The theme of the “angelic life” (angelikos bios), is of crucial importance for monastic anthropology of the early centuries. The hagiographical sources, in particular, present it from different perspectives: (1) the hermits themselves look like angels, (2) between angels and hermits there is a relationship of communion and solidarity, (3) the angels visit the hermits and this their movement is like a seal, to attest the authenticity of spiritual experience and the degree of perfection attained by solitary monks. This paper aims to explain the theological foundations of this monastic ideal, following the thought of John Chrysostom, Jerome and Eucherius of Lyon, and to review some episodes taken from the «Historia monachorum» of Rufinus, Martinian writings of Sulpicius Severus, the «Life of the Jura Fathers» and the hagiographical production of Gregory of Tours and Venantius Fortunatus.
Gli angeli e gli eremiti
FERRARINI, Edoardo
2015-01-01
Abstract
The theme of the “angelic life” (angelikos bios), is of crucial importance for monastic anthropology of the early centuries. The hagiographical sources, in particular, present it from different perspectives: (1) the hermits themselves look like angels, (2) between angels and hermits there is a relationship of communion and solidarity, (3) the angels visit the hermits and this their movement is like a seal, to attest the authenticity of spiritual experience and the degree of perfection attained by solitary monks. This paper aims to explain the theological foundations of this monastic ideal, following the thought of John Chrysostom, Jerome and Eucherius of Lyon, and to review some episodes taken from the «Historia monachorum» of Rufinus, Martinian writings of Sulpicius Severus, the «Life of the Jura Fathers» and the hagiographical production of Gregory of Tours and Venantius Fortunatus.
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