Monastic Social Work
- Monastic Social Work
by Father Dale A. Johnson
For much of my adult life I have studied eastern monasticism. Originating in the mountains and deserts, solitary monastics migrated to the cities in the lands between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers between the 4th and 6th centuries. It was a migration born out of conflict and persecution. Persian armies and theological rivals hounded the once peaceful life of the monks. John of Ephesus and John of Tella write emotive accounts of the harsh persecutions suffered by the monks. But whatever persecution the monks suffered the urban populations suffered more. Plague, war, famine pummeled the residents of Mesopotamian cities, especially Amida (present day Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey). Monks were forced to seek refuge in the cities to escape the marauding Persian armies.
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