Mothers Of The Church: Syncletica Of Alexandria

Amidst writing this post, I had to take a break to sweep and mop the floors of my home. A simple and easy task, really, but one that seemed to take away from the important work of reading and writing—an interruption that our modern culture tells us we should resent or avoid. Our world, accordingly, is becoming increasingly effective at removing the ‘menial’ for the sake of the ‘important’: we have ‘smart’ vacuums to clean the floors for us, dishwashers to deal with our dirty dishes, and AI to write all those pesky emails. Now we can get down to the real work!

One of the issues with this conception of work is the hierarchy and dichotomy between ‘real’ and ‘menial’ work, often assigning the important work to the mind and the inferior work to the body. This is not unique to our historical moment though, as one can see in the work of some early Christian ascetic writers. For a number of the desert fathers, manual labor was thought of as a disturbance to their mind and spiritual practice (ex. N.59/10.190; Wortley, The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 53). But for some of the mothers of the Church—especially Syncletica of Alexandria—there is no dichotomy or hierarchy between embodied and spiritual work, as the former cultivates and develops the latter. This mother shows us the beauty in doing our chores.

Background

Our knowledge of Syncletica’s life and thought is derived from two sources, the fifth century hagiographic Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica, and the collections of sayings from the desert fathers and mothers. It is difficult to distinguish between the legend and life of Syncletica from the state of the sources, especially as the retelling of her life seems to mirror another famous desert ascetic, Anthony of Alexandria (Veder, “Saint Syncletica and the Sea,” 156). We have 28 ‘sayings’ of Syncletica which mirror some of the themes found in the other desert fathers and mothers, though with a distinct perspective.

If her Life can be believed, she was born into a wealthy family from Macedonia in the fourth century (Life 4-5). She moved to Alexandria in her youth, where her parents died and she entered her life of voluntary poverty—she cut her hair, donated her possessions, and lived in a tomb as an early anchoress (Life 5-12). Apparently, her reputation of spiritual discipline attracted other women to her way of life, with many settling down near her to learn how to follow after God (Life 21). Unfortunately for us, it is difficult to recreate her spiritual practices, since she lived in isolation to cultivate humility. Her Life even claims: “We cannot speak, then, of her actual ascetic life, since she did not allow anyone to be an observer of this” (Life 15).

In her late 70s, Syncletica was afflicted with cancer of the mouth. In graphic detail, the Life records how her mouth and jaw blackened and decayed, leaving a horrible stench. She apparently refused treatment until she saw that her disciples could not even be in her proximity—at this point, she allows for medical intervention for their sake, especially to prevent them from becoming ill (Life 111). Even without the ability to speak on account of the illness, she was an encouragement to the women in her care: “the wounds in her body healed their afflicted souls” (Life 110). In this, Syncletica is cast as a type of Christ, echoing the language of 1 Peter 2:24: “by his wounds you have been healed.” She died of this same illness, apparently on January 5th sometime in the fourth century.

Embodiment and Spiritual Growth

Syncletica of Alexandria, depicted on an icon — An Icon of Syncletica

Syncletica’s sayings are rich with biblical allusions, spiritual insights, and illuminating metaphors for thinking about following God faithfully. Throughout, she frequently discusses spiritual realities in connection with household tasks, such as cleaning, keeping a fire, and doing the laundry. The reason for this is, perhaps, twofold. First, it was the woman’s responsibility in the ancient world to keep the house, so this language would be more familiar to her audience of female ascetics. But second, and more importantly, it reflects the profound spiritual realities that Syncletica wanted to convey: our walk with God is cultivated in everything we do. As Rachel Wheeler argues, “women such as Syncletica were able to transform the significance of these [domestic] objects and tasks into ways of richly considering the reality of their engagement with God through their daily lives” (Wheeler, “Growing Wings Like Angels,” 95).

Throughout her sayings and Life, then, we a direct link between household chores and spiritual realities. For example, Syncletica connects prayer and fasting to cleaning the house: We must “keep cleaning our ‘house’ continually and be on the lookout lest any of the soul-devouring ‘beasties’ slip past us into the storerooms of the soul. And we must fumigate our places with the holy incense of prayer. For just as the stronger fumigants drive out the venomous creatures, so prayer with fasting chases out foul patterns of thought” (Life 80). The ‘cleaning’, here, is not a literal scrubbing of the floors, but the cleansing of the soul through prayer and fasting, purging oneself from sin to aid in resisting demonic temptation. Elsewhere, she connects spiritual vigilance to home security and mindfulness: “Let us be vigilant: it is through our senses, even if it is not what we want, that thieves enter. How can a house, when smoke is billowing outside and the doors are shut, not be blackened?” (Life 25; Vivian, “Courageous Women,” S6, pg. 104). As a responsible person is mindful of smoke entering and leaving the home and making it dirty, so the responsible ascetic pays attention to how the senses might allow a foothold for sin. Finally, she connects voluntary poverty to laundry:

“For just as heavy clothing is washed and bleached by treading and vigorous wringing, so also the strong soul is strengthened to a greater degree through voluntary poverty. But those with a weaker disposition have the opposite experience to the first women. Indeed, when they are rubbed a little, they disintegrate like torn garments, not lasting through the wash with their virtue. And, although the fuller may be the same, the outcome for the clothes is different; some are torn and perished while another is bleached and renewed (Life 30).

To renounce one’s possessions can have the same effect the laundry might have on a garment: it might renew it or it might weaken it.

In all of this Syncletica is drawing from the experience that she and her disciples had to demonstrate spiritual truths, something which gives us a distinctly female perspective of spirituality in this time and place. The women in her care would have experienced these tasks regularly, while the men would not have. It is no wonder that household chores are rarely discussed in meaningful spiritual ways in the male voices in this period.

Baptizing Domesticity?

To draw on domestic images is not to baptize or prioritize domesticity for Syncletica though. Rather, these sayings and themes are only one part of a larger discussion about how to follow after God rightly, which necessarily includes struggle (see: Vivian, “We Sail by Day,” 23). In other words, domestic tasks are part of the struggles we endure in life which might draw us closer to God.

Like other desert fathers and mothers, Syncletica talks about struggles frequently, especially struggles with the Devil.

The Devil has numerous ways to ambush us … Has he been defeated by good health? He afflicts the body with illness. If he has been unable to beguile a person by offering pleasures, he tries to lead him astray by causing unwanted sufferings. It is a fact that he supplies certain grievous maladies as he wishes so that through them he can shake up those who because of them are growing faint-hearted in their love for God (Life 98; “Courageous Women,” 7, pg. 95).

The devil custom tailors struggles to suit his victims in an attempt to draw them away from God. But these struggles, while perhaps originating from Satan, can be viewed in a positive sense. They are a refining fire, that which allows us to overcome temptation and grow into something greater:

You have become iron, but through fire you are sloughing off iron’s rust. And if you get sick even though you are righteous, you are advancing from great things to even greater ones. You are gold, but through fire you are becoming even more tried and true. A messenger was given to you with regard to the flesh. Rejoice! Look at whom you have come to resemble! You have become worthy to share in Paul’s portion. Through fiery fever you have been tried and tested; through shivering with cold you have been disciplined (Life 98; “Courageous Women,” 7, pg. 96).

As the impurities mixed in with precious metals are removed through fire, so the trials of this life—big or small—can purify us. For Syncletica, then, the entire Christian life is framed as a struggle to fully follow God, allowing trials and tribulations to form us more into the image of Christ. She summarizes all of this, using the domestic metaphor of lighting a fire for cooking:

It is a struggle and very hard work for those who are drawing closer to God—at first. But then comes indescribable joy. Those who want to light a fire first get assailed by smoke and then weep and, by doing this, obtain the desired fire; in the same way we too have to kindle the divine fire for ourselves with tears and afflictions since it says ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ (Life 60; “Courageous Women,” 1, pg. 92).

Syncletica, then, is not baptizing domesticity, but showing how domestic tasks are one part of life’s struggles that can make us people of virtue.

Doing our Chores

Syncletica provided me with a wonderful reminder as I begrudgingly pulled out the mop and bucket to clean the floors this week: this task is not without purpose nor without spiritual merit. The world is currently telling us that menial tasks—keeping house, writing emails, filling out expense reports (all of which feel like suffering to me!)—are tasks which stand in the way of the ‘true’ or ‘important’ work. But this neglects something essential about human nature: it is the embodied tasks themselves which shape us (for more discussion of this, see my post about A.I. and Lectio Divina). For Syncletica, daily tasks—indeed all things in which we might struggle—are means to grow closer to God.

In sum, from Syncletica’s spiritual program, we learn that there is no dichotomy between ‘important’ and ‘menial’ work, as she allows basic tasks to be integrated into meaningful ones. Further, it embraces our embodied reality, allowing it to shape the ways we worship. As we were created as embodied beings, we should connect our bodies to spiritual worship. In this, we can see the usefulness of our domestic tasks, as we struggle to follow God. Listen to your mother Syncletica—finish your chores.

Further Resources

Primary Sources: As noted, the two sources for Syncletica’s life and thought are The Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica and the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Critical Edition of the Life:

The Greek text and a Latin translation of The Life of Syncletica are found in Patrologia Graeca. Edited by J.-P. Migne. Vol 28. Paris 1887. Columns 1488-1557.

Translation of the Life:

The Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica, Part One: The Translation. translated by Elizabeth Bryson Bongie (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2005).

Critical Edition and Translation of the Sayings:

There are many editions and translations of this work. The most comprehensive includes both an edition and translation:

The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers: A Select Edition and Complete English Translation. Translated by John Wortley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

The sayings of the three desert mothers recorded in the Apophthegmata Patrum, including all Syncletica’s sayings, are helpfully compiled and translated by Tim Vivian. I utilized this source for all quotations in this post: