The monasteries of the Jerusalem desert were famous throughout the Byzantine Christian world. This book provides a study of the monastic movement in Palestine during the Byzantine period, from the accession of Constantine to the fall of Jerusalem to the Persians in 614. '...a wonderful portrait of a way of life which was fully integrated into the life of the Church and of the Empire. This book earns a special place in the libraries of both students and scholars of history, Patristics, and Theology. Anybody interested in ancient Christian spirituality and desert monasticism will find in this book a thought-provoking opus. Indeed Binns has successfully given the master stroke in illustrating a more balanced view of monastic life: ascesis and apostolate...'