Desert and monastic writers
Writers of the desert and the monasteries.
Macarius of Egypt
Desert father; the Spiritual Homilies are attributed to him.
1 workDesert Fathers (anonymous)
The anonymous sayings, stories and lives of the monks of Egypt, Scetis and Palestine, collected from the fourth century on and preserved in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic and other languages.
4 worksShenoute of Atripe
Abbot of the White Monastery near Atripe in Upper Egypt and the greatest writer of Coptic literature. His sermons and letters against idolatry, heresy and lax monks survive in Coptic, many only in fragments.
1 workPalladius of Galatia
Author of the Lausiac History of the desert monks.
6 worksBesa of Atripe
Shenoute’s disciple and successor as head of the White Monastery in Upper Egypt. His short letters to monks and nuns, urging them to keep vigil, avoid theft and drunkenness and hold to the rule, survive in Coptic.
1 workJohn Cassian
Brought the teaching of the desert fathers to the West.
9 works