The Church Fathers · c. 393
Chapters on Prayer
Evagrius Ponticus · 345–399
What it is
A hundred and fifty-three brief chapters on prayer stripped of images and concepts, defining the theologian as the one who prays truly.
Why it lasted
The fountainhead of the contemplative tradition in both East and West, transmitted for centuries under other names after Evagrius was condemned.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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