The Wisdom of the Desert Spirituality: An Introduction to the Desert Fathers
The Wisdom of the Desert Spirituality: An Introduction to the Desert Fathers

Summary/Abstract: The desert spirituality is fundamental to Christianity and I am certain that the ascetic wisdom of Desert Fathers have a great deal to teach us today. Therefore, in this paper I will point out this profound spirituality of the desert. This paper is divided into two sections: in the first part, I shall focus on the crucial importance of the desert in the earlier ascetic tradition. In this sense, I will point out the essential themes of desert spirituality, such as spiritual guidance, silence, discernment, and so on. As we will see, the true spirituality of the Desert Fathers is absolute simplicity. In the second, I shall highlight that the desert spirituality is understood as a transformation of the body, so that desert monasticism represents a lived territory of holiness. From this perspective, the desert has a special place in the earliest monasticism history because it is a symbol of total withdrawal and rejection of the world, a training ground for those who aspire to holiness.

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