Psalmody and Prayer in the Writings of Evagrius Ponticus

by Dysinger, Luke

• ISBN13: 9780199273201
• ISBN10: 0199273200
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-04-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Evagrius Ponticus was the most prolific writer of the Christian Desert Fathers. This book is a study of his life, works, and theology. It gives particular attention to his little-studied exegetical treatises, especially the Scholia on Psalms, as well as his better-known works, in order topresent a more balanced picture of Evagrius the monk. The practice of psalmody in Northern Egyptian monastic communities of the late fourth century is explored, as is Evagrius' understanding of psalmody's healing properties, and his recommendation of memorized scripture as a spiritual weapon againsttemptation. Further chapters discuss Evagrius' model of spiritual progress and his use of medical terminology and theory; the logoi of providence and judgement and their use in Christian contemplation; and Evagrius' controversial Christology and his work, the Kephalaia Gnostica.

Author Biography

Father Luke Dysinger is a monk of Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California and Assistant Professor in the Department of Moral Theology and Church History, Saint John's Seminary, Camarillo, California.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	viii
Introduction	1	(6)
The Life and Thought of Evagrius Ponticus	7	(41)
Biography	8	(9)
Writings	17	(10)
Narrative Treatises and Letters	19	(1)
Kephalaia and Exegetical Texts	20	(4)
Relative Dating of Evagrius' Works	24	(3)
Ascetical and Mystical Theology	27	(21)
Evagrian Psychology, Anthropology, and Cosmology	29	(5)
Asceticism and Contemplation	34	(14)
The Monastic Discipline of Psalmody	48	(14)
Athanasius, Palladius, and the Desert Fathers	49	(4)
John Cassian	53	(9)
The Practice of Psalmody	54	(4)
The Spirit of Psalmody	58	(4)
Evagrius on Exegesis and Psalmody	62	(42)
Contemplative Exegesis	62	(8)
Evagrius' Principal Texts on Psalmody	70	(32)
De Oratione 82	73	(15)
De Oratione 83	88	(9)
De Oratione 85	97	(1)
Praktikos 69--71; Scholion 1 on Psalm 137.1	98	(4)
Summary	102	(2)
Psalmody as Spiritual Remedy	104	(27)
The Physician of Souls	104	(20)
Medical Imagery in Origen	106	(5)
Medical Imagery in Athanasius and the Cappadocians	111	(4)
Evagrius' Use of Medical Language and Theory	115	(9)
The Calming of Thumos	124	(7)
The Psalter as Spiritual Weapon	131	(19)
Psalms in the Antirrhetikos	132	(10)
Antirrhetic Texts in the Scholia on Psalms	142	(8)
The Psalter as Contemplative Vision	150	(46)
Christ in the Psalter	152	(19)
The Logoi of Judgement and Providence	171	(25)
Judgement and the Variety of Bodies	176	(8)
Providence and the Mediators of Spiritual Progress	184	(12)
Conclusion	196	(3)
Appendix 1: The Nous of Christ in the Kephalaia Gnostica	199	(13)
Appendix 2: Select Pages from MS Vaticanus Graecus 754	212	(5)
Bibliography	217	(20)
Index	237