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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Conferences of St. John Cassian: Prayer, Discernment, and the Desert Way

The Conferences of St. John Cassian: Prayer, Discernment, and the Desert Way

Gibson, Edgar C. S.

Paperback

Religion General Christian Living

ISBN13: 9798191846767
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 10 2026
Pages: 518
Weight: 1.36
Height: 1.29 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Enter the Egyptian desert and sit at the feet of its spiritual fathers.

Written in the early fifth century, The Conferences of St. John Cassian preserves Cassian's conversations with elders of the Egyptian desert. Across twenty-four Conferences, these masters of Christian spirituality speak directly about the purpose of the spiritual life, purity of heart, unceasing prayer, discernment, friendship, fasting, grace and free will, the struggle with the passions, and perseverance in times of temptation.

These are not abstract essays. Cassian and his companion Germanus ask the questions that arise when faith becomes a serious way of life: Why does the mind wander in prayer? How can a person distinguish holy zeal from pride or self-deception? Which remedies answer anger, dejection, vainglory, lust, and despair? When should fasting yield to charity? How do humility and discretion protect an earnest soul from spiritual delusion? The Desert Fathers answer from experience, joining Scripture to a sober understanding of the human heart.

For readers seeking the roots of Christian monasticism, the Conferences are among the defining works of the desert tradition. They offer a demanding yet compassionate vision of spiritual warfare: the true battlefield is the heart, watchfulness begins with attention to one's thoughts, and lasting freedom is inseparable from grace. Their teaching on spiritual discernment remains valuable for anyone trying to recognize the difference between genuine virtue, hidden vanity, compulsive rigor, and wise obedience.

A complete text prepared for reading and reference

Many familiar public-domain and online editions omit Conferences XII and XXII, and one passage in Conference II.23 was left untranslated in the historic English corpus. This Rare Orthodox Books edition restores the full sequence. Conferences I-XI, XIII-XXI, and XXIII-XXIV retain Edgar C. S. Gibson's historic English translation. Conferences XII and XXII are newly translated from the Latin, and the missing opening of II.23 is restored. When Cassian quotes a complete biblical verse, the wording has been conformed to the King James Version, giving Scripture a consistent English voice throughout the volume.

The 1,272 notes appear as true footnotes at the bottom of the pages where they are needed, so readers can check biblical references, names, sources, and textual points without constantly turning to the back. A concise glossary clarifies people, places, schools and technical terms. The detailed Scripture index and topical index use printed page numbers, making it practical to trace Cassian's use of a passage or return quickly to subjects such as prayer, watchfulness, the eight principal passions, humility, spiritual knowledge, friendship, penitence, and renunciation.

This edition is designed for sustained devotional reading, clergy preparation, seminary and patristic study, monastic formation, and the personal library. It will serve Orthodox and Catholic readers, Anglicans, other Christians exploring the early Church Fathers, and anyone drawn to the sayings of the Desert Fathers, Christian asceticism, contemplative prayer, or the classical tradition of spiritual direction.

Whether read straight through or consulted one subject at a time, The Conferences of St. John Cassian offers an unsentimental guide to prayer, self-knowledge, discernment, and the patient purification of the heart.

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