2014
First Published
4.56
Average Rating
327
Number of Pages
Part of Series
When Christians first began living as monks in the Egyptian desert at the beginning of the fourth century, they had few books and almost no learning. As they gained experience, they concentrated that experience in the form of an oral tradition of tales and sayings (apophthegmata). Apart from the Scriptures (also learned by heart) this was the only training manual they had. Consequently, when the onslaught of barbarians drove many monks out of Egypt early in the following century, they found it better to preserve their oral tradition in writing.
Avg Rating
4.56
Number of Ratings
34
5 STARS
68%
4 STARS
26%
3 STARS
3%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
3%
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