Le jeûne chez l’ancien : les privations volontaires de nourriture chez les moines coptes de l’Antiquité tardive

Abstract

The presentation of monasticism given by Evagrius Ponticus corresponds essentially to the description – found in other sources of the time – of the approach actually followed by the first monks of Coptic Egypt. This article seeks to more systematically study the characteristics of this approach as described in these sources. This will include a study of what is called the “monastic armor”, of which one of the elements is fasting. In this article, we focus on the practices concerning fasting: its calendar and its timetables, its influence on the visit of hosts, the extreme practices. We conclude, here as elsewhere, that moderation is advocated as necessary by most monks of the Egyptian desert.