![]() ![]() Swan's book, in addition to chapters on Ammas and Deaconesses, contains a Timeline of the Forgotten Desert Mothers, a Calendar of Feasts of Holy Women, the Ordination Rite of Deacons, and a Bibliography helpful to anyone interested in the roles filled by women in the early Church. Today January 5 The Episcopal Church remembers SARAH, THEODORA, AND SYNCLETICA OF EGYPT 'DESERT MOTHERS', 4th - 5th c. from The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women, by Laura Swan, O.S.B. 'For this is the great asceticism: to control oneself in illness and to sing hymns of thanksgiving to God.'" "Amma Syncletica lived into her eighties and died after three and a half years of intense physical suffering, most likely from cancer. "As women began to gather around her, Amma Syncletica reluctantly agreed to serve as their spiritual mentor, training them in the disciplines of the inner life." In this Collection, our apophthegm is attributed to an amma Syncletica,10 one of the three women anchorites to be known by name. Here she began her life as a desert ascetic. from separate dossiers, some preserving the exploits and sayings of anchorites known by name,9 others by themes or simply by chance grouping those of whom the name was lost. But once outside the monastery, the whole psychology changes. She then cut her hair as a sign of consecration and moved with her blind sister to the family tomb outside Alexandria. In the monastery, as Syncletica puts it, obedience was more important than asceticism. "At the death of her parents, Amma Syncletica sold all her possessions and distributed the family wealth among the poor. She was well educated and had a reputation for her beauty. Syncletica began her ascetical practices in her parents' home. Today I am going to tell you about the early Christian desert dwellers, both male and female hermits, the desert fathers and mothers, the original mamas and the papas, or rather, the abbas and ammas. Her two brothers died at relatively young ages and her sister was blind. "Amma Syncletica was born in Alexandria into a well-respected Christian family of Macedonian heritage. To see an icon of Amma Syncletica by Eileen McGuckin, click here. For more information, visit this day the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Eastern Catholic Churches commemorate Amma Syncletica of Alexandria, 380 - c.460. These vignettes are found in a card collection called “Exploring the Depths: Desert Fathers and Mothers” offered by Teresa Blythe and Trey Everett. ![]() ![]() By that time, the witness of her life and way of faith spoke louder than any words. With her younger sister, she abandoned the life of the city and chose to reside in a crypt adopting the life of a hermit. Which is a rock changed into a spring of water.Īt the age of 81, Syncletica developed a painful disease of the throat, probably a type of cancer, which left her mute. Roman martyrology: Amma Syncletica of Alexandria, a Christian saint and Desert Mother of the 4th century, was of a wealthy background and is reputed to have been very beautiful. She taught that “the soul is made feeble by praise and soon loses the resilience of its virtues.”Ĭhoose the meekness of Moses and you will find your heart Humility was a value Syncletica held dear. It wasn’t enough for these women to renounce all worldly possessions, Syncletica expected them to practice the physical hardships of poverty, such as fasting and sleeping on the bare ground. ![]() When women would come to the desert seeking a life like hers, she noticed many of them weren’t ready to live in poverty. One of her spiritual gifts was spiritual discernment. In her sayings, it is clear she did not think the desert hermit life was for everyone, and even believed that some who came to the desert to live were outwardly quiet but inwardly louder than many who lived in cities. Sayings: Amma Syncletica said, We ought to govern our souls with discretion and to remain in the community, neither following our own will nor seeking our. Syncletica became a well-known desert teacher and “Amma” (spiritual mother) – one of the few women quoted in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. There, in a cave where she lived 28 years, Syncletica found few distractions from her goal to be closer to God. When her parents died, she gave her entire inheritance to the poor, cut off all her hair to appear androgenous, and took her sister, who was blind, with her to the desert. While on that Holy Land pilgrimage, she escaped her entourage, wrote a letter to her family saying, “don’t try to find me,” and ran off to study with a desert father to learn about living the solitary life. Early in her childhood, Syncletica gave herself so totally to God that when her father arranged a marriage to a wealthy man, she begged her father to first allow her to go into the desert and explore the ascetic life. Legend has it she was beautiful, desired by many eligible suitors, educated, and wealthy. As a young 4 th century woman, Syncletica of Alexandria had it all. ![]()
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