4/22/2024 0 Comments Amma syncleticaThey were women who, ever since their youth, in their own homes or in the solitude of a tomb, like Syncletica, or in solitary dwellings, like Sarah, or in a monastery, like Theodora, had consecrated their lives to monasticism, in order to undertake a serious and arduous ascetic journey which, under the guidance of the Spirit, had led them to the most sublime heights of virtue. Who were the Desert Mothers?īut who were these Mothers who had made following the Risen One their sole objective in life? Their sayings are an important testimony to the reputation they enjoyed, their teaching, and the roles they carried out. Although they are very few in relation to the number of Desert Fathers, they were no less important. The Alphabetical Collection mentions 133 Fathers and three Mothers: Ammas Sarah, Theodora, and Syncletica. The most important groupings are the Alphabetical Collection, sorted according to author and arranged in alphabetical order, and the Systematic Collection, which contains Apophthegmata grouped according to subject, as for example: humility, obedience, charity, not judging. The words of exhortation and teaching expressed by these Abbas and Ammas of Egyptian monasticism in Late Antiquity, to help their own disciples - religious and lay people - were collected and transcribed in various collections of the Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers). In other words, which path to take, which ascetic practices to perform, which virtues to attain, how to conquer the attacks of the devil and his temptations: in short, how to live in the here and now, in order to obtain eternal Life. “How do we save ourselves?” This question was addressed to the spiritual Fathers and Mothers in the desert of ancient Egypt, so that they might point out “what should be done” in the concreteness of “practical life”, in order to attain Salvation.
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