Synopsis
CASSIANUS, Johannes, b. between 359
and 360; d. between 440 and 450; was educated in a monastery at Bethlehem,
under the tutelage of abbot Germanus. In 390 the master and his pupil, now two
friends, made a pilgrimage to the Egyptian hermits; and this oasis of stillness
and quiet, situated on the very confines of the confusion and restlessness of
the ancient world, made so deep an impression on the two wanderers, that they
remained there for seven years. Leaving Egypt, they repaired to Constantinople,
where Cassianus was consecrated a deacon by Chrysostom; but after the overthrow
of Chrysostom (404) Cassianus went to Rome alone. Of Germanus nothing more is
heard. The sack of Rome by Alaric, made upon Cassianus, as upon so many others,
the impression that peace and safety could not be attained except by leaving
society and the stir of the multitude, and settling down in solitude. he went
to Massilia, founded two monasteries (one for men and one for women), and
wrote, for the instruction of his pupils, De Caenohioruni Institutis Libri
XII., and Collationes Patrum XXIV. In the former of these works he
gives first the external rules after which a hermit’s life is led, and
then he describes the internal labor by which the final goal is reached. In the
latter he gives his experiences from the Egyptian hermits. By these books, and
by his two foundations, he introduced monasticism in the Western Church.
Also from another side the Western Church
was deeply moved at that moment, namely, by the genius of Augustine. But the
discrepancy between the ideas of Augustine and the theological system of the
Eastern Church, in which Cassianus was educated, was so great, that he never
felt able to adopt such doctrines as those of predestination, the
irresistibility of grace, etc. He did not separate himself, however, so far
from the views of Augustine as to embrace those of Pelagius. On the contrary,
on the instance of Leo the Great, he wrote his De Incarnatione Libri VII.,
directly against Nestorianism, but indirectly against Pelagianism; and thus
he became the founder and first representative of semi-Pelagianism. The best
collected edition of his works is that by GAZAEUS, Douai, 1616, which has been
often reprinted, latest at Leipzig, 1733. An accurate analysis of his
stand-point has been given by G. Fr.WIGGERS: Darstellung des Augustinismus
und Pelagianismus, 1833, II. pp. 6-183. [There is an Italian translation of
Cassianus’s work, Venice, 1663, and a French, Paris, 1667.]
Thiersch,"CASSIANUS, Johannes," Philip
Schaff, ed., A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical,
Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd edn., Vol. 1. Toronto,
New York & London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894. p.413.
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John Cassian, Nicene & Post
Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, Vol. 11. E.C.S. Gibson, translator. Edinburgh:
T & T Clark, 1894. pp.161-621. |
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John Cassian, Selection from
Conferences in Owen Chadwick, Western Asceticism, J. Baillie et al.
Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 12. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953-1966.
pp.190-289. |
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 C. Luibheid, translator,
John Cassian: Conferences, R.J. Payne, et al, Classics of Western
Spirituality. New York: Paulist, 1985. Pbk. ISBN: 080912694X. pp.201.
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Augustine Michael Casiday, "Apatheia
and Sexuality in the Thought of Augustine and Cassian," St. Vladimir's
Theological Quarterly 45.4 (2001): 359-394. |
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D. Burton-Christie, "Scripture, Self-Knowledge and
Contemplation in Cassian's Conferences," Studia Patristica 25
(1993): 339-45. |
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John Cassian
(Christian Classic Ethereal Library) |
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Owen Chadwick, John Cassian: A Study
in Primitive Monasticism, 2nd edn. London: Cambridge University Press,
1968. Hbk. ISBN: 0521046076. {Amazon.com} |
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G.J. Crites, "John Cassian and the
Development of Early Irish Christianity: A Study of the State of the
Literature," American Benedictine Review 53.4 (2002):
377-399. |
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C. Folsam, "Anger, Dejection and Acedia
in the Writings of John Cassian," American Benedictione Review, Vol. 35
(1984): 219-248. |
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John
Cassian (Maurice M. Hassett) |
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M.S. Laird, "Cassian's Conferences Nine
and Ten: Some Observations Regarding Contemplation and Hermeneutics,"
Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale 62
(1995): 145-66. |
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J.T. Lienhard, "On 'Discernment of
Spirits' in the Early Church (1 Cor 12:10 for Chrysostom, Origen, Athanasius;
Cassian," Theological Studies 41 (1980): 505-29. |
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John J. Levko, "Incessant Prayer and
John Cassian," Diakonia 28.2 (1995): 71-90. |
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John J. Levko, "Patience in a Life of
Prayer for John Cassian," Diakonia 28.3 (1995): 167-172. |
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John Levko, "The Relationship of Prayer
to Discretion and Spiritual Direction for John Cassian," Vladimir's
Theological Quarterly 40.3 (1996): 155-171. |
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John J. Levko, "Temptation and Its
Relationship to Prayer for John Cassian," Diakonia 29.2 (1996):
85-94. |
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John J. Levko, "Self-Control in a Life
of Prayer for John Cassian," Diakonia 29.2 (1996): 142-154. |
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John Levko, "Inside Prayer with John
Cassian," Diakonia 30.2-3 (1997): 165-173. |
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John Levko, "The Spiritual Journey from
Lukewarmness to Steadfastness for John Cassian," Diakonia 31.1 (1998):
5-13. |
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D.J. MacQueen, "John Cassian on Grace
and Free Will with Particular Reference to Institutio XIII and Callatio XII,"
Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, Vol.
44 (1977): 5-28. |
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Peter. Munz, "John Cassian," The
Journal of Ecclesiatical History 11.1 (1960): 1-22. |
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J. Rippinger, "The Concept of Obedience
in the Monastic Writings of Basil and Cassian," Studia monastica, Vol.
19 (1977): 7-18. |
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Philip Rousseau, "Cassian,
Contemplation of the Cenobotic Life," Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol.
26 (1975): 113-126. |
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Philip Rousseau, Ascetics, Authority
and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian. Oxford & New York:
Oxford University Press, 1978. Hbk. ISBN: 0198218702. pp.153-234. {Amazon.com} |
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Edward Sellner , "Cassian and the
Elders: Formation and Spiritual Direction in the Desert," Studies in
Formative Spirituality 13.3 (1992): 305-322. |
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Columba Stewart, "The Monastic Journey
According to John Cassian," Word and Spirit 15 (1993):
29-39. |
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Columba Stewart, "Writing about John
Cassian in the 1990's," American Benedictine Review 48.4 (1997):
341-346. |
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Rebecca Harden Weaver, "The Experience
of Scripture: The Anti-predestinarian Argument of John Cassian,"
Insights 109.2 (1994): 39-47. |
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