Desert Fathers
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The Desert Fathers were Christian Hermits, Ascetics and Monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt, beginning in about the third century. Very few of the Desert Fathers lived in other deserted regions of Egypt. The original desert hermits were Christians fleeing the chaos and persecution of the Roman Empire's Crisis of the third century. Christians were often scapegoated during these times of unrest, and near the end of the century, this persecution was made systematic by the emperor Diocletian. In Egypt, Christian refugee communities formed at the edges of population centers, far enough away to be safe from Imperial scrutiny, but still close enough to have access to civilization. Records from this time indicate that Christians often lived in tombs and trashheaps on the edges of major cities, more or less protected by their obscurity.
Essential texts
- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum)
- The Lives of the Desert Fathers (Historia Monachorum in Aegypte)
- The Lausiac History by Palladius of Galatia
- The Life of Saint Antony by St. Athanasius
- Philokalia collection of texts
- The Conferences and The Institutes by John Cassian
See also
- Cappadocian Fathers
- Coptic Monasticism
- Christian monasticism
- Eastern Christian monasticism
- Philokalia
- Theoria
