Didaskalia kai parainesis

work by Arsenius the Great

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June 25, 2026

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The Didaskalia kai parainesis ("Instruction and Exhortation") is a work attributed to Arsenius the Great, a Roman noble who became an ascetic monk in the Egyptian desert around the 4th to 5th century CE. This text is considered a guideline for monks and suggests Arsenius may have been an abbot or spiritual leader of a religious community. Arsenius the Great is recognized as one of the celebrated Desert Fathers and significantly influenced monastic and contemplative life in both Eastern and Western Christianity. His writings, including this work, are preserved in collections such as the Apophthegmata patrum ("Sayings of the Fathers").12

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Arsenius the Great
His principal works included the Didaskalia kai parainesis (“Instruction and Exhortation”), which was written as a guideline for monks and is evidence, according to 6th-century historians, that he was an abbot or spiritual leader of a religious community. His commentary on the Gospel According to Luke, Eis ton peirastēn nomikon…
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His principal works included the Didaskalia kai parainesis (“Instruction and Exhortation”), which was written as a guideline for monks and is evidence, according to 6th-century historians, that he was an abbot or spiritual leader of a religious community. His commentary on the Gospel According to Luke, Eis ton peirastēn nomikon…
Read More