Despondency

Despondency: The Spiritual Teachings of Evagrius of Ponticus on Acedia

by Gabriel Bunge; translated by Anthony P. Gythiel---154 pp. paper $18.00

Acedia, listlessness, despair—whatever the name, this most painful affliction of modern times was well known among the Desert Fathers. In the first half of Despondency, Fr. Gabriel Bunge explores how the fifth-century monk Evagrius diagnoses this complex condition, emphasizing the “working mechanisms of the passions and of their accomplices, the demons.” Evagrius never underestimates his foe (he labels despondency a “conglomerate of all imaginable vices”), yet he is ultimately optimistic about its cure. “Indeed, the medication he prescribes is surprisingly simple…Since despondency is an illness of both the irrational powers of the soul—desire and anger—it is essential to heal both at the root.” Here is cogent, practical advice from a skilled therapist of troubled souls; Bunge provides expert guidance through a welter of patristic terminology, polishing the psychological gems along the way.