Cassian attributes the spirituality he presented to the monks in Gaul to the holy abbas he encountered during his sojourn in the deserts of Egypt. A close reading of Cassian’s monastic texts reveal that his teaching on spirituality was shaped by several other influences.
Cassian’s debt to the Bible has been noted above. The great biblical themes of creation, sin, redemption and restoration provide Cassian with the ‘meta narrative’ that underpins the Institutes and the Conferences. It is in the context of a worldview forged by such biblical themes that Cassian presents his teaching about spirituality and seeks to guide Christian monks towards perfection and presence in the divine realm. The Bible gave Cassian a theology of religious life and more particularly a basis for the spiritual practices of communal and private prayer. The sacred texts provided both a language and, through its incorporation into liturgy, a framework for prayer (Stewart 1998:101). Other influences on the spirituality taught by Cassian may include the writings of Basil and Jerome, which Cassian praises in the Institutes (Cassian 2000:13 Institutes Preface.), as well as those of other contemporary authors such as Palladius and Sulpicius Severus (Stewart 1998:36). The extent of such contributions is unclear.
One of the strongest influences on the spirituality presented by Cassian in his monastic texts is Evagrius. Much of the theology expressed in the Institutes and the Conferences appears to have been inspired by Evagrius who in turn was greatly influenced by Origen (Munz 1960:1). 140 Whether this inspiration was achieved through direct encounters between Cassian and Evagrius when the two men lived in nearby monastic communities in the Egyptian desert is unclear. Cassian may have had access to Evagrius’ writings while he was staying in Egypt or at a later date when he was resident in Constantinople, Rome or Gaul. Alternatively, Evagrius may have influenced some of the desert abbas who then instructed Cassian. Evagrius was certainly highly influential during his residence among the monks of Egypt and a leading proponent of Origen’s teachings in the region (Chadwick 1968:26). Among the most significant influences of Evagrius on the writing of Cassian are the categorisation of the eight major distractions that hinder and divert monastic practice; the distinction between the active and the contemplative life; the internal struggle against the passions that beset the human person; the quest for the state of apatheia or ‘dispassion’; the attainment of gnosis or divine
140 Stewart (1998:36, 253) notes that since the publication of Salvatore Marsili’s Giovanni Cassiano ed
Evagrio Pontico: dottrina sulla carita e contemplazione (John Cassian and Evagrius of Pontus: The doctrine of charity and contemplation) in 1936 it has been widely accepted that Evagrius was a major influence on Cassian.
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knowledge; and the stripping of the mind during prayer (Chadwick 1968:92-94). Evagrius shaped Cassian’s perception of human sexuality as a ‘sensor of the spiritual condition of the monk’ (Brown 1998:64). Cassian followed Evagrius’ example by employing Greek philosophical terminology and concepts to describe the monastic quest (Chadwick 1968:92).
There are major differences, however, between the spirituality presented by Cassian and that contained in the writings of Evagrius. Among the most noticeable is that Cassian avoided using the term apatheia (passionlessness) that Evagrius frequently deployed in his spiritual theology. He adopted instead the phrase puritas cordis (purity of heart) to express the contemplative state that is the gateway to greater intimacy with the divine (Dunn 2003:77; Stewart 1998:42). Evagrius drew on Stoic philosophy and the teaching of Clement of Alexandria in his use of the term apatheia (Stewart 1998:42). Cassian probably avoided using the word to distance himself from controversy that was beginning to emerge around its usage as well as to disassociate himself from the already controversial Evagrius (Stewart 1998:12). While Evagrius charts a course of spiritual progress that leads to the ‘reign of heaven’ and then to the ‘reign of God’ Cassian makes no distinction between these two realms (Stewart 1998:41). They are the ultimate goal of monastic life and the realm in which the monk is able to experience a vision of God (Stewart 1998:41). Cassian’s description of the experience by which a monk might ascend the spiritual path to an engagement with God differs from that of Evagrius. Steeped in the Neoplatonic tradition, Evagrius frequently describes this process as one in which the mind of the monk realises its true condition by being ‘taken up” to divine knowledge or to God (Stewart 1998:120). Cassian, in contrast, depicts this progress as an ecstatic experience in which the mind or heart of the monk transcends its normal condition and engages with the divine. It is an ecstatic experience rather than the contemplative process described by Evagrius (Stewart 1998:120).
Evagrius’ theology is undoubtedly influenced by Neoplatonic philosophy but it remains Christian, particularly Trinitarian, in content (Casiday 2006:232). While adopting Evagrius’ teaching Cassian heightens the emphasis on Christ. (Casiday 2006:232). The spiritual practices of Cassian are based on meditation on the Christian Scriptures and the prayer that this practice elicits, which at its highest level leads to mystical union with God, is centred on Christ (Casiday 2006:233; Griffiths 1964:38).141
Cassian uses Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes on the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:3-11) to describe the experience of mystical union with God (Stewart 1998:55).142 It is from this passage of Scripture that Cassian adopts the term ‘purity of heart.’ Cassian also uses other Scriptural texts to
141 Casiday (2006:224) argues that Cassian conceives of Jesus as the “connective thread of history” and
understands the Bible as a “testament to Jesus Christ’s actions in history” that is “pervaded by Christological significance.”
142 Stewart (1998:48) points out that an indication of Cassian’s Christo-centric understanding of
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describe the phenomenon. They include Psalm 51:10 and Proverbs 20:9 (Cassian 1997:49 Conference 1.; Cassian 1997:475 Conference 13.; Cassian 1997:808 Conference 23.) as well as the story of Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42) and Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Rom 1:20) (Cassian 1997:47 Conference 1.; Cassian 1997:791-792 Conference 23.) (Stewart 1998:53). Adopting the words of Paul, Cassian asserts that the practice of the monastic disciplines prepares the monk for the ‘fullness of the measure of Christ’ (Cassian 1997:253 Conference 7.) (Stewart 1998:58).143
The spiritual journey of the monk is not only centred on the Kingdom of God, as revealed in the Christian Scriptures, but also guided and sustained by the person of the Holy Spirit. Engagement with God, presence in the Kingdom of God either in the temporal or eternal realm, is made manifest in Christ. Cassian portrays perfection as a unity with Christ and a sharing in the divine love, agape, between Christ and the other persons of the Trinity (Cassian 1997:375 Conference 10.).
4.5 Conclusion
An examination of the content of Cassian’s teaching about spirituality, contained in the Institutes and the Conferences, identifies the goal of this instruction to be the monk’s attainment of ‘purity of heart’ and consequent presence within the Kingdom of God.
Cassian provides within his monastic texts a set of guidelines or spiritual route maps to lead the monk to his objective. This ultimate goal can be experienced not only in a future eschatological realm but also, to some degree, in the temporal domain. Cassian describes a series of spiritual practices that enable the monk to journey towards his goal. These practices stress the importance of experience as well as knowledge in the quest for perfection and presence in the divine realm. Within them there is a balance between personal devotion and communal activities and obligations.
Essential components of Cassian’s teaching on spirituality are his insistence on the monk’s renunciation of wealth and status, the abandonment of classical notions of mutually beneficial friendships in favour of bonds founded on common attitudes of morality, and the recognition of human sexuality as an indicator of a person’s attachment to deeper hidden vices and sins. These aspects of Cassian’s teaching on spirituality differ greatly from the instruction of most of his contemporaries. Cassian emphasises the importance of divine grace in the monk’s struggle for purity of heart and presence in the divine realm. If these twin objectives are accomplished, teaches Cassian, the monk is able to attain the state of contemplation that heralds the experience of the beatific vision that offers intimacy with the divine.
Cassian highlights the importance of prayer in his teaching about spirituality. He recognises the unique and diverse forms of prayer practiced by Christians and the influence of human personality and context. He highlights the importance of praying by meditating on the Scriptures as well as the practice of constant repetition from memory of a word or phrase from the Bible as a
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means of practicing ‘wordless’ prayer. Cassian, through the teaching of Abba Isaac, addresses the four main types of prayer identified by the apostle Paul. They are supplication, prayer that invokes a vow, intercession and thanksgiving. According to Cassian these types of prayer represent progressive stages in the practice of prayer. The highest form of prayer is what Cassian terms ‘the prayer of fire.’ Trans-rational and ineffable, the prayer of fire elevates the monk who has attained purity of heart to presence within the Kingdom of God. It is a state of contemplation that leads to perfection. Cassian’s brief and infrequent descriptions of the prayer of fire identify the importance of spiritual practices, especially liturgical worship, engaging with the Scriptures and obedience to a superior, in the journey to perfection.
Cassian attributes his teaching on spirituality to the Egyptian desert abbas but the extent of their contribution is unclear. However, the influence of Evagrius and his master Origen is very evident. Although Evagrius’ theology was strongly marked by Neoplatonic philosophy it was Christian, and particularly Trinitarian, in content (Casiday 2006: 232). While adapting Evagrius’ teaching Cassian increased its emphasis on Christ (Casiday 2006:232). Cassian employs a hermeneutic approach in his writings and reinterprets the teaching of the desert abbas he received in Egypt in the past for a new audience in Gaul.
The examination of the content of Cassian’s teaching on spirituality greatly expands the researcher’s understanding of the spirituality Cassian wished to convey to his audience in Gaul. It also refines the researcher’s insight into the spirituality of Cassian the historical person. Cassian’s spirituality, as well as the teaching about spirituality he conveyed to others, was moulded by the teaching and practices of the Egyptian desert abbas and particularly influenced by the Origenist instruction of Evagrius. Recognition of these aspects of the spirituality of Cassian is valuable to the hermeneutical process that endeavours to establish a contemporary understanding of Cassian’s spirituality.
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