About the Author

Saint John Cassian (c. 360 - 435) is believed to have been born in the region of Scythia Minor, close to what is now the Romanian-Bulgarian border. As a young man he travelled to Palestine and lived in a hermitage in Bethlehem, moving to Scete in the Egyptian desert, where he visited a number of monastic foundations. After further travels and ordination to the priesthood, he arrived in Marseille in southern Gaul, where he founded the Abbey of St Victor for both men and women, one of the first dual monasteries in the West. Cassian’s writings include his major works, the ‘Institutes’ and the ‘Conferences’, which transmit the wisdom of the Desert Fathers. The Rule of Saint Benedict (c. 530), which has defined Western monastic life over 1500 years, clearly reflects Cassian’s influence.

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