Standing in the Breach: The Significance and Function of the Saints in the Letters of Barsanuphius and John of Gaza | Zendy

Alexis Torrance | Zendy

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Standing in the Breach: The Significance and Function of the Saints in the Letters of Barsanuphius and John of Gaza

Author(s) -

Alexis Torrance

Publication year - 2009

Publication title -

journal of early christian studies

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.113

H-Index - 22

eISSN - 1086-3184

pISSN - 1067-6341

DOI - 10.1353/earl.0.0263

Subject(s) - saint , promotion (chess) , perspective (graphical) , function (biology) , locality , history , classics , philosophy , law , art , political science , art history , visual arts , linguistics , evolutionary biology , politics , biology

In this article I attempt to approach the concept of the saint in late antiquity from a theological rather than a socio-historical perspective. Using the abundant correspondence of Barsanuphius and John of Gaza, I look at how they conceived of the saints, the unmistakable importance they attached to their prayers and intercessions, and how the saints fit into Barsanuphius and John’s broader Christian framework. I emphasize that the importance of the ἅγιοι is not constrained to their locality, and that their role for the two Gazan ascetics is not at all bound up with projects of self-promotion.

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