Like a Rock or like God? The Concept of apatheia in the monastic Theology of Evagrius of Pontus

Author: Bøcher Rasmussen, Mette Sophia

Source: Studia Theologica, Volume 59, Number 2, December 2005 , pp. 147-162(16)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

This article is an attempt to clarify the concept of apatheia as it appears in the Praktikos of Evagrius of Pontus. The condition ( katastasis ) of apatheia is central to the Evagrian understanding of the goal of monastic life, and the Praktikos is the treatise in the writings of Evagrius which deals most thoroughly with apatheia. The thesis of the article is that apatheia should be understood in terms of the Platonic distinction between stability and movement, and apatheia, thus, appears to be two different kinds of conditions, namely imperfect apatheia , related to the daily ascetic struggle of the monks against the demons and the thoughts, and perfect apatheia , related to the peaceful condition of undisturbed prayer, in which the mind contemplates the holy Trinity.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00393380500322285

Publication date: 2005-12-01

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