Discussion: The Lives of the Monks of Palestine

Author: Cyril of Scythopolis

Description: The Lives of the Monks of Palestine, written by Cyril of Scythopolis in the mid-6th century, is a collection of hagiographies documenting the lives of prominent monks in the Judean Desert monasteries during the 4th to 6th centuries. Composed in Greek, this work is a key source for understanding Palestinian monasticism in late antiquity, a period when the region was a center of Christian asceticism. Cyril, a monk himself, wrote these biographies to edify and inspire, drawing on oral traditions, written sources, and his own experiences in monasteries like the Great Laura of St. Sabas. His work reflects the theological and cultural dynamics of the time, particularly the tensions following the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE).The text comprises seven principal lives, with the most detailed being those of St. Euthymius (d. 473) and St. Sabas (d. 532), founders of influential monasteries.

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