Dear Listmembers:
	In the off chance that some of our assembly have not received 
this posting from another List source, and recalling some  threads of 
related  materials passing through our midst back in November or so, 
I take the liberty
of posting the following:

"Recently I have wrote (but not published yet) a small book on the 
Egyptian monasticism where I was dealing with, inter alia, the 
"export" of the Pachomian rules in their most archaic versions (I 
mean no texts but the modes of life). I was aware of the problem of 
the Egyptian roots of the early monasticism on the British Islands, 
but I have never seen any scholarly treatment of the available 
comparative data, which would take into account the recent progress 
in the Pachomian studies as well as in the studies in Egyptian 
monasticism in general. It is very probable, however, that I have 
missed something really important. Now I have got the following reply 
to my book from an English writer (known by his works of 
vulgarisation on the British Saints; he has read my book in Russian):

******** forwarded message ****************
You mention only the African continent [Eustathian monasticism in 
mediaeval Ethiopia and a specific monasticism among the kraftmen in 
Ethiopia until 19th and 20th cent. -- B.L.], but have you considered 
the Celtic
lands of Ireland, Western Scotland, Wales, Cornwall (S-W England) and
Brittany (N-W France)? [The answer is: No. -- B.L.] I don't claim to 
be an expert on Celtic monasticism (I
know more about later Saxon Christianity), but it occurs to me that there may
be some intriguing parallels.
First, there were definitely contacts between Irish and Egyptian monasticism.
The Irish martyrologies mention 11 Egyptian monks who died in Ireland.
Secondly, there was a strong cult of SS. Anthony and Paul of Thebes. I
remember seeing a Celtic Cross in the Isle of Man which also had figures of
SS. Anthony and Paul; and Athanasius' Life of St. Antony inspired some of the
earliest Celtic monastic saints (e.g. St. Nectan of Hartland, +early 6th
century [FROM ANOTHER POSTING OF THE SAME AUTHOR: Emperor Haile 
Selassie <I, of Ethiopia> made an
unexpected pilgrimage to a little-known Celtic saint in a remote part of
Western England during the war <of 1939-45> - St. Nectan of Hartland. 
He prayed for hours
in front of his shrine. I have often wondered why.]. Thirdly, there 
were double monasteries of men and women both in
Ireland and in those parts of England evangelized by the Irish. These were
often led by women (see the lives of St. Brigit of Kildare (+5th c.) and St.
Hilda of Whitby (+7th c.).  Fourthly, there was a slightly strange attitude
to the clergy and bishops - the real leaders of Orthodox Ireland were the
abbots, who had complete control over whole "families of monasteries". St.
Brigid had a bishop in her monastery in order to perform the sacraments, but
she was the leader. Fifthly, the tonsure of Celtic monks was "eastern", not
western, and their calendar was derived from the East (this caused problems
when the Roman missionaries with their Byzantine calendar met the Celts).
Sixthly, Celtic monks always sought "the desert", as far as possible from
inhabited places, to found their monasteries [This is not a Pachomian 
feature, given the links bt. their monasteries and villages. -- B.L.] 
- in sharp contrast to most of
the rest of the West (St. Martin of Tours, a great inspiration for the Celts,
was perhaps more "Celtic" in this respect, as was the South French island
monastery of Lerins, where St. Patrick trained). Seventhly, the "beehive"
architecture of Celtic monasteries, with several "hives" around a central
church, reminds me of what I imagine Egyptian cells to have been like - but I
am not sure about this. Eightly, the cult of angels, especially prominent in
the life of St. Columba of Iona (+597) [The author means the idea of 
monks as companions of angels/watchers. It is not very peculiar, of 
course, but maybe a more detailed analysis would be welcome. -- 
B.L.]. Archaeologists have recently
discovered that St. Columba's church is directed towards the rising of the
sun on November 8 - the feast of the angels. It was a peculiarity of the
Celts [not only to them, but I don't know in what extent this custom 
was common in the Christian world. -- B.L.] to orient their churches 
towards the rising of the sun on the day of the feast to which the 
church was dedicated.
The Celts placed a great emphasis on learning and Scripture study. They had
great schools of Latin and Greek literature, and for several centuries
English ascetics would go to Ireland to complete their education. I am not
aware of any "original" works by the Irish, but they certainly knew the
Fathers.
*********************end of forwarded message********************

Any comments will be welcome, but I would be especially grateful for 
the bibliographical suggestions. I am not in position to venture into 
any scholarly work on the British saints, but I would like to 
establish the contacts with this field of research."

Thanks in advance.

Basil Lourie
revue _Xristianskij Vostok_
St. Petersburg, Russia

I include Basile Lourie's address from the original post:
			[log in to unmask]

Josef Gulka
Josef Gulka
[log in to unmask]
  Tel: 215- 732-8420
Fax (215) 732-8420


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