Desert Wisdom
Four Things the Desert Tradition Can Teach Us About Christian Living
Photo taken from “Axia Women.” Although not taken in Egypt, this depicts a modern orthodox desert monastery in the Judean Desert.
The “lure of the desert”1 enticed many Christians who desired to keep the fire of the martyrs alive after widespread persecution ceased. John Cryssavgis,2 an Eastern Orthodox priest and scholar of the Desert Tradition writes,
“The voice of the desert’s heart replaced the voice of the martyr's blood. The desert was what ultimately kept alive the fiery spirit of the martyrs. The words of the desert elders are more than mere sayings; they are a profound statement.”
Beginning in the third century, men and women from different backgrounds journeyed to the Egyptian deserts to live in solitude as hermits or in small monastic communities. Ancient desert monasticism was practiced from the third through fifth centuries. This was not the end of desert monasticism although there is a historical lapse. In the eleventh century, the eremitical life of the earliest Desert Patrons was revived in a quest to return to the simple life of the ancient Egyptian hermits.3
The Mothers and Fathers of the Desert Tradition–or Ammas and Abbas–can teach us much about the Christian life. John Cryssavgis writes that the desert is a necessary stage on the spiritual journey of the Christian and avoidance of it would be harmful. We will discover what he means as we glean timeless wisdom from select figures of the Desert Tradition. Isaiah 35 even paints the desert as the cleansing road to entering Zion. The desert is called, “The Way of Holiness.” It is worth pondering the theological significance of the desert. The common theme of the desert in Scripture seems to be more than a geographical coincidence. Perhaps this will be a future research endeavor. For now, the primary focus will be to glean wisdom from some lesser known Patrons of the Desert Tradition. You will get the most out of studying desert monasticism and its wise patrons if you remember: “the aim is not imitation, but inspiration.”
Hate the sickness but do not hate the sick person.
The first of our four points of wisdom have to do with the relationship to one’s neighbor. Amma Syncletica was a Desert Mother who stressed deep compassion, reconciliation, and a life of imitatio Christi. For her, this meant a different worldview than her secular counterparts. One of her wise sayings is as follows:
“Hate the Sickness but do not hate the sick person.”4
Her Christian worldview did not allow for hatred of people regardless of the persecution Christians had faced under Rome or the sin unbelievers committed. To hate the sickness is an act of kindness toward the sick person. Abba Zosimas is recorded saying,
“In the same way that you pray for your eye or your hand in order to heal and no longer hurt, you should also do for your brother.”
Healing is possible for the sick person. Christians are the vessels that carry the only antidote to the sickness: the message of Christ. Prayer for a sick world held priority in most of the Desert Fathers’ and Mothers’ daily lives. Our worldviews and prayer lives would be benefitted by taking inspiration from the rhythms of the Desert Tradition. Their retreat to the desert was not so they could live without community and cease evangelism; It was an internal decision so an external reality would flow forth if and when the time came to re-enter society. Intercession for a sick and dying world was a primary practice of desert monasticism.
A Monk is Toil.
John the Dwarf famously remarked, “What is a monk? A monk is toil.” There is a tendency to romanticize desert living and ignore the harsh realities of daily life in the desert. It is boiling in the day and cold at night. Course sand rubs against dry skin and bathing is an occasional luxury. Food must be grown and sustained in the interior of the Egyptian desert. The Desert Tradition did not exclusively involve hours of sitting alone in prayer and meditation on Scripture. The prayers of the Desert Patrons were often very practical. They prayed for physical strength, for crops to do well in the peculiar weather, and for enough water. Cryssavgis writes,
“Toil is a desert virtue, the starting point and basis for every other virtue.”
The desert is work. If it is true that every Christian must go through the desert metaphorically and spiritually, then it follows that every Christian must be prepared for the labor of life as a follower of Christ. Our lives do not look like John the Dwarf’s, but the principle is the same: The Christian’s life is an exercise in dependence on God and this dependence involves labor. This labor is good. It is prayer, generosity, teaching, and fleeing from one’s own corrupt passions.
Kill your passions.
Contrary to what one may think when first studying the Desert Tradition, most of the Patrons did not approve of extreme physical asceticism. Abba Poeman writes,
“We have not been taught to kill our bodies, but to kill our passions.”
Desert monasticism was a form of Christian asceticism in the sense that they threw off worldly attachments for a time to seek spiritual renewal. However, their asceticism did not cause them to hate their bodies as ascetics often do. Journeying to the desert was a statement about the position of Christians to the world. It was easy to fall into temptation while in the city, but the desert offered no such potential. Abba Agathon said,
“What does it mean to flee from the world? It means to sit in your cell and weep for your sins.”
Contrition and refinement were two main stages of desert monasticism. Withdrawing from society to wrestle with one’s sins and allowing God to refine one’s passions and priorities is a powerful model for Christians.
Cryssavgis writes,
“Living in the desert does not mean living without people; it means living for God….they never sought to cut off their connections to other people instantly. They sought rather to refine these relationships increasingly.”
Many Desert Fathers and Mothers would re-enter society after their desert sabbatical. Their ungodly passions would cease to control them and they would be equipped to live in a healthy community after a season of internal reflection. Not all of us are able to take a sabbatical to a secluded place for the purpose of allowing God to work on us internally. Amma Syncletica realized this and rejected any sharp distinction between Christians who chose to live in the city and those who lived in the desert. She wrote,
“The goal is the same for all, even if the way differs for some.”
Silence brings clarity.
When giving advice, Abba Poeman once said,
“Is it better to speak or to be silent? The person who speaks for God's sake does well; and the person who keeps silent for God's sake does well.”
Silence was a desert practice. It was through silence that the Ammas and Abbas of the desert learned to listen to God. The mental practice of expectation and meditation was formative for the Desert Patrons. Amma Syncletica wisely said,
“It is possible to be solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd; and it is possible for those who are solitaries to live in the crowd of their own thoughts.”
To her, silence is the state of one’s mind in any given circumstance. It is organizing one’s thoughts so as to make room for awareness of the voice of God and the needs of one’s neighbors. Abba Agathon lived with a stone in his mouth for years until he learned to keep silent. Practicing silence of mind and mouth brings clarity to hearing the voice of God and is a worthy discipline for the Christian to practice.
Conclusion
These four nuggets of wisdom are only a taste of the depth of wisdom that is present in the lives and sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Their life looked much different than ours and yet their wisdom has never been more applicable. Their life was a statement about the Christian life. The desert is a place of refinement for the Christian. Remember the words of Amma Syncletica, “The goal is the same for all, even if the way differs for some.” The goal is to, “bring your interior activity into accord with God,” so one may go into the world and be a beacon of hope to a spiritually sick and dying world. John the Dwarf summarizes the heart of the Desert Tradition: “Live by the cross.” The cross is a symbol of suffering and life. There is no better life to live than one determined by the cross of Christ. This was the heartbeat of the Desert Tradition.
Madigan, Kevin. Medieval Christianity : A New History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015. Pg. 151.
I used John Cryssavgis’ book, In the Heart of the Desert. I commonly quote from his written commentary on the Desert Fathers and Mothers in this article. Chryssavgis, John., In the Heart of the Desert : the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Bloomington, Ind: World Wisdom, 2003.
Madigan, 151.
Quotes from the Desert Fathers and Mothers are taken from John Chryssavgis’ book, In the Heart of the Desert as cited above, and The Sayings of the Desert Fathers as translated by Benedicta Ward. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, The Alphabetical Collection. Ed. by Benedicta Ward. Kalamazoo, MI: Cictercian Publications, 1975.