The Life and Conduct of the Holy and Blessed Teacher Synkletike

“This life of St. Synkletike presents a brief account of her early years and her initial monastic struggles.There then follows a lengthy discourse on her teachings, given to certain female disciples (aspiring or tonsured nuns, as the teachings themselves confirm). The teachings are presented as though she gave them orally, after great initial reluctance, in a single session, though it is likely that this long discourse is actually a compilation of teachings given over a long period of time. Finally, the life recounts her last days and the patient endurance she showed amid the illnesses that led to her death. [...]Concerning the authorship of this work, it was traditionally attributed to St. Athanasios of Alexandria (†373), who wrote the life of St. Anthony the Great, the so-called ‘Πατὴρ τοῦ Μοναχισμοῦ’ (father of monasticism). While the prevailing consensus, today, is that St. Athanasios did not, in fact, write the Life of Amma Synkletike, this matter is, in the end, one of secondary importance. Those things that matter, for anyone seeking the spiritual counsel of this great desert Mother, are the content of her life and the timeless relevancy of her insights.”
—“Translator’s Introduction”

Publication Data: Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2015
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 82
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.3 cm × 13.8 cm × 0.6 cm
Additional Information: full-color illustrations
ISBN: 978‒1‒938943‒04‒1