The Monks of Edessa, Syria and Cappadocia

Gaddanas and Azizus lived with Aones and imitated his virtues. Ephraim the Syrian, who was a historian, and whom I mentioned in my account of events under the reign of Constantius, was the most renowned philosopher of this time, together with Julian, in the neighborhood of Edessa and the regions around it. Barses and Eulogius were both ordained bishops, at a later time than the one we are describing, but not of any city. The title was only an honor, given them as a reward for their excellent conduct, and they were ordained in their own monasteries. Lazarus, whom I mentioned before, was ordained bishop in the same way. Such were the most celebrated philosophers of the ascetic life who flourished in Syria, Persia and the neighboring countries, at least so far as I have been able to find out. The way of life common to all of them, so to speak, was careful attention to the state of the soul. By fasting, prayer and hymns to God they kept it always ready to leave the things of this world. They gave most of their time to these holy exercises, and they utterly despised worldly possessions, the business of this life, and the ease and adornment of the body. Some of the monks carried their self-denial to an extraordinary height. Battheus, for instance, fasted and abstained so severely that worms crawled from his teeth. Halas had not tasted bread for eighty years. And Heliodorus spent many nights without giving in to sleep, and added seven days of fasting to this. [a]

Coele-Syria and Upper Syria, except for the city of Antioch, were slow to be converted to Christianity. Even so, they did not lack philosophers of the church, whose conduct seemed all the more heroic because they had to face the hostility and hatred of the people of the place. They nobly refrained from resisting or going to law, and bravely endured the insults and blows the pagans dealt them. This, I found, was the course followed by Valentinus, who according to some accounts was born at Emesa, and according to others at Arethusa. Another man of the same name distinguished himself in the same way, and so did Theodore. Both of these were from Titti, in the district of Apamea. No less distinguished were Marosas, a native of Nechilis, Bassus, Bassones and Paul. This Paul was from the village of Telmison. He founded many communities in many places and introduced the method needed for the understanding of philosophy; and at last he established the greatest and most distinguished community of monks, at a place called Jugatum. There, after a long and honorable life, he died and was buried. Some of the monks who practiced philosophy in a distinguished and godly way have lived on into our own day. In fact, most of those I have mentioned lived very long lives, and I am convinced that God lengthened their days for the express purpose of advancing religion. They were the means of leading nearly the whole Syrian nation, and most of the Persians and Saracens, to the true religion, and of turning them from paganism. Having begun the monastic philosophy there, they raised up many like themselves. [c]

I suppose that Galatia, Cappadocia and the neighboring provinces also had many other philosophers of the church at that time, since these regions had long before taken up our teaching with zeal. These monks for the most part lived in communities in cities and villages, for they had not taken up the tradition of those before them as their own. The severity of the winter, which is always natural to that country, would probably make a hermit’s life impossible. Leontius and Prapidius were, I understand, the most famous of these monks. The first afterward governed the church of Ancyra. The second, a man of very great age, carried out the duties of a bishop in several villages. He also presided over the Basileias, the most famous house of shelter for the poor. It was founded by Basil, bishop of Caesarea, from whom it took its name at the start, and it keeps that name to this day. [e]