John Cassian
Conferences, Institutes — transmitter of desert wisdom to the West
The man who carried the spirituality of the Egyptian desert to Western Europe. The Conferences became required reading in Benedictine monasteries. His eight principal faults became the seven deadly sins.
Key works
- Conferences (Collationes)~420-429— 24 dialogues with desert fathers — the spiritual classic of Western monasticism
- Institutes (De Institutis Coenobiorum)~420— Monastic organization and the eight principal faults