Conferences by John Cassian
"Conferences" by John Cassian is a seminal work from the early fifth century that explores the principles of monastic life within the context of Christian spirituality. Written during a time when Christianity was gaining prominence in the Roman Empire, Cassian's writings sought to provide guidance on establishing monasticism in southern France, where such traditions were not yet deeply rooted. The text consists of twenty-four conferences, formatted as dialogues between Cassian and various Egyptian Desert Fathers, where they discuss key aspects of monastic living, including prayer, community life, and the pursuit of spiritual goals.
Cassian emphasizes the importance of communal monasticism, arguing that it fosters support and moral direction among members, contrasting it with the solitary practices of some hermits. He addresses virtues essential for monks, the relationship between free will and divine grace, and practical concerns like the nature of penitence. His teachings underline that the journey toward union with God is a continual process of prayer, discernment, and discipline, ultimately shaped by God's grace. Cassian's ideas significantly influenced the development of monastic practices in Western Europe, paving the way for later figures like Saint Benedict. His work remains a critical reference for those interested in Christian theology and the history of monasticism.
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Conferences by John Cassian
First transcribed:Collationes, c. 420-429 c.e. (English translation, 1867)
Edition used:Conferences, edited by Colm Luibheid. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1985
Genre(s): Nonfiction
Subgenre(s): Church history; spiritual treatise; theology
Core issue(s): Asceticism; contemplation; monasticism; prayer; union with God
Overview
In the early fifth century c.e., when Christianity was not only legally recognized but also the preferred religion for advancement in social and political circles in the Roman Empire, many people with only the most rudimentary knowledge of Christianity flooded into the Church. Although monasticism had long been practiced by Christians in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, the practice had not spread to Christians in southern France where John Cassian spent the last decades of his life. Devoting oneself full-time to the practice of monastic Christianity was a new idea in the Western Roman Empire. Cassian’s monastic writings, De institutis coenobiorum (419-426 c.e.; The Institutes of the Coenobia, 1894) and Conferences, are among the earliest writings in Latin to explain what monasticism is, what the purpose and motivation for a monastic life are, and how to organize a community centered on monastic practices.
Cassian had spent a number of years visiting and studying the lifestyles of the Egyptian Desert Fathers, each of whom struggled in his own way to find a path to God. He was convinced that such idiosyncratic patterns of fasting, harsh physical asceticism, and prayer would not help establish monasticism in southern France. What was needed was general guidance to gain the proper understanding of the monastic life as an example of living out the Christian faith. Day-to-day details about how long to pray, what prayers to say, when and how much to eat, were not Cassian’s main concern. He thought all these details could be worked out as a community of like-minded individuals grew, provided each member of that community had a shared and correct understanding of the purpose and goal of the monastic life.
Cassian’s twenty-four Conferences are retellings of his experiences during his studies with the Egyptian Desert Fathers. Each conference is retold in the name of the particular hermit with whom Cassian conversed on a specific topic. The Conferences take the form of interviews rather than systematic, scholarly discussions and contain general guidance on friendship, prayer, and discerning God’s will as distinct from one’s own will rather than precise regulations to be followed. Cassian argued that coenobitic, or communal, monasticism was the best form of monasticism, as a community could encourage individuals to follow time-tested forms of asceticism rather than to take an anything-goes attitude as sometimes was prevalent among the Egyptian hermits. Cassian considered the monastic lifestyle to be a lifelong, communally based process of spiritual growth. Only after a long period of communal monasticism should individuals even consider the eremitic life, and then only in rare cases.
Cassian thought that monastic life had a twofold goal. It taught an individual how to live spiritually as a member of community and provided a means for an individual to reach union with God through contemplative prayer that grew out of communal worship. A monastic community had a common moral aim and was able to provide support and direction for individual members.
The first conference is among the most important in that it deals with the goal or objective of a monk, movement of the soul toward God. Cassian was convinced that once that goal is properly understood, there exist a multitude of pathways to achieve it. Conferences 2 to 8 deal with various virtues that monks should try to cultivate. A sense of humility and discretion are required, otherwise the entire monastic life would be lived for human recognition and reward rather than for the sake of heaven. Conference 3 discusses the need to renounce most possessions to concentrate on the beauty of the soul rather than material things. This conference also touches on the relationship between human free will and divine grace. This topic is taken up at greater length in conference 13, in which Cassian hints that an individual can make a free choice to move toward God before any action on the part of God. Many later Christian writers considered Cassian theologically suspect because he seemed to argue that grace was not initially necessary to begin the process leading to possible union with God. A sympathetic reading of Cassian’s writings on free will and grace shows that what Cassian meant was a person just starting to turn toward God might not recognize the presence of grace in the initial movement and would ascribe the decision to individual initiative. A more mature person of faith would be able to look back and recognize hints of grace from the very beginning.
Also problematic for later Christian writers is conference 17 in which Cassian discusses the conditions under which it is permissible to lie. Cassian uses as a scriptural example Rahab the Harlot in Joshua 2. Rahab hid the Israelite spies from the Canaanite soldiers and lied about their whereabouts when asked. She did so because she discerned the will of God with respect to the Israelites, not because she expected any type of reward from the Israelite spies. Cassian suggests that if a greater good is served by lying in exceptional cases, then no sin is imputed to the one who lies. Moral theologians have been arguing over this line of reasoning for centuries.
Conferences 9, 10, and 11, on prayer and perfection, form the heart of Cassian’s writings. Prayer is a constant turning of the soul toward God. Gradually the mind ceases to be concerned abut anything else. This prayerful concentration, provided by God’s grace, leads to a process of purification of the heart, which leads to perfection or union with God, intimations of which are possible even in this life.
Conference 20 deals with the notion of penitence and forgiveness of sins. Excessive penance, the idea that one’s own sins are so numerous or serious that they are beyond even God’s ability to forgive, is itself a sin. Cassian suggests one should always try to cultivate an attitude of humility and contrition of heart, coupled with a sincere determination to avoid further occasions of sin. The rest depends on God’s grace.
Christian Themes
Throughout his monastic writings, The Institutes of the Coenobia and Conferences, Cassian repeatedly stresses that living a Christian life, whether monastic or lay, is a lifelong process of prayer, discernment, and mental and physical discipline. These actions will eventually lead to glimpses of union with God. Proper mental concentration in communal prayer, by using the Psalms, coupled with both a literal and a metaphorical reading of Scripture, will help purify the heart and the mind so that the human will is not mistaken for the divine will. This entire process of spiritual movement toward union with God is a result of grace that initially impels the soul. Although an individual has a moral responsibility to recognize and protect that movement, the initial impulse illustrates complete human dependence on God, from whom the initial impulse originated.
It was left to Saint Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century c.e. to lay down specific rules for how a monastic community should conduct itself. However, it was Cassian’s insistence on the communal aspects of monasticism that established coenobitic monasticism throughout Western Europe.
Sources for Further Study
Merton, Thomas. Cassian and the Fathers: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition. New York: Liturgical Press, 2005. This volume is a printed version of lectures Thomas Merton gave to novices at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky in the early 1960’s when Merton was novice master. Students of Merton will want to read this volume to see how Merton understood later monasticism as an offshoot of the Desert Fathers.
Ramsey, Boniface, ed. John Cassian: The “Conferences.” Ancient Christian Writers 57. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1997. Ramsey provides a useful introduction to the state of Christianity in Western Europe at the beginning of the fifth century, as well as Cassian’s contributions to later monastic history.
Stewart, Columba. Cassian the Monk. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Stewart discusses Cassian’s somewhat controversial teachings on grace and free will. He also analyzes Cassian’s contribution to Latin Christianity as a monk, a theologian, and a bishop.