[Asceticism and Mystical Theology.doc]

The concept of labor or gainful employment as an ascetical exercise is alluded to in the New Testament (Eph 4.28; 2Th 3.11; Col.3.23) and is more clearly expressed in early Christian monastic rules.  The earliest cenobitic communities founded by Pachomius (d. 346) engaged in agriculture and fishing, and the Rule of Benedict (c. 540) mandates manual labor as part of the monk’s ascetical regime.  Desert Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries recommended that psalmody or monologistic prayer should accompany the askēsis of manual labor. (Alphabetical Sayings, Antony 1; Ward (1975): 1; Barsanuphius, Letter 143; Chryssavgis 2006: 165-167).  The Rule of Benedict similarly assigned spiritual value to mundane tasks, giving them a quasi-contemplative character, (Benedict, Rule 31; Fry 1981: 226-229) and provided a schedule of psalms arranged in such a way that the shortest and easiest to memorize could be recited in the fields while engaging in seasonal agricultural labor or other work (Benedict, Rule 48; Fry 1981: 248-253).  Initially such labor interspersed with prayer was regarded as a means of keeping the mind focused on God during work; later sources came to see it as a means of consecrating the tasks themselves, of intentionally offering labor and service as a gift to God.

    Service of others, especially the poor and defenseless, has also taken on the character of an ascetical practice in Christianity.  From the beginning Christians have been expected to implement Jesus’ ethical precepts of compassion towards all.   Early patristic texts attest to particular concern for the state of those most vulnerable and unable to defend themselves, including especially the poor, widows, infants and the unborn (Didache 2; Roberts 1886: 377-378; Epistle of Barnabas 19-20; Roberts 1885b: 148-149).  Over time the expression of this charity has increasingly taken on institutional forms.  In the early church the clerical order of deacons was chiefly responsible for caring for the poor and vulnerable.  In the Christian East, Basil of Caesarea (d.379) entrusted the care of the sick to monks.  Throughout the middle ages religious orders and lay societies arose that specialized in particular forms of social service, such as vocational and liberal education, nursing, and care of the poor. The Mercedarian Order was founded in 1218 for the ransom of Christian slaves.  Camillus de Lellis (d.1614) founded an order for the care of the sick, especially victims of plague.  Vincent de Paul (d.1660) founded an order of priests and an order of nuns to educate and care for the poor.  In the nineteenth century Florence Nightingale (d. 1910), an English Protestant, adapted the training methods and practices of a German Lutheran nursing order to effectively create the secular profession of nursing.  Other modern examples include: Eastern Orthodox religious communities devoted to the care of the sick and poor; Albert Schweizer (d.1965), a Protestant biblical scholar and missionary physician in Gabon, Africa; and Mother Teresa of Calcutta (d.1997), foundress of the Missionary Daughters and Missionary Brothers of Charity, two religious orders dedicated to the care of the homeless and the dying. The organizations founded or inspired by these individuals often provide a variety of means by which those who wish to affiliate themselves to their work may share to some extent in their asceticism of service.

This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2003....x....  ’ “”.