The Spiritual Wisdom of the Syriac Book of Steps (Fairacres Publications)

De: Robert A. Kitchen

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

FAIRACRES PUBLICATIONS 171

Robert A. Kitchen points out in his introduction to this book of extracts from The Book of Steps that it ‘has always had trouble getting noticed’. The fourth-century Syriac author was writing to and about the Christian community in which he lived. His work is a manual of Christian living for the Church in Syria, written before monasticism had taken its traditional shape. This anonymous author addresses the people under his pastoral care, drawing on his vivid knowledge of scripture and biblical personalities. In doing so, he distinguishes between people known as ‘the Perfect’, who are called to unceasing prayer, and those known as ‘the Upright’, who live a more active life of ministry. To put this teaching into a modern context, Dr Kitchen summarizes the thirty chapters of The Book of Steps and gives a short commentary on a core passage from each one. ROBERT KITCHEN is the minister of Knox-Metropolitan United Church, Regina, Saskatchewan. He read for the Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford under the guidance of Sebastian P. Brock. With Martien F. G. Parmentier he translated The Syriac Book of Steps (Cistercian Publications, 2004). He has written also on Philoxenos of Mabbug and Dadisho Qatraya.