People and places

 We already know a little about the times in which our heroes lived. This time we will take a look at them. 

Perhaps it is not yet time to focus on individual characters and their life stories, but it will be good to understand the social groups from which those who left everything and went to the desert came. We will also talk about the main centres of monastic life, because although we are talking about the monks of the desert, this does not mean that they did not form specific communities.

But first the people.

In the beginning, the monks were recruited mainly from among the inhabitants of Egypt, but over time, as the news of people seeking God in the desert spread further and further, people from all over the Mediterranean appeared among them. Mostly from Palestine, Syria, Greece, Asia Minor, etc. People from Rome or Gaul also appeared, though less frequently.

In terms of social background, they were mostly recruited from among the common people. Many of them were former farmers, shepherds, camel drivers or representatives of other trades practised by the poor. There were also people from urban backgrounds, but they were in the minority. Their origins are reflected in their way of life and the peculiar culture that developed among them.

Among the monks, we also find what we would now call the marginalised. There was no shortage of thugs, criminals, prostitutes... People who sought redemption and atonement for their sins in monastic life. But that was not all. Among the desert monks we know, we also find representatives of the Roman aristocracy, intellectuals - with an almost elite education for the time.

Nevertheless, the majority were simple people. As a result, when we turn to the collections of their speeches, written down by those who benefited from their teachings, we get content that is concrete and untainted by sophisticated rhetoric.  Far from being a disadvantage, this is the special charm of the wisdom of the Fathers who, while remaining simple men, attained a rich spiritual life and wished to share it as best they could with others who were similar to them in simplicity, using the simplest language.

As far as family life is concerned, we encounter different situations in the desert. We meet monks who have never lived in marriage, couples who have separated by mutual consent, those who have lived in white marriages. Sometimes we meet those who have decided to go to the desert together, living in separate communities (male and female). For the desert was a place for all.

And speaking of place. When we speak of the desert, we think of the areas around the Nile Valley, the Judean Desert or the Sinai Desert and the area around Gaza. We derive this knowledge from the known statements of the Fathers themselves, which are unfortunately not very precise. Archaeological research would probably help to deepen this knowledge, but let us not deceive ourselves - the monks are far outnumbered by research into the culture of the Pharaohs and the ancient Egyptians. So we are left with the testimony of the Fathers themselves, who often mention the most important centres of monastic life in the desert.

And so we learn of groups of monks around Nitria, in the area of the ancient soda mines. To the south of this, there was a real city made up of cells inhabited by monks, called Celia.

Some 65 kilometres to the south, even deeper in the desert, was Sketis. Another place where monastic life was born and flourished. Over time, Sketis became the centre and standard for monastic life.

In addition to these places, we can also hear about Ferme, Fayum or Tebaida. There was also no shortage of centres in urban areas. Whatever the location, however, the aim was always the same. It was about getting away from the "worldly" life and concentrating on God. The communities, in turn, came about naturally because they were formed by people who came to a place, attracted by the fame of the monk who lived there, who became a kind of founder of the community and its master. The desert conditions also meant that living in communities was simply safer.