Scripture for a Life of Perfection. The Bible in Late Antique Monasticism: The Case of Palestine

Palestinian monasticism has a specific connection with the Bible due to its environment itself, but it also develops and intensive use of the Scripture. The contribution deals with the problems of access to reading, memorization of biblical texts, scholarly practice attached to them, and their spiritual interpretation. In the long run the authority of the Holy Scripture is faced with the ermergence of a new literature of a \uabnormative\ubb value: the life and sayings of the Fathers of early monasticism. Palestinian monasticism is a representative case in order to investigate the presence of the Bible among the monks of Late Antiquity. The contribution focuses on its different forms and deepens the relation between the Scriptures and the new monastic literature juxtaposing itself to them