Луг духовный

Cistercian Studies Series #139

by John Moschos, Михаил Хитров (Translator), И. Бабкина (Editor)

«Луг духовный» (Лимонарь, Синайский патерик) — сборник рассказов о святых и подвижниках. Иоанн Мосх собрал богатый материал во время путешествий, которые он предпринял вместе со своим другом Софронием Иерусалимским по палестинским и египетским обителям. Рассказы эти богаты по содержанию: широкая панорама жизни христиан Восточной Империи, затрагиваются аскетические, литургические, догматические темы. Читти говорит об Иоанне Мосхе как о «великом составителе антологии Пустыни [...]. Иоанн Мосх оставил монастыри Иудеи и начал странствие по Палестине, Египту, Синаю, Сирии и, в конце концов, отправился на Запад на Самос и в Рим. Его труд, несомненно, является именно антологией, о чем он и сам говорит в предисловии: «розы, лилии и фиалки собраны случайным образом и сплетены в прихотливую гирлянду»; в значительной степени это «родословия», охватывающие в некоторых случаях период в сто пятьдесят лет, которые обычно вообще не имеют отношения к опыту самого автора».

Genres: Religion, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, History, Classics

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 600

Reviews

[Einschrein · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Dalrymple wrote a book called From the Holy Mountain which traces the author and journey of theis book through the Christian world at the advent of Islam. I read them as companion books although Moschus clearly had a different agenda than Dalrymple. Nevertheless, both books offer amazing insights into the Christian world of the 7th century - a fascinating and scary time in Europe and the Middle East.

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a bit at a time in the morning, and it was wonderful. There were sublime spiritual truths, beautiful commentaries, and laugh-out-loud moments. A treasure and one to return to and ponder.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Moschus and his companion Sophronius (later St. Sophronius, who wrote the biography of St. Mary of Egypt)--both from Damascus--traveled through Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Greece in the late 500's with the aim of collecting wisdom of desert fathers. This book is basically a travel memoir of conversations with people (mostly religious) that they met. So, you know, it's Byzantine travel writing. And brilliant. And virtually unknown today, although wildly popular in previous centuries. (Thanks to Wes Callihan for the background info). At times funny, at times astonishing (but maybe not, if you believe in miracles), and sometimes a slog, it's nevertheless a fascinating look at Christianity before the rise of Islam.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who are looking for a book about Eastern Orthodoxy, I would not recommend starting with this book. It is a collection of anecdotes from very early times of monasticism (6th century). I picked this up because I was reading the absolutely fascinating (and at times bone-chilling) "From The Holy Mountain" (by William Dalrymple), in which the author follows the path of John Moschos as taken from "The Spiritual Meadow". I read the two books in parallel, which I highly recommend. In isolation, however, I have countless other books I would recommend as a launching point into Eastern Orthodoxy. The first I almost always recommend being, "The Mountain of Silence" by Kyraicos C. Markides.
For those who want a consolidated understanding of all things in the middle east (current and past), it would be hard to find a better source tha Dalrymple's "From the Holy Mountain". An absolute MUST READ. Dalrymple manages to distill millenia of conflict into understandable retrospection.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Moschus traveled about the eastern Mediterranean region collecting stories from monks and solitaries. Some of the anecdotes recall the severe sayings of the earliest desert fathers; many tell of miraculous episodes and visions; and many are colored by the religious rivalries of the period. There is a fair amount of Byzantine Orthodox propaganda, revealing the fissures that had opened up in the churches of Egypt and Syria and would pain Christianity in that part of the world for centuries to come. A few of the stories are shockingly harsh and represent ascetic extremes condemned by other monastic writers. All in all, the Leimonarion is an intriguing portrayal of sixth-century monastic spirituality in the Greek world; for inspiration or guidance in the spiritual life, there are better collections. Nevertheless, even here there are some stories which stand out as touching or edifying, and given its brevity and historical interest, I would say it is worth the read.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful document of early monasticism from the eastern tradition. These tales, though on surface seem simple and outlandish, are full of wisdom and insight into the vagaries of the human heart and the of its transformation.

[Saint Katherine BookstoreVA]

In this engaging spiritual travelogue from the 6th century AD, St. John regals us with first-hand accounts and collected stories from his travels through monasteries between Egypt and Palestine. Moschos was born in Damascus and tonsured a monk at St. Theodosios outside Bethlehem. He later lived at Paran in Judean desert, where he became spiritual father to the younger Sophronius, who later became patriarch of Jerusalem. Sophronius became Moschos’ traveling companion, following him to Egypt, then back to Palestine in search of the spiritual counsels of great elders and abbots. The Spiritual Meadow has been widely read for over a thousand years in both Greek and Latin texts. This translation is extensively footnoted, adding to the understanding and enjoyment of the stories.
Moschos identified the teller of almost every story and the place where he heard it. Some are very short snippets of spiritual advice. Others are longer stories of miraculous interventions and conversions. Moschos was frequently an eyewitness or first-hand interviewer:

One day I went to the house of Master Cosmos the lawyer and, as I was quite familiar with him, I said to him, ‘Of your charity, how long have you been leading the solitary life?’ … He remained silent a little longer, and then he told me: ‘For thirty-three years.’ When I heard this, I glorified God. Another time I came to him and asked him: … ‘will you tell me what you have accomplished in so long a period of solitude and continence?’ He heaved a great sigh from the depths of his heart and said to me: ‘What shall a man living in the world accomplish, especially a man who stays in his own house?’ Yet I begged him to tell me for the Lord's sake and for the good of my soul. Finally, coerced by my persistence, he said: ‘Forgive me; there are three things I know of which I have accomplished: not to laugh, not to swear, and not to lie.’ (141-2)

It is challenging for a modern reader to accept these accounts of great spiritual feats, severe asceticism, and miracles small and large. For someone not steeped in Orthodoxy, I imagine it would be almost impossible to see them as anything other than fables. But it should not be so among us. Moschos and Sophronius are canonized saints, the Church attesting to their virtue. And with the rebirth of Orthodox monastic life over the last sixty years, we can again see fresh fruits borne of the spiritual life that shore up and validate these ancient stories.

[Stella Metcalf]

John moschus and sophronios travel all across the Byzantine world (and further!) talking with Christians and hearing the oral traditions of monastic communities. Really odd stories that reveal a lot about this world of the late sixth/early seventh century and the overlap between Christianity / “real religion” and folk magic or folktales. John Moschus definitely hates women more than John of Ephesus because of his privileged position as an “orthodox” chalcedonian Christian

[Dimitris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ενώ πολλά Γεροντικά και Φιλοκαλίες του Μεσαίωνα και τόσοι Αγιορείτικοι Βίοι Ασκητών από τον εικοστό αιώνα είναι κάπως πιο «προσιτοί» και διδακτικοί για μας, το Λειμωνάριο με διηγήσεις από τον πέμπτο αιώνα μ.Χ. στις ερήμους του Σινά, την πιο έντονη εποχή της πρώτης Εκκλησίας, μού φάνηκε σχεδόν εκτός πραγματικότητος με τα υπερβολικά γεγονότα ακραίων ασκητών που μάς διαφύλαξε.

[miremnao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Несколько историй очень понравились, но в целом вяло.

[Christy Whitsell]

Read a third, had to return interlibrary loan. Not able to get it again. Don’t want to purchase.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, peripatetic collection of Byzantine miracle stories. Like, I think, a lot of non-Byzantinists, I came here via William Dalrymple’s work, and I’m glad I did.

[Gabriella Gallagher · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book.