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Concept
John Climacus
Summary
John Climacus (Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος; Ioannes Climacus), also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 6th–7th-century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. He is revered as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church.
There is almost no information about John's life. There is in existence an ancient vita (life) of the saint by a monk named Daniel of Raithu monastery. Daniel, though claiming to be a contemporary, admits to no knowledge of John's origins—any detail on John's birth is the result of much later speculation, and is confined to references in the Menologion. The Vita is generally unhelpful for establishing dates of any kind. Formerly scholarship, on the basis of John's entry in the Menologion, had placed him in the latter 6th century. That view was challenged by J. C. Guy and others, and consensus (such as there is) has shifted to a 7th-century provenance. If Daniel's vita is trustworthy (there is nothing against which to judge its accuracy), then John came to the Vatos Monastery at Mount Sinai, now Saint Catherine's Monastery, and became a novice when he was about 16 years old. He was taught about the spiritual life by the elder monk Martyrius. After the death of Martyrius, John, wishing to practice greater asceticism, withdrew to a hermitage at the foot of the mountain. In this isolation he lived for some twenty years, constantly studying the lives of the saints and thus becoming one of the most learned Church Fathers.
In the meantime, this tradition has been proven to be historically implausible. The artful rhetorical figures in his writings, as well as philosophical forms of thought indicate a solid academic education, as was customary for a profession in administration and law during his epoch. Such training could not be acquired in Sinai.
In addition, biographical observations indicate that he probably lived by the sea, probably in Gaza, and apparently practiced law there. It was only after his wife's death, in his early forties, that he entered the Sinai Monastery.
Official source
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