Anastasius Sinaita (died after 700), also called Anastasius of Sinai or Anastasius the Sinaite, was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

writer, priest and abbot of

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

Life

What little is known about his life is gathered from his own works. In Antiquity, he was often confused with the bishop and writer Anastasius I of Antioch (559–598), and the authorship of various works attributed to Anastasius of Sinai is still vigorously disputed. A canon has been tentatively accepted by modern scholars, but even among these Anastasian works there are spurious sections. His writings concern questions and answers about issues of Christian dogma, ritual, and lifestyle (catechism); sermons; and

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

. He was fond of tracing the

etymologies Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...

of key Christian terms; he was erudite in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and early

Patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

literature; and he had a pervasive interest in the nature of God and man, especially in the

person of Christ In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

(

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

). He was not reluctant to develop and express his own theories about key ecclesiastical issues, which led to later commentaries, emendations, and perhaps even

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of parts of his works.

Major works

The principal works transmitted under Anastasius' name include the ''Viae Dux'', ''Quaestiones et Responsiones'', ''Hexaemeron'', ''Homilia i, ii, iii de creatione hominis'', and the ''Narrationes''. The ''Viae Dux'' - also called the ''Hodegos'' (Greek transliteration) and "Guide Along the Right Path" (English translation) - was written in defense of the

Chalcedonian Creed The Chalcedonian Definition (also called the Chalcedonian Creed or the Definition of Chalcedon) is a declaration of Christ's nature (that it is dyophysite), adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. Chalcedon was an early centre of Christ ...

. A collection of works by Anastasius, the ''Viae Dux'' served to support the true faith and to counter the attacks of heretics, in particular

Monophysites Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...

. His ''Quaestiones et Responsiones'' ("Questions and Responses") was a popular genre and falls under the category of pastoral theology. It offers advice, largely to the lay community, on spiritual and sacramental matters, charitable donations, marriage, and other subjects. Here Anastasius reveals a distinctly personal tone and offers a window into the day-to-day existence of ordinary people. It is especially significant because it is an eyewitness account of the expansion of Islam into Sinai and Egypt, which were predominantly Christian, and of the effect that Moslem domination had on Christian life and beliefs. Anastasius was probably the author of the ''Hexaemeron'', a commentary in 12 books about the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word ...

. (''Hexaemeron'', sometimes spelled

Hexameron The term Hexameron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία ''Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia'') refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation thems ...

, means “six-days”.) In the ''Hexaemeron'' Anastasius argues that Moses on Mount Sinai was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write not only the creation narrative, but also in the same text to prophesize the New Creation through Christ. Thus Adam represents Christ and Eve represents the Church. Anastasius' extensive exegesis of the beginning of Genesis draws upon commentaries written by many Fathers of the Church, including

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholici ...

Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...

, and

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ...

. One reason for some doubts about Anastasius’ authorship is the lack of any surviving manuscript copied before the end of the fifteenth century. The lack of earlier manuscripts, however, could be the result of

. The

allegorical interpretations of Genesis Allegorical interpretations of Genesis are readings of the biblical Book of Genesis that treat elements of the narrative as symbols or types, rather than viewing them literally as recording historical events. Either way, Judaism and most sects ...

in the ''Hexaemeron'' by Anastasius are in many ways a counterpoint to the more literal ''Hexaemeron'' written by

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...

.Kuehn-Baggarly 2007, XIII.

References

Citations Bibliography *Haldon, John. "The Works of Anastasius of Sinai : A Key Source for the History of Seventh-Century East Mediterranean Society and Belief." In ''The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East, Volume I: Problems in the Literary Source Material,'' edited by A. Cameron and L. Conrad. Princeton: Darwin Press, 1992. pp. 107–147. *Kuehn, Clement A., and John D. Baggarly. ''Anastasius of Sinai. Hexaemeron.'' (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 278). Rome: Pontificio Istituto Orientale, 2007. *Kuehn, Clement A. Review of ''Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to John of Damascus (†750)'', ed. by Angelo Di Berardino et al. In ''Byzantinische Zeitschrift'' 101/2 (2008): n.p. *Richard, Marcel, and Joseph Munitiz, eds. ''Anastasii Sinaïtae: Quaestiones et responsiones.'' CCSG 59. Turnhout: Brepols, 2006. *Shahan, Thomas J.
St. Anastasius Sinaita
''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

''. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1907. *Uthemann, Karl-Heinz, ed. ''Anastasii Sinaïtae: Viae dux.'' CCSG 8. Turnhout: Brepols, 1981. *Uthemann, Karl-Heinz, ed. ''Anastasii Sinaïtae: Sermones duo in constitutionem hominis secundum imaginem Dei necnon opuscula adversus monotheletas.'' CCSG 12. Turnhout: Brepols, 1985. *Uthemann, Karl-Heinz. "Anastasius the Sinaite." In ''Patrology. The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to John of Damascus (†750),'' edited by Angelo Di Berardino et al. Cambridge: James Clark, 2006. pp. 313–331. *Weiss, Günter. ''Studien zum Leben, zu den Schriften und zur Theologie des Patriarchen Anastasius I. von Antiochien (559 - 598).'' Munich: Institut für Byzantinistik, 1965.

External links

A discussion of the Hexaemeron
at Creation

at Anastasios of Sinai
Anastasius Sinaita
at Britannica Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasius Sinaita 7th-century Byzantine monks 7th-century Christian mystics 7th-century Christian saints 7th-century Christian theologians Biblical exegesis Byzantine Christian mystics Christology Church Fathers Greek Christian mystics Patristic mystics

Life

Major works

See also

References

External links