{"product_id":"the-paradise-of-the-holy-rare-orthodox-books-9798190802498","title":"The Paradise of the Holy Fathers: Volume II - The Sayings of the Fathers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnter the school of the Egyptian Desert Fathers, where silence, prayer, vigilance, humility, and mercy are tested in daily life.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the deserts of Egypt, men and women withdrew from distraction to confront the passions and seek purity of heart. Their sayings, practical counsels, searching questions, and memorable stories became one of Christianity's foundational guides to the spiritual life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Paradise of the Holy Fathers\u003c\/i\u003e preserves this inheritance through the Syriac collection associated with Anan-Isho, translated into English by E. A. Wallis Budge. Volume II gathers its spiritual teachings for direct, topical reading.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInside Volume II: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFourteen chapters of counsels from the holy men\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeachings on solitude, silence, fasting, and abstinence\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGuidance on Scripture, psalmody, vigils, and constant prayer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWisdom concerning compunction, poverty, patience, and obedience\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCounsels on watchfulness, hospitality, love, and humility\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWarnings concerning temptation, fornication, pride, and careless speech\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeachings on repentance, wonder-working elders, and the solitary life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuestions and answers on the rule of life and the vision of the mind\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn appendix of questions from the brethren and answers from the Fathers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVolume II is the more immediately practical half of the work. A brother asks how to remain in his cell, pray without distraction, answer a troubling thought, endure temptation, or recognize genuine humility. The Fathers reply with stories, paradoxes, rebukes, acts of mercy, and hard-won discernment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir teaching is severe because it takes freedom seriously. Anger, vanity, appetite, judgment, despair, and the desire for praise are forms of bondage. Fasting is never separated from charity; silence is tested by love; and extraordinary ascetic feats are measured against humility and compassion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese sayings reward slow reading. A single answer may be brief enough to remember yet deep enough to examine for days. Readers can proceed chapter by chapter, follow a subject through the index, or open the volume for reflection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis reader's edition is designed for sustained use and serious reference. Names and headings have been standardized, obvious defects inherited from early printing have been corrected, and complete scriptural quotations are supplied from the King James Version rather than silently paraphrased. The reading guide, glossary, Scriptural Index, and General Index to both volumes make Budge's historical translation easier to navigate without flattening its antique character.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Orthodox Christian spirituality, the \u003ci\u003ePhilokalia\u003c\/i\u003e, patristic literature, Christian asceticism, contemplative prayer, monastic history, and spiritual warfare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis paperback contains Volume II only: The Sayings of the Fathers.\u003c\/b\u003e It is the second half of the coordinated Complete Two-Volume Reader's Edition from Rare Orthodox Books. Volume I contains the lives and historical narratives, including the Life of Saint Anthony, Palladius, Saint Pachomius, and the History of the Monks in Egypt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether approached devotionally, historically, or as a primary source for early monasticism, these counsels reveal why the wisdom of the desert has endured: it speaks plainly about the divided heart and points toward watchfulness, repentance, charity, and peace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead a saying. Keep it in the heart. Let the desert become a school of attention.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rare Orthodox Books,E. A. Wallis Budge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798190802498\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/05\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 322\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.86lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d","brand":"Rare Orthodox Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50546686394623,"sku":"9798190802498","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-paradise-of-the-holy-rare-orthodox-books-9798190802498","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}