John Climacus

Description

John Climacus (Greek: Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος; Latin: Ioannes Climacus; Arabic: يوحنا السلمي, romanized: Yuḥana al-Sêlmi), 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. On the basis of John’s entry in the Menologion, John Climicus had at one time been placed in the latter 6th century. That view was challenged by J. C. Guy and others; consensus (such as there is) has shifted to a 7th-century provenance.[citation needed] 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 more senior 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, the above 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 have been acquired in Sinai.