"Having purified yourself by fasting, you attained the understanding of wisdom, and from the desert-dwelling, God-bearing fathers you learned the mastery of the passions. Therefore, grant us, through your prayers, obedience of our flesh to the spirit, for you are a teacher, O venerable Cassian, to all who sing of your memory in Christ."
(Troparion, Tone 8)
On 13 March the Church commemorates of St Cassian the Roman (435).
St John Cassian the Roman, a distinguished ascetic and theologian, and "father of the East and West," laboured in the Christian West, drawing the foundation for his spiritual struggles and works in from the monasteries of Egypt and the Holy Land. He could be called a father of the East who wrote in Latin in the West.
John Cassian was born around 360. His exact birthplace remains unknown, but most scholars believe he hailed from Scythia Minor, present-day Dobruja, then a Roman province. Hence, his designation as "the Roman."
Dobruja is a historical region in the Balkans between the lower Danube and the Black Sea coast. The northern part belongs to Romania, the southern to Bulgaria.
The saint came from a wealthy Christian family. He received an excellent education at home, mastering Latin and Greek and becoming well-versed in classical poetry, rhetoric, and philosophy.
By the latter half of the 4th century, monasteries existed in Scythia Minor, which the future saint likely frequented, absorbing the spirit of ascetic Christian life. John himself hints at this, mentioning in a letter to a bishop that from early childhood he lived among monks, observing their prayers and way of life, which he followed. These monasteries likely sparked John’s monastic aspirations: despite his secular education, he did not seek worldly success. Around 380, the young John Cassian, yearning to serve God, journeyed to the Holy Land with his friend Germanus. There, perhaps after meeting the Egyptian ascetic Abba Paphnutius, then in Bethlehem, they embraced monasticism in a monastery situated where angels announced Christ's birth to the shepherds.
Men's monastery of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, a metochion of Mar Saba Monastery in Beit Sahour – the "Shepherds' Field," 2 kilometres from the centre of Bethlehem, where, according to tradition, angels announced Christ's birth to the shepherds.
A few years later, these young monks, inseparable in their spiritual purpose and described as having "one mind and one heart in two bodies," sought their abbot's blessing to visit the Egyptian ascetics. In his "Conferences of the Desert Fathers," St John Cassian would later write: "Hoping for a greater grace of perfection, we decided to travel to Egypt and, having penetrated the furthest Thebaid desert, especially to visit those saints whose fame was everywhere, if not out of a zeal to emulate them, then at least out of a desire to learn about them."
John and Germanus visited the desert of Skete, the desert of Kellia, and Nitria, where they encountered the spiritual wisdom and holy lives of the Egyptian fathers, including Abbas Moses, Daniel, Serapion, Serenus, Isaac, Theonas, and others. They spent around seven years immersed in ascetic practices and conversations with the elders, praying alongside them, questioning them, heeding their guidance, and meticulously recording their teachings and vivid accounts of diverse spiritual experiences. During this time, St John gathered material for his writings on monastic life. After a brief return to the Bethlehem monastery, the ascetics soon headed back to the Egyptian lands that so captivated them.
The Origenist disputes that flared up in 399 and the ensuing turmoil forced John and Germanus to flee Egypt: the local bishop, backed by state authorities, arrived in Nitria with a detachment of soldiers and burned the cells of the Origenist monks dwelling there. In 400, fifty Egyptian monks travelled to Constantinople, where they lodged a complaint against the Archbishop of Alexandria with the emperor and the patriarch, who at that time was St John Chrysostom. St John Cassian also made his way to Constantinople and was warmly received by the holy prelate. Around 404, St John Chrysostom ordained John Cassian as a deacon and entrusted him with the treasury of the patriarchal cathedral. St John Cassian greatly admired St John Chrysostom, praising his virtues and talents in his writings.
St John Chrysostom. Mosaic of the northern tympanum of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, 9th century.
During the persecution against St John Chrysostom, St John Cassian, as a trusted confidant, was sent to Rome as part of a special delegation of the Constantinopolitan clergy to Pope Innocent I, seeking his protection for St John. Innocent's efforts failed, and the unjust accusations against St John Chrysostom were not dropped. Thus, John Cassian found himself in the West and remained in Rome for about twelve years.
Fleeing the Gothic invasion, and perhaps also seeking monastic solitude, St John relocated to Southern Gaul. By then, he had been ordained a priest and spent some time on the island of Lérins in the Orthodox monastery of St Honoratus. The Lérins monks lived a semi-eremitical life: they dwelled in secluded cells and gathered for worship. They supported themselves by fishing with homemade nets, growing grain, and cultivating vineyards. It was for this community that St John Cassian wrote his renowned "Conferences of the Egyptian Fathers."
In 415, St John Cassian established two monasteries, one for men and one for women, in Massilia (modern-day Marseille, France), modelled after the Egyptian and Palestinian communities. The location for the men's monastery was no coincidence. It was the site of the tomb of St Victor the Martyr: in Marseille, the saint had served in the Roman army, confessed Christ, and suffered martyrdom, executed by order of Emperor Maximian. This monastery, later known as the Abbey of Saint-Victor, became the first urban monastery in the West. Many Western monasteries later adopted Abba John’s practices.
Abbey of Saint-Victor
Today, the Catholic Abbey of Saint-Victor stands on the site of the monastery founded in the 5th century by St John Cassian in honour of St Victor of Marseille (d. 290). Saracens destroyed the monastery in the 8th century. The abbey was rebuilt in the first half of the 11th century on the same spot, with a new, massive church.
St John Cassian wrote all his works in Gaul. Fluent in Greek and Latin from childhood and possessing vast knowledge of Eastern Orthodox asceticism, he shared the accumulated spiritual experience of the Thebaid, prompted by the need for general rules of spiritual life and responding to requests from bishops and abbots of Gallic monasteries. Among his addressees were Bishop Castor of Apt, Bishops Leontius, Helladius, and Honoratus, and Abbots Jovinian, Minervius, Leontius, Theodore, and Eucherius (who later became Bishop of Lyon and compiled a summary of Cassian's writings, known as the Rule of Cassian).
Starting around 417, St Cassian wrote in Latin twelve books "On the Institutes of the Coenobia" and twenty-four books of "Conferences of the Egyptian Fathers" – all dealing with the essence, goals, and rules of monastic life. Written in the popular form of dialogues between young monks and their spiritual elders, based on reliable testimonies, notes, and recollections of the saint himself, vividly recreating the austere atmosphere of the Great Desert, these works quickly gained renown in the West. They played a vital role in introducing Western monasticism to the invaluable experience of Eastern Christian asceticism, enriching Latin religious culture with the religious and philosophical concepts of the Eastern Church Fathers.
St John Cassian the Roman, one of the founders of monasticism in the Christian West
Respected figures of Orthodoxy, such as St John Climacus, who noted that St John Cassian "philosophises beautifully and loftily," and Patriarch Photius, who considered his writings "edifying and highly beneficial for a devout life," spoke highly of his work. It is worth noting that the gradual ascent through the stages of spiritual perfection is already described in the teachings of St John Cassian. He outlines the following order: "According to Holy Scripture, the beginning of our salvation and wisdom is the fear of the Lord; from the fear of the Lord arises saving contrition (of the heart); from contrition comes renunciation, that is, poverty and despising all possessions; from poverty comes humility; from humility arises the mortification of desires; after the mortification of desires, all vices are uprooted and wither; after the uprooting of vices, virtues flourish and grow; with the growth of virtues, purity of heart is acquired; through purity of heart, the perfection of apostolic love is attained." From active knowledge, one should ascend to spiritual knowledge, to the "purity of contemplation."
Man's main task consists in the constant union of his spirit with the Divine reality and with God, while other virtues, useful and necessary, are secondary, as seen in the example of the sisters Martha and Mary, for the Lord "placed the chief good in Divine contemplation alone. Human activity is multifaceted, but contemplation is simple and unified. If human activity ceases in the future life, contemplation, like love, will never end."
In St John's theology, as in that of every Church Father, there are individual nuances that do not contradict the teachings of other great saints but merely explore a particular topic from a specific angle, ultimately expressing a single truth. St John dwells particularly on how each person's salvation occurs, that is, how human will and Divine grace interrelate in the salvation of each individual. According to St John, the beginning of our salvation comes from God's calling, to which we respond. At the same time, the beginning of our good will can belong either to God or to ourselves. When God notices the beginning of a good desire, He immediately "enlightens and strengthens it, urges it towards salvation, nurturing what He Himself planted or what has sprung up through our efforts." Noticing even "a small spark of good will" in us, God does not let it fade and contributes in every way to its turning into a flame."
Works of St John Cassian the Roman, published in Russian
In St John Cassian's view, the action of Divine grace takes different paths depending on the specific situation and a person’s capacity to receive it. For a person's salvation, according to St John, both free will and God's grace are equally necessary; neither can be eliminated; both exist in harmony. St John Cassian thus expounded the Hesychast monks' doctrine of synergy, born from their direct ascetic experience. Ascetic striving is salvific only when two forces act together – God's and man's. God and man are co-workers in the work of salvation; their cooperation (Greek: synergia) leads the sinner to the Kingdom of Heaven.
From the 15th century, the writings of St John Cassian became known in Russia. St Nil Sorsky was familiar with them, and fragments from St John's writings were later included in the Slavonic translation of the Philokalia.
St John Cassian died around 435 and was buried in Marseille in the crypt of the church of St Victor – the main church of the monastery he founded. Later, his relics were moved to the upper church, where they rest in a silver reliquary. Unfortunately, he was not canonised by the Roman Catholic Church, and his veneration in Marseille is only local. In the Orthodox Church, St John Cassian's legacy remains relevant and in demand to this day. His memory (repose) is celebrated on March 13th.
The head of St John Cassian the Roman. After his death, St John Cassian was buried in the monastery of St Victor in Marseille. His relics are kept there to this day.
The saint’s profound, divinely enlightened grasp of the truths of faith and Christian morality teaches us to believe correctly and live a holy life. If we carefully preserve the precious legacy of the Church Fathers, diligently study it, and, with God's help, earnestly put it into practice, then, in the words of Professor K.E. Skurat, "the Holy Fathers themselves – great theologians and great heavenly intercessors – will abide with us."
"Having been venerable, you were dedicated to God, and illuminating with good examples, O Cassian, like the sun you shone with the radiance of your divine teachings, always enlightening the hearts of all who honour you. But pray earnestly to Christ for those who warmly praise you with love."
(Kontakion, Tone 4)
Article prepared by the team of obitel-minsk.ru
Sources used in preparation:
1. Professor K.E. Skurat "Memories. Works on Patrology (I-V centuries)"
2. Soteriology of St John Cassian the Roman | Pravmir (pravmir.ru)
3. St John Cassian the Roman | Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Brooklyn (brooklyn-church.org)
4. Great Teachers of the Church / K.E. Skurat. - Klin: Fund "Christian Life", 1999. - 284, [3] p. (Orthodoxy Today).
