Thorns in the flesh : illness and sanctity in late ancient Christianity / Andrew Crislip.

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2013]

238 pages ; 24 cm.

1st ed.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-230) and index.

Illness, sanctity, and asceticism in antiquity : approaches and contexts -- Asceticism, health, and Christian salvation history : perspectives from the earliest monastic sources -- Paradis, health, and the hagiographical imagination -- Choosing illness : illness as ascetic practice -- Pestilence and sainthood : the great Coptic Life of our Father Pachomius -- Illness and spiritual direction in late ancient Gaza : the correspondence of Barsanuphius and John with the sick Monk Andrew.