the general
theme of orthodoxy triumphant, is why Cyril's Lives of
Euthymius and Sabas end with their victories over heretics
instead of their deaths (cf. 37, without the point about
"heroes"). In short, little distinguishes monk from martyr in
the new Christian historiography.
Constructed in the same manner, other chapters follow. From
Cyril, B. proceeds to a discussion in the second chapter of "The
Other Sources" (41-55). These include Lives of four
saints, related in approach to Cyril's treatments, John Moschus,
and Antony's Life of George of Choziba. The third
chapter, "Monastic Culture" (56-76), is once again essentially a
treatment of Cyril: sections on his library, the use of oral
traditions in the monasteries, historical awareness and
autobiography focus on this monk's approach to the writing of
saint's Lives.
The second part of the book is a treatment of "Environment".
In three chapters, B. discusses "Jerusalem: Resurrection of a
City" (79-98), "This Desert" (99-120), and "The City of
Scythopolis" (121-147). The physical circumstances of desert
monasticm provide the main subject for these chapters. The
inclusion of Scythopolis has been addressed above, and the need
for a description of the desert is obvious. Jerusalem too was
important to the monks. Most of the monastic communities
discussed in the book lay within easy travelling distance from
the city, but Jerusalem played a much larger role than mere
location would suggest. The monks, as pointed out by B. many
times, saw themselves as an integral part of the wider Christian
community. The primary link was with Jerusalem and its
Patriarch, though relations were not always harmonious, but the
connection extended to Christianity at large, especially in the
East.
"Themes" are the focus of the final part of the book. The
first chapter in this sections repeats B's title for the book:
"Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ" (154-182). Here, B.
outlines the change in the perspective of Judaean desert monks
from ascetics in the usual understanding of the term, represented
by Euthymius, Cyril's earliest subject, to participants in the
wider community; of the latter, Sabas, who founded a series of
new establishments, but also travelled on embassies to
Constantinople, is one of these ambassadors of Christ. In
chapter 8, "Witnesses to Truth" (183-217), B. focuses on the
reception of Chalcedon, the Monophysite movement, and the
Origenists in the desert monasteries and Jerusalem. Clearly,
much of Judaean desert monasticism remained faithful to the
Chalcedonian cause, though not entirely so. In the chapter, B.
suggests that the dispersion of monks in scattered small
communities and the cosmopolitan nature of the monks' origins
precluded excessive flirtation with the Monophysite movement:
too few of the monks had origins in those regions of the East
most inclined to oppose the Chalcedonian view; in any case,
monks' relationship with the Patriarch and the contact with holy
places were more important than theology (197-198). This seems
optimistic, but Palestinian monasticism did differ from
monasticism elsewhere in its access to holy places, and the
Patriarch did aid in the contact with such places. Yet the monks
of the desert were fully capable of opposing some Patriarchs who
inclined to the Monophysite or Origenist views; theology
certainly held some importance. The final chapter, "Fellow
Workers with God" (218-244), is an account of miracles and their
importance in the lives and Lives of the monks. Like other
recent writers, B. points to the essential view that the
historicity of these miracles is less important than the fact
that they were believed to have occurred; he discusses the
different categories of miracles and the role that each played in
the relationship of the monk to the environment, the community
and to God. Two short appendices follow, one on "John of
Scythopolis" (247-248), the other on "Leontius of Byzantium"
(249-253). A bibliography, including a separate list of primary
sources, and an index complete the volume.
Much of the foregoing, I fear, can and no doubt will be seen
as complaint. Yet this book offers much of value. B.'s
descriptions of the life and role of the monks in the Palestinian
desert are both informative and useful, and many, including
myself, will learn much from the material included in this book.
If a difference of opinion arises on some points, that is only to
be expected; indeed, it is B.'s ability to provoke thought on the
issues that he addresses that leads to disagreement. In the
final analysis, this treatment of Palestinian monasticism, even
if it addresses only some aspects, is well worth reading.