The Geography of the Monastic Cell in Early Egyptian Monastic Literature

Both men were demonstrating their commitment to God, their willingness to embrace suffering, and their need to discipline themselves within the confines of the cell.1 The tales of mighty battles with demons - most vivid in the Life of Antony - and of austere asceticism - such as that of the young Zacharius who allowed his beautiful skin to be eaten away by natron in order to dispel rumors that he was sexually involved with his father - have become components of the metanarrative of Egyptian monasticism.2 Concerns about desire and sexual I would like to thank Nancy McHugh. Like Abba Moses, who totd a monk that his cell would teach him all things, the convict reminded the monk that he should remain in his cell no matter what the temptation.6 The admonition to pledge one's body within the confines of the monastic cell. regardless of one's personal feelings, was one of the more common correctives for a distracted mind.\n The dynamic nature of how to abide within and still leave the cell is what made the monastic cell central in formulating the spiritual life of the monastic. Wills and bills of sale from the documentary record, elaborately painted cells with great variation in execution and programs, and the ubiquity with which monastic space became physically present within the late antique landscape all point to practical concerns that later monastic authorities would need to face.