The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestian Monasticism Under the Christian Empire

by Derwas J. Chitty

This study of early Christian monasticism by Derwas Chitty has already proved to be a classic. No other account of this vital period in the history of the monastic movement equals it for detailed scholarship combined with vivid and dynamic writing. Dr. Chitty, one of the major scholars in this period, deals with the golden age of Egyptian monasticism and describes the three founders of the movement, Anastasius, Anthony and Pachomius. He follows the development of monastic life in all its forms in Egypt to the end of the fourth century, when the center shifted to Palestine; the following chapters are devoted to accounts of the great ascetics of Palestine. The controversies surrounding the monastic movement are examined in their political and ecclesiastical aspects and the book concludes with an account of the monastic history of Mount Sinai. This book contains a wealth of material indispensable to any serious student of monasticism; it is also a book which will bring alive for any reader the great questions underlying monasticism in any age. As Dr. Chitty writes in his prologue, 'This making a City of the Wilderness was no mere flight...it was rooted in a stark realism of faith in God and acceptance of the battle which is not against flesh and blood... Has it not its challenge for today?'

Genres: History, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Derwas James Chitty

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small but dense overview of the beginnings of Christian monasticism in Egypt through the relative end of that era in the sixth century. Chitty's wife, Mary, acknowledges the unfinished and unpolished nature of the work, noting that her husband died unexpectedly before it could be finished. However, there are ample reasons why this book has served for decades as a foundational text for those interested in the history, lives, and experiences of the early Christian monastics, ecclesiastics, and Church, birthed out of the crucible of the Egyptian, Judean, and Palestinian wilderness and deserts.
Highly readable, and a profound bibliography of other works by innumerable authors in the field stretching back to the Fathers themselves. If anything, this text serves as a wise beginning to leap forth from into further study and exploration.

[Dave O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings the odd figures of early Christian monasticism to life: Pachomius, Antony, etc., and sets them in historical and geographic relation to each other. They were indeed real people rather than the mythic figures they seem to be when you read about them in the various Desert Fathers collections. This is based on Chitty's lectures, which gives it a readable, conversational tone you don't often get in books on this subject. My copy's falling apart and held together with rubber bands...

[Br. Thanasi (Thomas) Stama · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hard book to read. The style is a bit archaic more 1950s history professor than today's world. That academia style no one does nowadays. But is an important work about the first six centuries and monasticism.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

First impression: a quick, engaging read. Or it would be if not for the excessive use of endnotes! 200+ for a 19 page chapter? Unnecessary.

Second impression: his way of transliterating some common words (from Greek or Coptic or Latin into English) is perplexing, and I've had to stop and read them out loud several different times before realizing what he meant.

Third impression: There's no question that Chitty knows his material, but he has a difficult time deciding between scholarly objectivity and religious subjectivity (the fact that he himself is an Anglican, not part of any Orthodox church, makes this all the more problematic). As a result the tone shifts between "lectures" and sometimes within a single "lecture", and I wish he would've decided on a single perspective. To appeal to the academic establishment as the definitive arbiter of historical truth at one point, then sneeringly condemn the "crude" anthropomorphization of God in some early Christian traditions (which, incidentally, is the ORIGINAL vision of God in Israelite religion, Judaism, and early non-Platonic Christianity) while treating hagiographies as flawless histories...well, it confuses the reader and makes the book itself weak for both academic or confessional uses.

[EC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific book all about the early monastic life in Egypt and the Holy Land. This is a classic by D.J. Chitty! (Chitty Chitty bang bang!) As I sit here and recite the Jesus Prayer to feed my soul, I'm reminded of the populist chant, Let's Go Brandon!! The people have spoken and unlike the holy monks of yesteryear, we will not retire to our cells and just be quiet! The people have spoken and we DO NOT approve of JoJo Biden, our 80 year old frail Grandpa-in-Chief! It's OK to say that you don't like Biden, it doesn't mean you're a Trumper and you want Trump back, it just means you have common sense and that you understand that there's NO WAY in hell he got 81 million votes! He is NOT the most popular president in American history. You are being gaslit by a media occupied by the enemy. xoxoxo

[Amos Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an academic yet passionate account of the Egyptian Desert and surrounding areas between the third and fifth century, when the desert became a city of monasteries. James Chitty has spent extended time in the deserts that he writes about, doing archaeological exploration. This time period and geography were the birth place of Christian monasticism. And here is an account of that period written by a native! -Amos Smith (author of Healing The Divide)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. However, to be honest, the manuscript is not complete. The author was attempting to turn a series of lectures into a book when he passed away. His widow had the lectures published. A good editor should have been assigned to clean it up into a publishable book. Still it an interesting glimpse into the early years of the monastic movement.

[Pat Loughery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re reading this to give me a sense of early Christian monastic development