John of Apamea


John of Apamea, John the Solitary, or John the Solitary of Apamea was a 5th-century Syriac Christian writer from Apamea, Syria.
His writings are strongly influenced by Evagrius Ponticus's works, which were available to him via Syriac translations of the time. In turn, John of Apamea's works have influenced Isaac the Syrian, a prolific 7th-century Syriac Christian mystical writer.

Name

In Syriac, John the Solitary is known as . Iḥidāyā, derived from the root ‘one’, translates to 'solitary', 'alone', 'monk', or 'hermit'. The Greek equivalent is μοναχός.

Historic identity

The identity of the historic John of Apamea is controversial. Some scholars have proposed that he may have in fact been two or three separate individuals.
John the Solitary of Apamea is not to be confused with two other people also called "John of Apamea":

Silent prayer

John of Apamea is known for his innovative ideas on silent prayer. Ashkelony states that John of Apamea is the earliest known Christian writer to systematically write about a theory of silent prayer. In the Dialogue on the Soul, John of Apamea proposes that the three stages of silent prayer are those of the body, soul, and finally, the spirit. As such, there are three levels of stillness. The first is the cessation of speech; the second is the stillness of the soul in which the mind no longer has to fight distracting thoughts; and last of all, the stillness of the spirit in which stillness passes beyond the soul or ego.

Writings

Below is a comprehensive bibliography of writings by John of Apamea, from Sebastian Brock.
  • Commentary on Qohelet
  • Kephalaia
  • Letters
  • Letter to Hesychius
  • On Prayer
  • Questions
  • Dialogue on the Soul
  • Dialogues with Thaumasios
  • ''Tractates''

BL Add. 17170

BL Add. 17170 is an Estrangela Syriac manuscript dated to 774-5 AD with 88 vellum leaves that contains various writings of John of Apamea. There are two columns of text on each page. Below are various texts attributed to John of Apamea in the manuscript, as cited in Strothmann :