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Giovanni Climaco: La Scala del Paradiso. Edited and translated by Rosa Maria Parrinello. (Rome: Paoline Publications. 2007. Pp. 638. euro48,00.)
Less than three decades ago, one would not have expected the ascetical writings of John Climacus, the seventh-century hermit and abbot of the Sinaite desert, to comprise sufficient and appropriate grounds for academic study and translation. Yet, only over the past three years, there have been two distinct and distinguished editions in the Italian language alone-both of them from the region of Turin. In 2005, the monastic community of Bose published an introduction and fresh translation of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, which over the centuries has proved influential within both religious and lay circles. This year, Rosa Maria Parrinello, who lectures in Byzantine literature and specializes in monastic...