The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
The Apophthegmata patrum: The Alphabetic Collection
Translated, with an introduction by Benedicta Ward SLG; Foreword by Metropolitan Anthony [Bloom] of Sourzah
`Give me a word, Father', visitors to early desert monks asked. The responses of these pioneer ascetics were remembered and in the fourth century written down in Coptic, Syriac, Greek, and later Latin. Their Sayings were collected, in this case in the alphabetical order of the monks and nuns who uttered them, and read by generations of Christians as life-giving words that would help readers along the path to salvation.
". . . the only English translation of the most complete version of the Apophthegmata Patrum, a compilation of sayings from the desert monks of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in the fourth to sixth century, likely to be widely read and enjoyed for their own sake." -Choice
"A delightful insight into the lives of ascetics who left all to follow Christ . . . a very readable translation of an important collection of sayings." -Sisters Today
". . . should be on the shelf of every library concentrating in spirituality." -Abba
