Choosing a Path to Glory: A Theory on Ascetical Performance SelectionSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NWB962QX/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Lawrence J.AltepeterChoosing a Path to Glory: A Theory on Ascetical Performance Selectionhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NWB962QXhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/NWB962QXhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/NWB962QX1999While the Early Christian world may have stood in essential agreement on the value of asceticism, the ascetical life itself took on a multitude of forms as evidenced by the various Early Christian ascetics. In this dissertation I argue that Early Christian ascetics did not haphazardly choose the ascetical acts which they incorporated into their lives, but that each ascetical activity was intentionally selected. More precisely, my thesis is that ascetical performance selection was determined by an ascetic's theology, anthropology, and the envisioned goal towards which the ascetic strove; all of which was significantly conditioned by the immediate dominant culture.
After presenting a quick survey of contemporary ascetical thought and theory (chap.1), I establish the validity of my thesis by applying it to four different Early Christian ascetical texts: Athanasius' Vita Antonii (chap. 2), Basil of Caesarea's Requlae fusius tractatae (chap.3), Theodoret of Cyrrhus' "Life of Symeon the Stylite" (chap.4), and James of Edessa's Conversatio vel paenitentia sanctae Pelagiae (chap. 5). In all four texts the goal sought is eternal salvation, but the differing theological and anthropological underpinnings result in distinct ascetical lifestyles. The Vita Antonii 's apprehension of the demonic--coupled with Egypt's history of anachoresis --leads it to an askesis based upon eremitism. In Basil's text the primary focus is upon charity which directs it to a cenobitical askesis . Symeon, perched upon his pillar, demonstrates an askesis deeply entrenched within the Syrian ascetical traditions of mourning, physical mobility restriction and societal withdraw. In order to redirect her focus from her inherent carnality, the transvestite Pelagia dons the dress of a male monastic. Each of these four texts promote a specific form of askesis , reflective of the theological and anthropological premises which undergird them as well as the influences of the immediate dominant culture.
Altepeter, Lawrence J. “Choosing a Path to Glory: A Theory on Ascetical Performance Selection.” Ph.D. dissertation, Saint Louis University, 1999.
Lawrence J. Altepeter, Choosing a Path to Glory: A Theory on Ascetical Performance Selection (Ph.D. dissertation, Saint Louis University, 1999).Simeon the StyliteSt PelagiaTheodoret of CyrusV CEasceticismhagiographystyliteswomen