Monasteries and the Care of Souls in Late Antique Christianity: Cognition and Discipline

August 31, 2017
book cover
Paul C. Dilley
ISBN: 
9781316875094

Paul C. Dilley has published Monasteries and the Care of Souls in Late Antique Christianity: Cognition and Discipline (Cambridge University Press).

From the Cambridge University Press website:

"In Monasteries and the Care of Souls in Late Antique Christianity, Paul C. Dilley explores the personal practices and group rituals through which the thoughts of monastic disciples were monitored and trained to purify the mind and help them achieve salvation. Dilley draws widely on the interdisciplinary field of cognitive studies, especially anthropology, in his analysis of key monastic 'cognitive disciplines', such as meditation on scripture, the fear of God, and prayer. In addition, various rituals distinctive to communal monasticism, including entrance procedures, the commemoration of founders, and collective repentance, are given their first extended analysis. Participants engaged in 'heart-work' on their thoughts and emotions, which were understood to reflect the community's spiritual state. This book will be of interest to scholars of early Christianity and the ancient world more generally for its detailed description of communal monastic culture and its innovative methodology."

Paul Dilley is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Departments of Classics and Religious Studies.