John Cassian

John Cassian (Johannes Cassianus), 360-435, an Eastern Christian monk and theologian who brought Eastern spirituality to the West. Cassian toured the ascetic monastic settlements of Egypt before he was driven from the East during the controversy over the theology of Origen . He settled at Marseilles (415) and established religious houses for men and for women. He was attacked for Semi-Pelagianism (see Pelagianism ), but he was trusted in Rome. His Conferences, a record of his earlier experiences with famous abbots and ascetics in Egypt, and his Institutes, a treatise on monasticism, had a critical influence on Western monasticism, especially in matters of ascetic and mystical life. He wrote against Nestorianism.

Bibliography: See study by O. Chadwick (2d ed. 1968).

Cassian, John (c.360–435). Christian monk. He came from the East to Marseilles, where c.415 he founded two monasteries and where he wrote his two main books. The Institutes sets out the ordinary rules for the monastic life. It was the basis of many W. rules, being drawn on e.g. by Benedict. The Conferences record his conversations with monastic leaders of the East.

Cassian, John (c.360–after 430), monk. As a young man he joined a monastery at Bethlehem, but he soon left to study monasticism in Egypt. About 415 he founded two monasteries near Marseilles. His Institutes sets out the ordinary rules for the monastic life and discusses the chief hindrances to a monk's perfection; it was taken as the basis of many W. Rules. The Conferences take the form of a record of conversations with the leaders of E. monasticism. He shared the unease of many of the monks of Gaul with the extremes of St Augustine's doctrine of grace and attacked this doctrine in Conference 13; his position was later called Semipelagianism. Feast day in the E., 29 Feb. (when this occurs).