The Influence of Egyptian Monasticism on Mesopotamia

Abstract

Egyptian monasticism exerted heavy influence on the Christians of Greater Mesopotamia as early as the sixth century if not even earlier. Monks traveled from Mesopotamia to Egypt where they immersed themselves in local monastic spirituality and practices, while Egyptian monastic writings were almost systematically compiled and translated from Coptic and Greek into Syriac. The Paradise of the Fathers containing the Lausiac History, History of the Monks in Egypt and Sayings of the Desert Fathers proved to be immensely popular among generations of monks and ascetics in Mesopotamia. The Paradise includes the vitae of Egyptian monastic personalities but many other ones were individually translated and are found in numerous manuscripts. Some manuscripts are not only early in date (sixth century), they also precede the Greek and Coptic manuscripts containing the same texts by several centuries.