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Letters from the Desert: A Selection of Questions and Responses is unavailable, but you can change that!

Dive into the letters of two monastic elders: the “Great Old Man,” Barsanuphius, and the “Other Old Man,” John, who lived in the southern region around Gaza during the early part of the sixth century. Maintaining strict seclusion within their cells, they spoke to others only through letters by way of Abba Seridos, the abbot of the monastic community in Gaza. John’s authority was more...

Question (no. 100) to the Great Old Man: Tell me, father, what does humility mean? Moreover, pray that the end of my life may be peaceful. Response by Barsanuphius Humility means regarding oneself as “earth and ashes” (Gen 18:27) in deeds and not just in words, and saying: “Who am I?” (2 Sam 7:18). “Who counts me as anything?” “I have nothing to do with anyone.” Humility is a self-emptying that resembles death. In order to learn something new, one needs first to be emptied.
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