Original Research - Special Collection: Holiness

Holy feigning in the Apophthegmata Patrum

Rachel Wheeler
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 72, No 4 | a3457 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i4.3457 | © 2016 Rachel Wheeler | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 03 May 2016 | Published: 21 November 2016

About the author(s)

Rachel Wheeler, Graduate Theological Union, Berkley, USA; Department of New Testament Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa, United States

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to uncover the meaning of holy feigning in the late-antique Christian text the Apophthegmata Patrum, or Sayings of the Desert Fathers [and Mothers]. Whereas stories in this text depict demonic feigning as a regular occurrence (demons often appearing in the guise of a fellow desert dweller), what I call ‘holy feigning’ depicts one desert Christian expressing empathy for the situation of another – and helping the other to change. By looking at two stories that are paradigmatic of holy feigning, I show that exemplary deceptive behaviour, though explicitly defying the otherwise consistent rhetoric of ‘radical self-honesty’ in the Apophthegmata Patrum, paradoxically marks out the person who feigns as holy, discerning and imitative of Christ. In this article, I offer several suggestions for accounting for this seeming contradiction in the desert literature and propose how a spirituality of holy feigning might remain meaningful to readers of this literature today.

Keywords

Apophthegmata Patrum; Holy; Feigning; Spiritual change

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