Early Christian Mystics

Early Christian MysticsEarly Assyrian Christians had a deep appreciation for the ascetic life. Before the destruction wrought by the Mongol conquests in the 13th and 14th centuries, numerous monasteries and convents existed in all the territories where Assyrian Christians lived. These institutions served as centers of education as well as refuges for those seeking to develop their spiritual life away from the cares and worries of everyday life. Many who entered these

Early Assyrian Christians had a deep appreciation for the ascetic life. Before the destruction wrought by the Mongol conquests in the 13th and 14th centuries, numerous monasteries and convents existed in all the territories where Assyrian Christians lived. These institutions served as centers of education as well as refuges for those seeking to develop their spiritual life away from the cares and worries of everyday life. Many who entered these institutions eventually left them to continue their spiritual journey as solitaries living in remote mountains. The most famous spiritual writer of the Assyrian Church was Isaac of Nineveh, whose works have been translated into many languages and have been appreciated by Christians of all churches. In this book, Mingana provides the Syriac texts and English translations of some other spiritual writers including Dadisho Katraya, Abraham Bar Dashandad, Joseph & Abdisho Hazzaya, and Simon of Taibutheh.