John Cassian
John Cassian, in Latin said the "Roman" or "Romanian", was born between 360 and 365 and died between 433 and 435 and the Catholics on July 23 .
Summary |
His original name is Cassian. The name John was added in honor of St. John Chrysostom.
Next Gennadius , he was born in Scythia (nation Scythians), in Dobrogea area now divided between Romania and Bulgaria , following others in the desert Scete (heremus Scitii) near the delta of the Nile (which does That was a monastic site). The confusion may come from an amalgam between the Scythians and Scete desert, where he stayed later. Still others lean toward the Provence . He spent his childhood in the monastery of Bethlehem. It is assumed that it came from a wealthy family.
The religious
The Eastern religious
From a family certainly rich, well-educated, his early youth was spent in the monastery of Bethlehem. Between 385 and 390 , he obtained permission to leave for seven years, to go along with Germain's friend, some years her senior, visiting holy places of Palestine and the hermits of the Thebaid.
In 403 at Constantinople , he received the teachings of St. John Chrysostom who ordered deacon and gave him the charge of the treasures of his cathedral. After the exile of his master, he is asked to seek the intercession of Pope Innocent I in favor of the bishop persecuted. He visited the monastic sites of Egypt and gives a vivid description of the kind of life we practiced there and lessons were taught.
Around 415 - 416 , he returned to Palestine with the former bishop of Aix-en-Provence Lazarus .
The Western religious
It is fixed thereafter in the West and founded in 414 or 415 , two monasteries in Marseilles, Saint-Victor for men and Saint-Sauveur for women. According to tradition, he asked the bishop of Marseilles, Proculus , a friend of Lazarus met in Palestine, the authorization to found a monastery near the cave where lay the relics of St. Lazarus and St. Victor. He even built near the cave, two churches, one dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, the other at St. John the Baptist. This ensures that five thousand monks lived under his discipline.
The end of a life full of uncertainties
He died around 435 in Marseille. However, the time of his death remains uncertain. According to the legend of St. Prosper , he was still alive in 433 ; Rivet place his death in 434 or 435 , others between 440 and 458. Baillet and Dupin claim that he lived ninety-seven years.
His doctrine
He professes a semi-Pelagianism in certain positions contrary to the doctrine of St. Augustine. John Cassian develops the doctrine of the four senses of Scripture , based on the ideas of Origen.
It is deemed to have brought on cenobitism West.
He argues, against the advice of St. Augustine, the thesis that some forms of lying (in jest, in particular) are not sinful.
Works
There are three known works of John Cassian:
- Cenobitic institutions a treatise in twelve books written in 420 and dedicated to the monastic life and the obstacles to perfection: gluttony, impurity, greed, anger, depression, boredom, and vanity pride.
- Conferences a collection of twenty-four lectures recounting the memories of Cassian in Egypt, his discussions on the ascetic perfection with the Desert Fathers, which address many topics related to spiritual life. In the Middle Ages, the habit of reading Collationes for dinner ended up giving him the name of a snack.
- Treaty of the Incarnation against Nestorius.
Other works attributed to him are so fake.
Posterity
Benedict of Nursia is based on the works of John Cassian to establish his monastic rule . Some passages of the Rule of St. Benedict reproduced almost word for word passages from Cassian , and this same rule states that it must be extended by the Conferences of the Fathers and their institutions, Cassian . Until now, the monks of the West consider Cassian as a leading master of the monastic life, which enabled the West to benefit from the rich experience of early monks of the East.
After the death of John Cassian, the Council of Orange in 529 , condemned semi-Pelagianism , and gives a theological formulation of grace as advocated by Augustine. The council is against those, like John Cassian of Marseilles, Faustus of Riez and Vincent of Lerins , give a greater role in free will.
This probably explains why John Cassian was never a saint of the Catholic Church, even if it is honored locally. Some villages near Lerins bear his name, and sometimes we keep the memory of a party July 23. Yet his writings were widely read in the monasteries of the West.
It appears, however, the calendar of saints of the Orthodox Church , where he is highly regarded for his writings and for his views on grace, in which the Orthodox recognize, much better than in Augustine of Hippo , positions traditionally taught by Fathers Orthodox. Thus, monks (and bishops) Orthodox often wear his name. It is celebrated on February 29.
References
- Amargier Paul , Marseille in the fifth century , ed. The Thune, Marseille, 1998 38, ( ISBN 2-84453-002-8 )
- orthodoxe.com Forum: Saints for February 29
- http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/7675/Saint-Jean-Cassien.html
- The Dobrudja ( in Bulgarian , Dobrogea in Romanian and French documents in Dobroge old) is a territory between the Danube and Black Sea, divided between Romania (two departments with the largest port on the Black Sea : Constanta and the delta of the Danube ) and Bulgaria (the region north-east is considered the "breadbasket" of Bulgaria)
- John Cassian was born, according to Gennadius, in eastern Romania today. This assertion does not fail to be discussed, since the seventeenth century. Some have believed in rather an allusion to Scythopolis (now Beisan, Palestine). Others have corrected the text "Cassianus natione Syrus ... "Others in" Cassianus, natus Serta ... "John Cassian by native Tigrannocerta (now Siirt, near Bitlis, in the former province of Gordyene). Some have mentioned a birthplace in Provence, advocating Cirtharista which, because it became unknown copyists of the Middle Ages, was transcribed in Scythia. This version is actually the first form of the text should read "Cassianus, Scythian nation ... "Our monk would be good originating in the Roman province of Scythia Minor (now Dobroudka at the mouth of the Danube). The Romanian is retained by the Catholic Church.
- Edward Baratier - History of Provence, page 85.
- St. Benedict, Dom Ildefons Herwegen, 1980 , pages 112-113.
- as Rule of Saint Benedict, 4.20, etc..
- Rule of St. Benedict, 73.5
Notes
Editions of his works
The best editions are Cassian
- Of institutes and coenobiorum October principalium uitiorum remediis, Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum Ecclesiasticorum 17 (Mr. Petschenig, 1888), p. 3-231
- Collationes xxiiii, Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum Ecclesiasticorum 13 (Mr. Petschenig, 1886) that replaces the edition Leipzig , 1722 , fol.
- In terms of institutions and conferences, a new critical edition together with a French translation has been developed from the 1950s, and published by Editions du Cerf, in the series "Christian sources" (No. 42, 54, 64, 109). A translation of the Treaty of the Incarnation was also published by Cerf in 1999.
- Jean-Yves Leloup present here these snacks, exciting discussions on topics such as friendship, purity of heart, prayer, asceticism and contemplation, which form the spiritual foundation of the monasteries that later develop Cassian in Gaul, thus deserving the name "Father of the Church of France": The Snack of John Cassian or unit sources, Editions Albin Michel , 1992.
It may, alternatively, see the website of the Abbey Saint-Benoit of Port-Valais: The "lectures" and "institutional cenobitic" in French translation
External Links
- (En) Conferences of Cassian on religious perfection on Abbey St. benoit.ch
- (En) Institutions cenobitic on Abbey St. benoit.ch
- (En) On patristique.org, twenty-two programs on the Conferences of John Cassian.
- (En) John Cassian, his spiritual teaching, Sister Mary Ancilla , 2002
- (In) a study of the life and work of Cassian in English at Benedictine
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