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St. John of the Ladder
Greek/Latin JOHANNES CLIMACUS
VI/VII Centuries
St. John of the Ladder (c. 570/579-649) became a monk at Sinai when he was
16. He became a solitary and remained a hermit for many years
in
the Vale of Thola. Many monks
wanted him as their spiritual father, and St. Gregory the Great requested
his prayers. To fullfill the wish of Abbot John of Raithu, St. John wrote
The Ladder of Divine Ascent (also
called The Ladder to Paradise) to
describe the way to apatheia, or
passionlessness. Based on Jacob's dream,
the book uses aphorisms and anecdotes to illustrate the vices to be
overcome and the virtues to be cultivated as one ascends the ladder to
perfection. St. John was 70 or 75 when he became abbot of
St. Catherine's
on Sinai. He resigned the post after four years and died, as he had lived,
a hermit.
Some Orthodox read The Ladder of Divine Ascent
during Great Lent, and the Church commemorates him on
the fourth Sunday of the fast.
Karen Rae Keck
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