Chronicles of the Desert
About
From the Thebaid of Egypt to the deserts of Palestine and Syria, from the monasteries and caves of Mount Athos, to the vast wilderness of northern Russia. This series explores and celebrates the wondrous lives of Saints in the Orthodox Christian church.
Season 1
7m4KEp. 1 · Chronicles of the Desert - Abba Bessarion
St. Bessarion the Great (also known as Bessarion of Egypt or Wonderworker, 5th century) was a renowned Egyptian desert father and monk, known for extreme asceticism and miracles. A follower of St. Antony the Great, he lived a wandering, roofless life of prayer and profound humility, commemorated on June 6 in the East and June 17 in the West.
13mEp. 2 · Chronicles of the Desert - Spiritual Fatherhood
In the latest episode of ‘Chronicles of the Desert’, we briefly learn about three saints that were added to the church calendar on March 9th, 2020 by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. These three modern elders benefited from the system of spiritual fatherhood that has long been in practice in the Christian east and continues today within the Orthodox Church. Saint Joseph the Hesychast and Saints Daniel and Ephraim of Katounakia, all labored in the Athonite desert in the 20th century and taught others the ascetic and hesychastic tradition that, along with the sacramental life of the Church, leads to purification from the passions, acquisition of the virtues, and union with God.
8m4KEp. 3 · Chronicles of The Desert - Anthony in the Tombs
This story begins just outside of the village of Coma, Egypt around the year AD 270, when a man named Anthony leaves the world behind for a life of asceticism in the desert. This account, adapted from the classic book The Life of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius, tells of Anthony’s earliest encounters with the devil and evil spirits.