The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (; From the Greek: apo, from; phtheggomai, to cry out; pater, father.Orthodox Encyclopedia, in Russian, Vol. 3, pp. 140-142.) is the name given to various textual collections consisting of stories and sayings attributed to the Desert Fathers of Egypt from approximately the 5th century AD.W. Bousset. Apophthegmata. Tuebingen, 1923, p. 68.
The collections consist of wisdom stories describing the spiritual practices and experiences of early Christian hermits living in the desert of Egypt. They are typically in the form of a conversation between a younger monk and his spiritual father, or as advice given to visitors. Beginning as an oral tradition in the Coptic language, they were only later written down as Greek text. The stories were extremely popular among early Christian monks, and appeared in various forms and collections.
The original sayings were passed down from monk to monk, though in their current version most simply describe the stories in the form of "Abba X said ..." The early Desert Fathers also received many visitors seeking counseling, typically by asking "Give me a word, abba" or "Speak a word, abba, how can I be saved?" Some of the sayings are responses to those seeking guidance.
Many notable Desert Fathers are mentioned in the collections, including Anthony the Great, Abba Arsenius, Abba Poemen, Abba Macarius of Egypt, Abba Pachomius the Great, Abba Amoun the Hermit and Abba Moses the Black."Chryssavgis, pp. 19-29. The sayings also include those of three different ammas, most notably Syncletica of Alexandria. Sayings of the Desert Fathers influenced many notable theologians, including Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine.
History of the text The Desert Fathers of Egypt spoke Coptic, the latest stage of ancient Egyptian. The sayings were originally passed on orally in Coptic, but the original written version was Greek. The earliest written record of the sayings appears to be from the end of the 4th century AD. Two versions from the 5th century, the Collectio Monastica, written in Ethiopic, and the Asceticon of Isaiah of Scetis, written in Greek, show how the oral tradition became the written collections. There are surviving fragments of the Sayings in both the Sahidic and Bohairic dialects of Coptic, but they represent back-translations from Greek. They were collected and published by Marius Chaîne. It is likely that the Sayings were collected in Palestine, a region into which many Egyptian monks emigrated and where parts of the Sayings appear in fundamental texts of the period, such as The Life of Saint Melanie the Younger, Life of Saint Euthymius and the Reflections of Zosimas. Lucien Regnault highlights specifically the role of the monks and writers of the monastery of Seridos, who referenced the Sayings frequently. Dorotheus of Gaza has been also suggested as compiler of at least parts of the Sayings.
The Sayings have been translated in whole or in part several times. Pelagius and John the Deacon made the first translations into Latin. Martin of Braga also translated some of the Sayings into Latin, followed by a more extensive translation by Paschasius of Dumium in approximately 555. That work may contain only one fifth of the original Greek text.Barlow, pp. 5-6. In the 17th century, the Dutch Jesuit Heribert Rosweyde compiled and translated all the available sources on the Desert Fathers and published them in Latin as the Vitae patrum.
Two translations in Aramaic were made: the Nestorian monk Ânân Îshô's translation into Classical Syriac from the early 7th century, known as the Paradise of the Fathers; and a Christian Palestinian Aramaic translation known from dispersed fragments for the early transmission (6th to 7th century AD)Müller-Kessler, Christa (2022). "Piecing together Christian Palestinian Aramaic Texts under Georgian Manuscripts: (Saint Petersburg, NLR, Syr. 16; Sinai, Georg. NF 19, 71; Oslo, Martin Schøyen, MS 35, 37; Princeton, Garrett MS 24; Göttingen, Syr. 17, 19, 23, 25)", Digital Kartvelology 1, 41–44 https://adh.ge/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/M_ller-Kessler-DiKa-V1.pdf. as well as a fragmentary version for the later period (ca. 10th to 11th century AD), originating from or still housed at the Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount SinaiBrock, Sebastian P. (1995). Catalogue of Syriac Fragments (New Finds) in the Library of the Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Athens: Mount Sinai Foundation, 89, 309.Desreumaux, Alain apud Philothée du Sinaï (2008). Nouveaux manuscrits syriaques du Sinaï, Athens: Mount Sinai Foundation, 540–548.Desreumaux, Alain (2010). "Les manuscrits araméens christo-palestiniens du nouveau fonds du monastère de Sainte-Catherine du Sinaï,” Comptes rendus des scéances l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 154:3, 1325, fig. 6. There are also Armenian translations of both the Alphabetical and Systematic collections. In the period 867–872, Methodius of Thessaloniki translated the text into Old Church Slavonic, of which the original was lost in the 14th century, but several dozen copies of the Paterik''' (Патерікъ) survived. Some of the Sayings are preserved in Arabic and Georgian translations. Through the Asceticon, some of the Sayings made their way into Sogdian.
Helen Waddell translated a selection of elements from the Vitae patrum into English in the early 20th century.Helen Waddell, The desert fathers (translations from the Vitae Patrum), London: Constable & co., 1936. The first complete translation of the alphabetical "apophthegmata" into English is that of Benedicta Ward (1975).Benedicta Ward, The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection, Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 1975 (revised edition, 1985). English translations of the alphabetical, systematic, and anonymous collections were also later published by John Wortley from 2012 to 2014. The most comprehensive critical edition of the alphabetical "apophthegmata" was published by Tim Vivian in two volumes (2021, 2023).
Examples One time, the blessed Abba Theophilus the archbishop went to Scetis. But the brothers gathered and said to Abba Pambo: 'Tell the Father one word that he may benefit.' The old man told them: 'If he does not always benefit from our silence, then if we speak he will still not benefit.' Abbot Pastor said: 'If a man has done wrong and does not deny it, but says: "I did wrong," do not rebuke him, because you will break the resolution of his soul. And if you tell him: "Do not be sad, brother," but watch it in the future, you stir him up to change his life.' A hermit saw someone laughing, and said to him, "We have to render an account of our whole life before heaven and earth, and you can laugh?" Abba Longinus said to Abba Acacius: 'A woman knows she has conceived when she no longer loses any blood. So it is with the soul, she knows she has conceived the Holy Spirit when the passions stop coming out of her. But as long as one is held back in the passions, how can one dare to believe one is sinless? Give blood and receive the Spirit.'.
Collections Different Sayings collections include the Alphabetic Sayings, the Systematic Sayings, and the Anonymous Sayings.
Anonymous Sayings The sections of the Anonymous Sayings (Wortley 2013) are:
Sayings English Greek 1–36 – – 37–54 Concerning imperial officials Περὶ τῶν Μαγιστριανῶν 55–131 Concerning the holy habit of monks Περὶ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ ἁγίου τῶν μοναχῶν 132 Concerning anchorites Περὶ ἀναχωρητῶν 133–143 That we should pursue hêsychia and grief for sin Ὅτι δεῖ τὴν ἡσυχίαν καὶ τὴν κατάνυξιν μεταδιώκειν 144–215 Concerning temperance Περὶ ἐγκρατείας 216–253 On discretion Περὶ διακρίσεως 254–255 That one must be on his guard against judging anybody Ὅτι φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ τὸ μηδένα κρίνει 256–263 That nothing should be done for ostentation and that avarice should be avoided Περὶ τοῦ μηδὲν εἰς ἐπίδειξιν ποιεῖν, καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἀποστρέφεσθαι 264–280 That one should always be vigilant Περὶ τοῦ δεῖν πάντοτε νήφειν 281–289 On the necessity of being joyfully compassionate and hospitable Ὅτι χρὴ ἐλεεῖν καὶ φιλοξενεῖν ἐν ἱλαρότητι 290–297 On obedience Περὶ ὑπακοῆς 298–334 On humble-mindedness Περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης 335–343 Concerning forbearance Περὶ ἀνεξικακίας 344–358 Concerning charity Περὶ ἀγάπης 359–453 On those who have the gift of second sight Περὶ διορατικῶν 454–474 Concerning porneia Περὶ πορνείας 475–518 On not passing judgement Περὶ τοῦ μὴ κρίνειν 519–765 Concerning grief for sin [katanyxis, compunctio] Περὶ κατανύξεως
Wortley's Greek text of the Anonymous Sayings is based on the following manuscripts.
MS Paris Coislin 126, (10th-11th centuries), contains 676 sayings MS Sinai St. Catherine 448 (1004 AD), contains 765 sayings MS Vatic. Graec. 1599 (10th century), contains 765 sayings
Alphabetical Sayings The Alphabetical Sayings (Ward 1984) list the sayings of 131 Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers. Although some of the Desert Fathers quoted in the collection are well known, other names are obscure and difficult to identify.
Systematic Sayings The 20 chapters of the Systematic Sayings (Wortley 2012) are:
Chapter Title Prologue Prologue to The Book of the Elders Called Paradise 1 An Exhortation of Holy Fathers on Advancing toward Perfection 2 Every Effort Should Be Made to Pursue Hesychia 3 Sorrow for Sin [Katanyxis, "Compunction"] 4 Self-Control [Egkrateia] Should Be Achieved Not Only in the Case of Food but Also in Other Movements of the Soul 5 Various Narratives for Security in the Wars Arising against Us from Porneia 6 Poverty [Aktemosyne] and That It Is Necessary to Guard against Covetousness 7 Various Narratives Preparing Us for Patience and Courage 8 One Should Do Nothing for Show 9 One Should Guard against Judging Anybody 10 Discretion [Diakrisis] 11 One Should Ever Be on Watch 12 One Should Pray without Ceasing 13 One Must Joyfully Practice Hospitality and Show Compassion 14 Obedience 15 Humility 16 Forbearance [Anexikakia] 17 Love [Agape] 18 Those Who Have Second Sight [Dioratikoi] 19 Wonder-Working Elders 20 Virtuous Living
Versions There are four major versions of the Systematic Collection, in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Armenian. The earliest Greek manuscript of the Systematic Sayings is MS Athos Lavra B 37 (copied in 970 AD). The contents of each are:
+ The Greek Systematic Collection Book Chapter Titles No. of Sayings Book I Exhortation of the holy fathers concerning progress toward perfection 37 Book II Concerning peace (hesychia) to be pursued with all eagerness 35 Book III Concerning compunction 56 Book IV Concerning temperance in food and concerning the mastery of all 104 Book V Various stories to keep on guard against assaults of luxury 54 Book VI Concerning poverty and the necessity of keeping oneself from avarice 28 Book VII Various stories training us to patience and courage 62 Book VIII That nothing be done for show 32 Book IX To be on watch to not judge anyone 26 Book X Concerning discernment 194 Book XI Concerning the necessity of constant vigilance 127 Book XII Concerning unceasing prayer 28 Book XIII Concerning hospitality and almsgiving done with joy 19 Book XIV Concerning obedience 32 Book XV Concerning humility 136 Book XVI Concerning long-suffering 30 Book XVII Concerning charity 35 Book XVIII Concerning great visionaries 53 Book XIX Concerning those who work miracles 21 Book XX Concerning virtuous behavior 24 Book XXI Sayings of those who endure in asceticism, showing their eminent virtue 66 Total 1199