The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (in Latin, Apophthegmata Patrum) is a collection of short sayings and stories from the early Christian monks and nuns who lived in the deserts of Egypt in roughly the fourth and fifth centuries. People who visited these hermits would ask for “a word” — a brief piece of advice to live by — and the replies were remembered and passed on. They began as an oral tradition in Coptic and were later written down in Greek. Most take the simple form “Abba [name] said …”, followed by a short teaching or a small scene from monastic life.
In this version the sayings are arranged in the order of the Greek alphabet by the name of the monk who spoke them, which is why it is called the Alphabetical Collection. They deal with the practical questions of monastic life: silence, prayer, fasting, work, anger, judging others, and hospitality to strangers. A few women, the desert mothers (ammas) such as Syncletica of Alexandria, also appear. Because the material grew over time and was copied in several languages, any single date for it is approximate; scholars place its written form around the fifth century. The English translation represented here is by Benedicta Ward (Cistercian Publications), the version through which most English readers meet the text.
Contents
Arranged as an alphabetical series by the name of each elder (the “Alphabetical Collection”), opening with Antony the Great
Sayings of the named Desert Fathers — among them Arsenius, Agathon, Macarius of Egypt, Moses the Black, and Poemen
Sayings of the Desert Mothers (ammas) — including Theodora, Sarah, and Syncletica of Alexandria
Reception
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers is one of the foundational texts of Christian monasticism and has been read continuously since late antiquity. It shaped later monastic rules and the contemplative traditions of both the Eastern and Western churches, and individual sayings were known to figures such as Jerome and Augustine. Benedicta Ward’s translation of the Greek alphabetical collection, first published in 1975 and revised in 1984, is widely used in English and is frequently cited in studies of early monasticism. Scholars distinguish several different ancient collections — alphabetical, anonymous, and systematic — and note that the texts passed through oral transmission and several languages before reaching written form, so questions of dating, authorship, and which sayings are earliest remain open. The work is read today both as a historical source for early monasticism and as a devotional and contemplative text.
Frequently asked
What is The Sayings of the Desert Fathers?
It is a collection of short sayings and stories from the early Christian monks and nuns who lived in the Egyptian desert in roughly the fourth and fifth centuries. Visitors would ask a monk for “a word” to live by, and the replies were remembered and written down. Most appear in the form “Abba [name] said …”, followed by a brief teaching.
Who wrote it?
There is no single author. The sayings come from many different monks and nuns and were passed on orally before being collected in writing, so the index records the author as “Various”. The standard English translation of the alphabetical collection was made by the historian Benedicta Ward.
What is the “Alphabetical Collection”?
It is one of the ways the ancient sayings were organised: in the order of the Greek alphabet by the name of the monk who spoke them, beginning with Antony the Great. Other ancient arrangements group the sayings by theme (the systematic collection) or leave them unattributed (the anonymous collection).