Asketen St.Neilos

Så blev jeg færdig med opgaven, asketen St.Neilos.

Det primære var at lære at male et hvidt skæg, og en askets ansigt, som jo et meget mere markeret end andre…

Her er lidt om St.Neilos:

St Neilos the Ascetic was abbot of a monastery near Ankyra (Ankara) in the early decades of the fifth century, and seems to have died around

the year 430. Possibly he was a disciple of St John Chrysostom. According to the traditional biography of Neilos – accepted as authentic by St Nikodimos, but now considered legendary – he was originally from Constantinople, and after serving as prefect of the city during the reign of Theodosios the Great (379-95) he became a hermit near Sinai. There seems in fact to be no good reason for connecting him with the Sinaite peninsula.
The Ascetic Discourse of Neilos contains a valuable section on the relationship between the spiritual father and his disciples. In other of his writings, although not in this work, St Neilos refers to the invocation of the name of Jesus. Along with St. Diadochos of Photiki, his younger contemporary, Neilos is the earliest writer to refer explicitly to the Jesus Prayer.

St. Neilos presents a substantial rationale and vision for investing one’s energies in the cultivation of the soul and the acquisition of heaven, rather than the care of the body and the pursuit of earthly glory and fame. St. Neilos the Ascetic, disciple of St. John Chrysostom and one-time city-prefect of Constantinople turned monk and Abbot, provides in 50 pages – the longest of all texts by far in Vol. 1 of the English Philokalia – a substantial rationale and vision for investing one’s energies in the cultivation of the soul and the acquisition of heaven, rather than the care of the body and the pursuit of earthly glory and fame. Chocked full of spiritual interpretations of Old Testament texts, St. Neilos utilizes his vast knowledge of Scripture and vast life experience to promote the development of Christian spiritual life. This text is duly famous for its profound reflections upon the gravity and significance of being a spiritual father.