o The monks presented an alternative culture, based not on
wealth but poverty, not on power but weakness, not on prestige
but lowliness.o In their communal life, they saw themselves as “New
Testament Christians” living the “apostolic life” described by
the Acts of the Apostles.o In a real sense, the impulse that drove the Reformation of the
16 th century was active already in early monasticism: a return
to simplicity, poverty, the imitation of Jesus, and the trusting
faith of the heart.Evagrius of Pontus and Palladius
• The appeal of the monastic life even for the wealthy and
sophisticated can be seen in the figures of Evagrius of Pontus
and Palladius.
• Evagrius of Pontus (345–399) was born Christian and was educated
in Constantinople. After an inappropriate love relationship when
in priestly orders, he fled to Jerusalem and joined a monastery
of Rufinus and Melania. He spent most of his life in the desert in
Nitria. A disciple of Origen, his writings (the Praktikos and the
Gnostic Chapters) had a great influence on later spirituality.• Palladius (c. 364–420/30) was born in Galatia. As a young man,
he traveled extensively in Egypt among the monks, collecting
stories in the manner of an ethnographer. He later became
bishop of Heliopolis in Bithynia. In his Lausiac History, he
presents a vivid picture of the cultural complexity represented by
Egyptian monasticism.
o Palladius is an example of a well-established figure in society
who “goes on pilgrimage” to visit the monks of Egypt
and Palestine, collecting stories and sayings and seeking a
simplicity and nobility of life not available in the cities.