Be where you are. The Idea of Stability in John Cassian

BE WHERE YOU ARE: THE IDEA OF MONASTIC STABILITY IN JOHN CASSIAN The thesis examines the role of stability in the texts of patristic author John Cassian, who is concerned with the spirituality of the early Egyptian monasticism. The theme is briefly presented in relation to author's life and writings. A detailed lexicological analysis shows which words and with which meaning Cassian uses to express the idea of stability. The third chapter forms the core of the study - it describes five main aspects of the studied idea: i. e. the stability of vocation (stabilitas professionis), the stability of place (stabilitas loci), the stability of heart (stabilitas cordis), the stability in the good (stabilitas boni) and God's stability (stabilitas Dei). These aspects are delineated as successive degrees of a spiritual journey that leads from external to internal forms of stability and further to the stability of love of God and neighbour. The whole Cassian's conception is then situated within the wider context of systematic theology. The introduction and the conclusion of the thesis put the examined topic in the frame of the contemporary "crisis of rootedness" and outline the possible therapeutic dimension of author's thought for those who are afflicted with instability. Keywords John Cassian; Egyptian..