SPEAR Factoids about Monasticism

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event: Sometime between 519-520 Severus of Antioch sent a letter to John and John on the subjects of whether or not non-Chalcedonian exiles in Egypt should take communion; and the question of what to do about Epimachus , a devout man ordained to the clergy but who had entered into a second marriage; and questions about the ordination of deacons and deaconesses in monasteries. See factoid page

event: Severus wrote a letter to Theodore cautioning him against entering the monastic life unless his wife also agreed to do the same. See factoid page

event: Severus of Antioch wrote a letter to the monastery of Mar Bassus urging them to remove a monk from their monastery who unlawfully abandoned his wife and children when he entered the monastery. See factoid page

event: Severus wrote a letter to Theodore urging him to keep his monastic vows. See factoid page

event: Betwen 521 and 531, Severus wrote a letter to Simeon the Presbyter about those who gave up the lifestyle of Simeon the Stylite. See factoid page

event: After leaving Thella, John returned to his former convent in the city of Callinicius. See factoid page

event: Close to death,the blessed man went into the vestry to pray. After a while,the archimandrite entered to find the man praying on his mat, as if he was asleep. As the Archimandrite spoke,the man gave up his soul to God. See factoid page

event: Simeon planned and built his cell two miles from Amida See factoid page

event: After much prayer,Mare was led by God to Paul the Anchorite who received him as his student. See factoid page

event: Mar Samuel stood on a column for a time before he began to build his convent. Abraham III sent his monks to help Mar Samuel build the convent. See factoid page

event: After spending five years with Paul,Mare exceeded his teacher in prayer, asceticism, and moderation. Many criticized Mare for the severity of his practices. See factoid page

event: Abraham comes to Constantinople to petition John of Ephesus to become a monk. He experiences a period of probation before being accepted. See factoid page

event: In 355/6 A. Gr. 667 Abraham Qidūnāyā became a hermit. See factoid page

event: While staying with Paul,Mare was tired of being pestered by his family, so he left Syria and journeyed to Egypt and Thebais, where he went to and fro in the desert with the saints, observing the prayer practices of monks and solitaries. See factoid page

event: Thomas and his wife built a monastery. See factoid page

event: After a period of some years, Zwtʾ and Daniel were also accepted as deacons See factoid page

event: Followers of the Council of Chalcedon expelled Christians from Alexandria and Mare from his desert cell. On account of the persecution,Mare resolved to travel to Constantinople to err his grievacnes with the king and queen. See factoid page

event: Elijah,Theodore, and their sisters turned their home into a hospice for the needy, practicing asceticism, fasting, praying, reading Scripture just like a monastery. See factoid page

event: Brothers and sisters came from Cappadocia to educate Thomas and his wife in religion. Many followed Thomas in selling their possessions. Thomas devoted himself to an ascetic life. See factoid page

event: Severus sent a letter to Jannia concerning her leadership as archimandritess. See factoid page

event: The monk who stole found a cell for himself, and lived in it for a week. See factoid page

event: After twenty years, Sergius received permission from Simeon to leave the monastery and shut himself up in a certain place close to the village. See factoid page

event: For a third time, the community was forced to leave their convent, travelling to Izla, ʿArab, and Dara. See factoid page

event: In 529 840 , John ordained seventy men from the convents of Amida. See factoid page

event: Theodore the Deacon asked Severus about the commands Jannia gave him. See factoid page

event: Elijah, Theodore, and their sisters decided to expand their ministry to the maltreated and persecuted believers in Syria, Arabia, Callinicus, selling everything that they owned. See factoid page

event: Mare confronted Justinian and Theodora concerning the persecution. Because of his words and dress, they esteemed him a holy man, and gave him a hundred weight of gold, which he promptly threw away. See factoid page

event: Susan sought out the women's monastery between Ascalon and Gaza. See factoid page

event: Severus advises Jannia to rule with fear and mercy, bringing forth repentance through ascetic acts of penance, and dismissing women if the community is threatened by their actions. See factoid page

event: Harfat wanted to divide the family wealth and property in order to give it to the poor. His kinsman Anonymi 3764 refused. Harfat took 5000 denarii cash and distributed it to the poor. Then he withdrew to a monastery. See factoid page

event: Elijah died before becoming a monk, but his wife and daughter joined a convent in Mabbug. The sisters presided over a monastery in N'ns, in the region of Anzetene. See factoid page

event: Mary endured the 15-year persecution during her 30 years as a monastic. See factoid page

event: Susan was at first refused admission to the monastery due to her age, but after three days of waiting outside the gate and weeping, she was admitted. See factoid page

event: Severus encourages Jannia to lead by example, citing the apostle Paul and King David as models. See factoid page

event: Between 513 and 518, Severus wrote a letter to Misael, thanking him for his generosity and urging him not to become a solitary. See factoid page

event: Feeling guilty about the hundredweight gold,the queen sent her chamberlains several times to Mare to seek his forgiveness. See factoid page

event: Between A.D. 521 and 526 the community was forced to leave their monastery by the defenders of the corrupt synod of Chalcedon. The community was so large, that the monastery of Mar Mama in the village of Hzyn in Ṭyšf could not hold them. See factoid page

event: Sometime between 530 and 536, in the month of November,a stranger came to the convent outside of Amida . Dirty and worn out,he stood at vespers and at table without speaking. See factoid page

event: When Theodore took his monastic vows he considered entering the the house of the saintly presbyter Theodore but chose not to do so. See factoid page

event: Many began to flock to Mare for a blessing, and they were amazed at his prayer and dress. Mare refused to eat anything that was not produced by the labour of his hands. See factoid page

event: Severus rebuked Misael for his desire to leave public life in order to become a solitary. See factoid page

event: Severus commanded the brothers to compel Stephen to accept the position of bishop over the Anasarthians. See factoid page

event: To convince Misael to remain in his position, Severus cited several scripture passages, as well as an historical anecdote of Anonymous 3057 and Anonymous 3058 who gave up their solitude in order to combat the heresy of Arius. See factoid page

event: After many years, Mare was fatigued due to his strenuous way of life. He sought out one of Theodora's chamberlains, who secured the goal necessary to buy a villa suited for a life of retreat. See factoid page

event: Habib travelled as far as Syria. See factoid page

event: Susan's companions in the monastery were skeptical of her devotion and tested her. See factoid page

event: Susan dedicated herself to fasting, praying, and keeping vigil, which after two years, made her the most devout person in the monastery. See factoid page

event: Because of the persecution of John, Thomas and his followers departed from Armenia. Travelling to the district of Claudias, Thomas build two monasteries on a mountain overlooking the Euphrates. See factoid page

event: Susan changed her name so that she would remain hidden from her parents who were searching for her. See factoid page

event: Thomas and Maria and their sons committed themselves to a diet of only fruit and some grain, tasting bread and wine only when absolutely necessary. See factoid page

event: For five years the community attracted many into their company, some coming as far as Ingilene. All were impressed by the religious devotion of the community; all who joined them turned from sin, committing their lives to prayer, worship, singing, and monastic devotion. See factoid page

event: After ten years of service in the monastery, the Chalcedonian persecution forced Susan and the nuns to choose between conforming or going into exile. See factoid page

event: The majority of the nuns in Susan's convent conformed, but some chose exile. See factoid page

event: Sometime between 519-525 Anonymous 3751 conducted a trial in an un-canonical fashion to addressed accusations of sexual sin between John and Anonymi 3752. This brought him into conflict with the archimandritess Heracliana The details of this event are difficult to decipher. See factoid page

event: After five years in Mar Mara, the community returned to Amida, but because of persecution, relocated to the border territory of the East, near the hot springs of Abarne, settling at the convent of the Poplars. See factoid page

event: John moved to Constantinople because of a spiritual loss that consistently brought him to tears. See factoid page

event: Anonymi 3695 went to fetch Anonymi 3662, who immediately came to the cave to retrieve Susan. Susan did not respond to their entreaties, since demons had visited her the day before disguised as the sisters in an attempt to dislodge her from the hermitage. See factoid page

event: Even though Anonymi 3662 managed to convince Susan that they were not demons, she refused to return to the monastery with them as she wished to live as a hermit. They agreed to bring her a jug of water and seven bread cakes a week for her sustenance on the condition that she will not leave without giving them prior notice. This went on for three years, during which time the fame of the Susan and her sisters grew. See factoid page

event: Anonymi 3664 came to Susan and Anonymi 3352 from Alexandria and from Libya. See factoid page

event: Maro and and his ten disciples had been Susan's neighbors in a monastery in Palestine before they were driven out of their monastery by the Chalcedonian persecution. They made their way to Susan and Anonymi 3662. See factoid page

event: When Mare was thirty, he went against his family's wish for him to marry by committing himself to the Lord. See factoid page

event: Theodore gave all his wealth to the poor and needy. See factoid page

event: Monastery authorities were becoming resentful of Hala giving to the poor. See factoid page

event: Stephen intended to live an ascetic life, but he was sickly and feeble of body. See factoid page

event: John describes the lengthy process by which men enter the monastery of Anonymous 3762. After one month of testing they may become penitents, after three months they many be partially tonsured and wear a limited monastic habit. Only after three years they may become monks, fully tonsured and wearing the complete habit. See factoid page

event: Peter, later bishop of Smyrna, and Photius entered the Monastery of the Fathers in the Enaton of Alexandria. See factoid page

event: After dinner, the man began to weep. During evening worship, he appeared to sleep on his rug, crying throughout the night. See factoid page

event: Abbi lived nine years in the monastic community at the village of Ḥzyn. See factoid page

event: After six years of living in the pit, Thomas's trials left him physically ill and infirm. See factoid page

event: Maro and Anonymi 3665 settled near Susan and Anonymi 3662. Many others followed and settled near the holy sisters. Anonymi 3662 and Susan did not wish to cause scandal by living in such close proximity to men, so they endeavored to leave their tower and go further into the desert. See factoid page

event: Kashish entered the Monastery of John Urtaya in Amida. See factoid page

event: Speaking with the archimandrite,the man decided to stay in the convent for the winter. He continued in his silence and weeping, garnering the appreciation of the brothers, who were encouraged by him. See factoid page

event: Severus wrote a letter to Valieriena thanking God for her new position as archimandritess and giving advice on how to lead the holy virgins under her care. See factoid page

event: Anonymi 3693 were the inhabitants of the Monastery of the Fathers in the Enaton who admired the asceticism of Peter and Photius. See factoid page

event: When strangers came to the monastery Hala would wash and annoint them. See factoid page

event: James withdrew from Convent of the Eddessens and received the monastery of Beth Musika. See factoid page

event: Maro and Anonymi 3665 felt ashamed once they learned of Susan's plan to remove herself and Anonymi 3662 to the desert and offered to build them an enclosed monastery with a tower within the village, so that they could be isolated but remain close to the other holy men and women who travelled to be near her. Susan reluctantly agreed. See factoid page

event: Sergius, who was the disciple of Simeon was also a monk and a recluse, who lived an aescetic life in an enclosure. In order to avoid idleness, Simeon and Sergius taught young boys and infants from their enclosure through a window. See factoid page

event: In his tears and sighs,the blessed man prophecied that he would die in three days. While on his deathbed, he shared with the brothers that he had been thirty-nine years since he had taken his monastic vows, asking for their prayers and blessings. See factoid page

event: The old man continuously asked the archimandrite of the Amida convent for a dismissal. Curious, John asks the man about his eating, sleeping, and prayer habits. He eats and prays the way he does out of recognition of human sinfulness. See factoid page

How to cite:

“Keyword Page for Monasticism,” in SPEAR: Syriac Persons Events and Relations, general editor Daniel L. Schwartz, $nav-base/aggregate/keyword/monasticism.html, 2023-03-23T12:33:48.369-04:00.

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