The Life of Bishoi

"Vivian goes at the text both creatively and with great discernment. The copious notes afford us the ability to track the use of the Scriptures in the text as well as to identify numerous other monastic and ecclesiastical details referenced. . . . [a] groundbreaking study." —Cistercian Studies Quarterly

"[T]his is a great book. It highlights a sometimes under-scrutinised saint, it provides an approachable medium by which to dive into early Egyptian monasticism and how this phenomenon lived on through the centuries."—Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean

"A work of seminal and ground-breaking scholarship"—Midwest Book Review

"This volume is undoubtedly both a milestone in the study of early Christian spirituality and a tremendous achievement. Joining the various receptions and revisions of a fascinating biography of a great desert father, it reveals how great literature shapes and is shaped by its reception."—Samuel Rubenson, Lund University

"The editors and translators of this superb edition of the major Vitae of the fourth-century Egyptian desert father Abba Bishoi (Greek: Paisios of Scete) have put us greatly in their debt by collating sources never brought together in this way before. The translations are 'firsts' for English readers; the texts important for scholars. Bedjan's publication of the Syriac Vita in 1892 was a pioneering work, but suffered many deficiencies in terms of its sources and therefore in its editorial conclusions: here it has been remedied by manuscripts he did not know. The other Vitae have gone direct to the most important extant manuscripts. In this set of elegant fresh translations, the combined work of several of the world's most eminent scholars of monasticism, we now possess the definitive account of one of the great figures at Scete. The introduction and notes generously contextualize the life of its protagonist, offering a fascinating window into day to day monastic life around an important (and visionary) charismatic leader."—John A. McGuckin, Oxford University Faculty of Theology

“For those fascinated by the curious world of Christian saints, and especially by the circuitous histories of how their tales were transmitted, this volume on the vita(e) of St. Bishoi in Greek, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic fits the bill on multiple levels. The attention its authors and editors pay to the intricate processes of storytelling, translation, and the cultivation of moral virtue brings the history and legacy of an important Egyptian monastic saint to life. The collective labor that went into the production of this volume was undoubtedly large. I suspect the benefits accruing to interested readers will be even larger.” —Stephen J. Davis, Yale University

"The value of the present collection is to be found not only in the translations themselves but in the unstintingly generous offering of research provided by the meticulous tables, appendixes, indexes, endnotes, and introductions that provide the reader a means of enjoying every element unique to each major vita-retelling in the convenience of one synthesized volume."—St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly