Evagrius Ponticus — The Practice (Praktikos)

Evagrius Ponticus — The Practice (Praktikos), in a fresh translation from the Via Patrum library (fathers.saneapps.com). 0:00 Introduction 1:49 The Practice (Praktikos) 39:01 Sign-off Evagrius Ponticus (345–399) — a brilliant churchman ordained under Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus, who fled the temptations of Constantinople and Jerusalem for the Egyptian desert — became in the cells of Kellia the first great cartographer of the inner life. The Practice (Praktikos) is his handbook for monks: one hundred short chapters on the practical life of prayer and watchfulness, built around the eight thoughts that besiege the soul — gluttony, lust, love of money, sadness, anger, weariness of spirit (acedia), vainglory, and pride — and the means by which each is recognized and overcome. Carried through the desert tradition and John Cassian, Evagrius's map of the eight thoughts stands behind the church's later teaching on the deadly sins. Read aloud in a fresh translation, with sentence-by-sentence read-along. Artwork: “Evagrius Ponticus als kluizenaar, RP-P-1890-A-16013” by Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Wikimedia Commons (title card and thumbnail). The complete works, text and audio, are free at the Via Patrum library: https://fathers.saneapps.com Follow Via Patrum on X: https://x.com/MrSaneApps Via Patrum — may you walk in the way of our fathers