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St. Diadochus, Bishop of Photice in Epirus
V Century
Little is known about Diadochus of Photice, the author of
"100 Chapters on Spiritual Perfection." He was a student of Evagrius
Ponticus and was an opponent of monophysitism. As bishop of Photice, he
signed the affirmation of Chalcedon made by the bishops of Epirus.
Diadochus also opposed Messalianism, a teaching that each person has a
personal demon to be exorcized by constant prayer. He is thought to be the
author of a sermon on the Ascension and a dialogue with St. John the
Baptist.
Diadochus' work on spiritual perfection discusses the virtues, especially
love, and their attainment through prayer and contemplation. People begin
their lives in innocence, a state out of which they naturally grow;
leading a life of virtue creates a state of informed innocence, the state
summed up in Christ's injunction to be as wise as serpents and as harmless
as doves. The resulting love and contemplation are the wellspring of
Christian doctrine.
Karen Rae Keck
- ABOUT:
- Marcus Plested:
Diadochus of Photice, (2004).
Chapter 6 of his
Macarian Legacy,
(Oxford University Press, 2004).
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