Renouncing the World Yet Leading the Church: The Monk-Bishop in Late Antiquity

369 Pages·2004·1.07 MB·English

by  Andrea Sterk

Renouncing the World Yet Leading the Church

Renouncing the World Yet
Leading the Church
The Monk-Bishop in Late Antiquity
Andrea Sterk
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge,Massachusetts
London,England
2004
ToTony,Timmy,andPeter
Copyright©2004bythePresidentandFellowsofHarvardCollege
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Sterk,Andrea.
Renouncingtheworldyetleadingthechurch:themonk-bishopinlate
antiquity/AndreaSterk.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-674-01189-9(alk.paper)
1.Leadership—Religiousaspects—Christianity—
HistoryofDoctrines—Earlychurch,ca.30–600.
2.Asceticism—History—Earlychurch,ca.30–600.
3.Basil,Saint,BishopofCaesarea,ca.329–379.
4.Gregory,ofNyssa,Saint,ca.335–ca.394.
5.Gregory,ofNazianzus,Saint.
6.JohnChrysostom,Saint,d.407. I.Title.
BR195.L42S742004
262′.12′09015—dc22 2003056717
Acknowledgments Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Mostoftheresearchandwritingofthisbooktookplaceinthreediffer-
ent stages in Princeton, New Jersey. It began as a dissertation on Basil
of Caesarea at Princeton Theological Seminary. For critique, direction,
andadviceduringthatperiodIamindebtedtoKarlfriedFroehlich,Paul
Rorem, and especially my adviser, Kathleen McVey, who has provided
ongoing support and encouragement. Graduate seminars with Peter
BrownatPrincetonUniversityandwiththelateFatherJohnMeyendorff
at Fordham University also provided inspiration for different parts of
thisbook.
The second major phase of research and writing took place at the
Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, where I was a member-in-
residenceforninemonthsin1997.ThoughIhadintendedtocomplete
the book during that period, the project expanded into a broader study
than I had originally envisioned. The wonderful facilities of the center,
the supportive environment, and the easy access to the fine collections
of the Speer and Firestone Libraries made this a very productive time.
ThefinalphaseofwritingtookplaceinPrincetononceagain,thistime
attheInstituteforAdvancedStudy.ThoughitwasmyhusbandandnotI
whowasafellowthere,Iamindebtedtotheinstituteforprovidingsuch
a fine living and working environment and to Giles Constable for wel-
comingmeintotheengaginggroupofscholarswhomadeupthemedi-
eval seminar. Both the Center of Theological Inquiry and the Institute
forAdvancedStudydoalltheycantoaccommodatescholarswithfami-
liesandtomeettheneedsofacademiccouples.
In between these more focused periods of writing, I have taught at
Calvin College, the University of Notre Dame, and, most recently, the
University of Florida. I am grateful to supportive colleagues at each of
theseinstitutions.DuringandafterhisbrieftenureasdirectoroftheMe-
dieval Institute at Notre Dame, Patrick Geary provided moral support
v
vi Acknowledgments
and practical advice at several crucial junctures. Special thanks are due
to Dave Jenkins, the Byzantine research librarian at Notre Dame, who
provided professional assistance in a number of ways. The Byzantine
reading group he organized translated one of the major hagiographic
texts I discuss in the epilogue. This group turned a potentially tedious
projectintoafruitfulandtrulyenjoyablecollaborationduringanother-
wisedifficultyear.
Parts of this book were first presented as papers at meetings of the
AmericanSocietyofChurchHistory,theNorthAmericanPatristicSoci-
ety, the Byzantine Studies Conference, and at the Conference on
Byzantine Monasticisms held in Toronto. I am grateful for audience
questionsandresponses,forthecommentsofSusannaElmontwoocca-
sions,andfortheparticipationofotherpanelistswhohelpedmetoclar-
ify and sharpen my treatment of certain issues. Claudia Rapp went be-
yond the call of duty in passing on bibliographic information, even
sendingoneofherownarticlesbeforeitappearedinprint.
ForreadingandcommentingondifferentchaptersofthisbookIwish
tothankFrederickNorris,UtePossekel,PeterBrown,PhilipRousseau,
andNicholasConstas.Iwouldalsoliketothankthetwooutsidereaders
at Harvard University Press and my editor, Margaretta Fulton, for their
sane comments and suggestions. Any errors that remain are of course
myown.
FinallyIamindebtedtomyhusband,HowardLouthan,whowasmy
chief critic, support, and encourager through the long and often lonely
project.Itspannedthebirthsofthreeboys,andtwelvemoves—includ-
ingthreedifferentcountriesandfourdifferentstates.Thoughourthree
delightful boys certainly delayed its completion, they also provided a
senseofperspectivethatenabledmetocontinuethroughthelonghaul.
ItistothemthatIdedicatethisbook.
Contents Contents
Contents
Introduction 1
I BASILOFCAESAREAANDTHEEMERGENCEOFANIDEAL
1 MonksandBishopsintheChristianEast
from325to375 13
2 AsceticismandLeadershipintheThoughtof
BasilofCaesarea 35
3 ReframingandReformingtheEpiscopate:
Basil’sDirectInfluence 66
II THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEAL
4 GregoryofNyssa:OnBasil,Moses,
andEpiscopalOffice 95
5 GregoryofNazianzus:AsceticLifeand
EpiscopalOfficeinTension 119
6 JohnChrysostom:TheModelMonk-Bishop
inSpiteofHimself 141
III THE TRIUMPH OF AN IDEAL
7 FromNuisancestoEpiscopalIdeals:
CivilandEcclesiasticalLegislation 163
8 NormalizingtheModel:TheFifth-Century
ChurchHistories 178
9 TheBroadeningAppeal:Monasticand
HagiographicalLiterature 192
Epilogue:TheLegacyofthe
Monk-BishopintheByzantineWorld 219
viii Contents
Abbreviations 247
Notes 249
FrequentlyCitedWorks 348
Index 351
RenouncingtheWorldYetLeadingtheChurch Introduction
Introduction
Inthelastfewdecadesofthefourthcenturythemonasticsettlementsof
Nitria were in their heyday. Situated on a rocky promontory above the
southwesternstreamsoftheNileDeltasomefortymilessoutheastofAl-
exandria, Nitria functioned as the gateway to the Egyptian desert and
themeetingplaceofmonkswiththewiderworld.1Butitwasneitherthe
distinctive geography or topography of this wilderness nor its relative
accessibilitytovisitorsthatmadeitwellknowninEgyptandfarbeyond.
Itsfamewasduetothereputationoftheholyasceticswhoinhabitedthe
desert region—devoted Christian men and women who had renounced
all worldly possessions, temporal affairs, and even ecclesiastical ambi-
tions.
AmongtheasceticsofNitrialivedamonknamedAmmoniuswhohad
beentrainedbythegreatPambo.Likehisspiritualfather,Ammoniusbe-
camerenownedforhisrigorousausteritiesandextremerenunciations.2
Notonlydidhedenyhimselfanycookedfoodotherthanbreadbutalso,
totamehispassionswhendesirearose,heheatedanironinthefireand
appliedittohislimbs.However,whilePambohadbeenanilliteratesa-
vant, his disciple was a man of considerable erudition, said to have
learned the whole of the Bible by heart as well as a multitude of texts
fromthewritingsofOrigen,Didymus,andotherfathers.Givenhisintel-
lectual capacities and his reputation for sanctity, it is perhaps not sur-
prisingthatinhabitantsofanearbyEgyptiancityshouldapproachtheir
archbishopwiththerequestthatthelearnedasceticbeappointedbishop
overtheirdiocese.Awareofthemonk’srenownforbothpietyandlearn-
ing, Bishop Timothy of Alexandria asked only that the citizens bring
1