Steps to Spiritual Perfection: Studies on Spiritual Progress in Evagrius Ponticus
Author: Jermey Driscoll, OSB


Evagrius Ponticus (345-399) was among the first of the desert fathers to articulate in writing the wisdom of the monastic movement. Jeremy Driscoll comments in this book on Evagrius in such a way as to show his spiritual relevance for our times. The encounter with Evagrius here becomes for modern readers what it was for those to whom he first wrote: a way of receiving spiritual nourishment and advice from one of the desert masters far away.

Evagrius sets out challenging conditions that are requirements for the spiritual goal--knowledge of the Holy Trinity in a luminous place of prayer. This important work is:

--a companion volume to Ad Monachos in the Ancient Christian Writers series

--along with Ad Monachos, this is the single most comprehensive book on Evagrius

--shows how the Evagrius of history can act as a spiritual guide today

--breaks new ground in interpreting Evagrius, arguing that his Ad Monachos is a key for interpreting other major questions in Evagrius' other works

About the Author
Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, is professor of theology at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, OR, and Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, in Rome. In addition, he has been involved in liturgical questions in the Church in the US, and lectures in the US and abroad.