"With the conversion of Constantine and his subsequent championing of the Christian cause, the church rapidly began to increase its wealth and status. As coins poured into the coffers of God, some Christians came to feel that their religion had become corrupted. They fled to the desert wastes, seeking a purer, holier life. These recluses and ascetics are the subjects of Theodoret's Religious History. The Syrian bishop had known many of them, some for all his life.".

"Theodoret of Cyrrhus: The Bishop and the Holy Man argues that Theodoret's work was not written merely as an act of piety but was in fact a very political treatise, addressing the theological disputes of his day. The main tensions of the early fifth century lay between the sees of Syrian Antioch and Egyptian Alexandria. One of Theodoret's aims was to show that Syria had produced individuals as pious as those of Egypt (about whom much had already been written).

Urbainczyk studies the social background of these Syrian ascetics, describes the relationship between Theodoret's heroes and the church community, and investigates how Theodoret presents his own personal relationship with the holy men."--BOOK JACKET.