Woman in the Writings of John Cassian
Arkadiusz Nocoń
Pontificia Università Gregoriana a Roma , ItalyAbstract
John Paul II remarked, in his famous Letter to Women, that the “sons of the Church” also contributed to undermining the dignity of women over the centuries. Can John Cassian be counted amongst them? It was he who spread the doctrine of the Desert Fathers in the West, and some, such as Anatole France, accuse them of entertaining hatred towards women. By analysing the writings of John Cassian, we discover, however, that, besides the many interesting texts of his, uncommon in Christian literature, in which he talks of God as a mother, and alongside the fervent invitation to Christians to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, the texts which concern women contain not a trace of discrimination. In his writings, woman is not inferior to man, either by nature or by virtue. On the contrary, there are times when he holds them out as examples to be followed for their great faith and virtue. If, at times, he also presents woman with reference to some vice, he does so only to illustrate the virtue of some other person. Generally speaking, therefore, the vision of woman found in his writings is basically positive, and it finds a place naturally in his ascetical doctrine of mediocritas. It was certainly not he who, by his writings, contributed to undermining the dignity of women.
Keywords:
God as mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Desert Fathers and women, John CassianReferences
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